Transforming Your Customer Platform & Experience: The CRM/CIS Evolution

The CIS/CRM Evolution

August 25, 2020 | Atlanta, GA ::

0820-crm-cis

There continues to be significant changes that affect the way utilities interact with their customers. New regulation related to distributed generation, real-time pricing and net metering along with advancements in mobile technology have changed the utility to consumer relationship. Most utility customer information systems (CIS) were purpose-built, isolated billing solutions, unable to accommodate the growing demand for multi-channel customer service and agile customer interface. Today, an increasing number of utilities are focusing on CRM and CX to improve customer engagement and streamline customer operations. New tools are assisting customer service professionals to understand the customer better such as journey mapping and omnichannel interaction tracking.

In addition to a customer focus, utilities are also balancing a myriad of new technology upgrades and applications i.e., integrated platforms such as Advanced Distribution Management Systems, which all impact the customer experience and how customer facing systems perform. Further, many Customer Information Systems were not specifically designed to leverage massive AMI/AMR data and rationalize it. Solutions are being developed to use that data to address complex market structures and billing requirements (load aggregation, retail market requirements) to leverage the benefits of ongoing innovations around DER, self-service options, and mobile platforms favored by “digital customers”.

Join us at this essential event where utility and industry professionals will share their best practices in dealing with this CIS/CRM evolution and how organizations continue to transform their customer platforms. 

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss new level current trends in the market as it relates to CRM/CIS from recent survey data
• List the insights on the types of offers energy consumers want now and, in the future,
• Recognize the necessary components of a good customer experience
• Discuss how CRM will drive significant change for utilities in multiple areas: people, process, capabilities, and even behavioral change
• Discuss the necessary steps that are involved in implementing a new CRM and CIS including selection strategy, project management, change management conversion activities and business process improvement
• Discuss how utilities are operating in the cloud

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 0.7 CEUs for this event.

 

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must log in/out each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the conference to be eligible for continuing education credit.

Instructional Methods

The instructional content will be administered through case studies, panel discussions and PowerPoint presentations

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

8:45 – 9:00 a.m. :: Login

9:00 – 9:10 a.m. :: Conference Announcements

9:10 – 9:30 a.m. :: Opening Remarks and Welcome Address from the Georgia PSC

Commissioner McDonald will welcome power industry attendees to Atlanta and provide a regulatory perspective on how utilities can reliably serve customers by delivering their services at predictable and reasonable rates. A key to accomplishing this is the utility’s CIS/CRM, which needs to be responsive to the ever-changing regulatory and business needs.

Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Commissioner, Georgia Public Service Commission

9:30 – 9:35 a.m. :: Short Break

9:35 – 10:15 a.m. :: Setting the Stage – The Value of CRM/CIS for Utilities

This session will set the context, themes, and participatory discussion tone for the day. Conference chair, Jon Brock will present current trends in the market as it relates to CRM/CIS from recent survey data. Attendees will be invited to provide input regarding key discussion interests to highlight throughout the day’s sessions.

Jon Brock, President, Desert Sky Group, LLC

10:15 – 10:20 a.m. :: Short Break

10:20 – 11:05 a.m. :: Consumer Platform of the Future Study

As economies move to a decentralized, customization-centric approach, the energy ecosystem must also evolve. The emergence of strategic partnerships, aggregators and other new entrants into the energy ecosystems affects the business model for utilities and opens new opportunities for how products and services are configured and offered. This study discusses how online e-commerce marketplaces are evolving into a key piece of post-purchase consumer engagement for utilities and focuses on the changes in the volume and complexity of decisions consumers now make. Audience members will learn insights on the types of offers consumers want now and in the future, elements of offers consumers want to be packaged together, and tools that would be helpful in evaluating offers.

Patty Durand, President & CEO, Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative

11:05 – 11:15 a.m. :: Short Break

11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. :: CASE STUDY: Enabling a 360° View of the Customer through CRM

AEP has embarked on a significant journey to enable a 360° view of the customer. The objective is more than omni-channel; this project strives to have all information about customers as well as their interactions with AEP available to all customer service personnel. This project will support all classes of customers including their largest C&I customers. It will also span multiple states and jurisdictions. In this session, learn how the project will drive significant change for the company in multiple areas: people, process, capabilities, and even behavioral change. The solution being implemented in phases, will us a substantial modular platform that employees a cloud-based CRM integrated to an on-premise legacy CIS.

