Food Manufacturer Saves Big with Utility Bill Automation

Problem

Managing utility usage and spend is a common problem for many businesses. Monitoring the energy and gas consumption is typically minimal, if not non-existent as is validating utility bills and utility data visualizations. To be successful, an organization needs its internal processes to be as efficient and transparent as possible to remain on top of the procedures, rules, and availability of each and  maximize ROI. But when a small team without a technical partner is tasked with delivering ROI savings, it presents complications.

That was exactly what this UK food manufacturer found when they were looking to understand their energy spending to identify savings. They lacked the clarity of their energy expenditure, data transparency, and industry expertise; that meant missed re-contracting opportunities, energy usage inefficiencies, and ultimately overspending.

They realized what it needed was an experienced and agile Utility Bill Management (UBM) partner who could adapt to its fast-paced, organic growth and evolving strategic vision. A partner who knew which approaches were likely to work could add value as a sounding board.

To identify the right partner, the company evaluated several criteria, including the candidates:

• Technology and agility of the platform—which was a deal-breaker.
• Robust reporting capabilities to assess production run-time optimization.
• Strategic planning and processes to help meet particular objectives.
• Ability to provide insight into additional areas of opportunity and savings.
• Ease of use for the users to pull quick data points and visualizations.

Following its search, the company turned to Bill Identity—a partner that brought a unique technology, robotic process automation (RPA) skillset, and trusted existing relationships within the utility marketplace—to address their reporting and validation needs.

Solution

Since selecting Bid in 2019, the company has leveraged its new partner’s skills, experience, and advice and has taken significant energy efficiency steps. In what has been a real team approach, several areas of the company, including Finance and Operations, have worked jointly with Bill Identity to onboard the robust portfolio efficiently, meeting the departments’ needs. The same groups have also discussed their utility usage goals and how they would like to be managed moving forward.

Since the partnership with Bid began, the company has seen an increase in its strategic initiatives’ success tied to billing validation and has seen significant ROI Its processes have improved, and Bid has delivered a high-quality service, one valued by all its team members.

Outcome

Working with Bill Identity as a Utility Bill Management provider has allowed the organization to take advantage of opportunities that add value. They adjusted their production times based on peak periods that had significant effects on their bottom line. UBM’s billing validation identified over £40,000 in savings opportunities. Trial and error no longer have a role to play in its approach to managing energy programs, and that saves time and money. 

The new partnership has brought:

• Significant improvements in reporting and data accuracy
• Productivity increases for the staff
• £40,000 of savings identified