Jay Hoffman, Director Customer Experience, American Electric Power (AEP)

12:00 – 12:45 p.m. :: Lunch Break

12:45 – 1:30 p.m. :: CASE STUDY: Implementation of a Multi-Faceted CIS

Implementing a new CIS is a challenge from picking the right product and partners, to maintaining customer satisfaction and smooth daily operations during implementation, to leveraging the new system to improve business processes. This session features a discussion of the implementation of the SAP CRB CIS product. The presenter will address multiple perspectives including selection strategy, project management, change management conversion activities and business process improvement.

Robert Stoyko, VP, Marketing & Customer Relations, UGI Utilities, Inc.

1:30 – 1:35 p.m. :: Short Break

1:35 –2:15 p.m. :: Operating in the Cloud and Implementing a New CIS & CSS Amidst a Pandemic

Disruptive technologies have the capability to trigger rapid advancement in any given industry, yet their adoption is rarely linear, especially in the case of regulated industries. The utility industry has enjoyed its monopoly status for decades now and lags other sectors in the US. Thanks to increased competition, utilities, like every other industry, are now being impacted by rapidly shifting customer needs and expectations. In this session, hear how utilities are going from crawling to walking toward digitization to keep up with other industries. In addition, learn how a utility was able to implement a new CIS & CSS in only seven months utilizing the FastStart methodology during a pandemic.

John Herron, Vice President, VertexOne

2:15 – 2:20 p.m. :: Short Break

2:20 – 3:00 p.m. :: CASE STUDY: Keys to Justify Resources

One of biggest challenges utilities face is getting the resources they need to enable them to be successful. Justifying and getting approval for additional people, equipment, and technology for projects like CIS/CRM implementations is never easy. In this presentation, a leader in the utility industry is going to share tips that have worked for him and other operations across the country. The speaker will share ten proven strategies for justifying resources for your operation or project.  Attendees will learn how applying these strategies will increase your ability to develop a world class operation and make your company even more successful. Also included will be lessons learned from the pandemic.

Wes Friesen, President, Solomon Training & Development (ret’d Manager, Portland General Electric)

3:00 – 3:05 p.m. :: Short Break

3:05 – 3:50 p.m. :: CASE STUDY: Technology Initiatives Make It Look Easy

Con Edison’s Energy Services department, which is responsible for new and additional electric and gas services, has embarked on a series of technological advances to better serve its customers. 2018 saw a roll out of ‘Ask a Question’ online portal, streamlining customer inquiries directly into cases and tracking response times. Customers can use a new online self-scheduling appointment calendar for inspections. During the summer, a new app, available to all new business customers and contractors, was introduced to open and track their cases. In the fall, they began remote video inspections of customer equipment, replacing traditional inspections with a Con Ed rep going out to the customer location. In this session, hear how these technological advances are making a difference operationally and in the customer experience.

Elissa Seidman, Manager, Con Edison

Lori Miller, Energy Services Department Manager Con Edison

Rosanna Bryam, Senior Specialist, Con Edison

3:50 – 3:55 p.m. :: Short Break

3:55 – 4:45 p.m. :: Technologies Panel Discussion

Innovative solutions including mobile technologies and self-service portals have brought many changes in the utility industry. CIS and CRM systems have been upgraded and integrated with other systems to help enable a true, digital, customer experience for modern day consumers. In this session, panelists will respond to audience inquiries on how these and other systems have changed for the better to provide customer service beyond the normal channels.  Ask as many questions as possible of our panel of experts to learn about what could work best for your utility.

 Moderator:

Jon T. Brock, President, Desert Sky Group, LLC

Panelists:

Jay Hoffman, Director Customer Experience, American Electric Power (AEP)

Robert Stoyko, VP, Marketing & Customer Relations, UGI Utilities, Inc.

John Herron, Vice President, VertexOne

4:45 p.m. :: Conference Adjourns

• Jon T. Brock, President, Desert Sky Group, LLC
• Ross Dicken, Manager of Member Care Support Services, Cobb EMC
• Patty Durand, President & CEO, Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative
• Wes Friesen, President, Solomon Training & Development (ret’d Manager, Portland General Electric)
• John Herron, Vice President, VertexOne
• Jay Hoffman, Director Customer Experience, American Electric Power (AEP)
• Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Commissioner, Georgia Public Service Commission
• Lori Miller, Energy Services Department Manager Con Edison
• Elissa Seidman, Manager, Con Edison
• Robert Stoyko, VP, Marketing & Customer Relations, UGI Utilities, Inc.

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.
• Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.
  • You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Transforming Your Customer Platform & Experience: The CRM/CIS Evolution

August 25, 2020 | Atlanta, GA

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before March 20, 2020 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

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