Improving utilities cashflow with Mobile Onsite Billing

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Introduction

Internationally compared the number of regular meter readings in the utility industry differs considerably. The higher the frequency of meter readings the more time-consuming and ineffective
is the process between meter reading and mailing of the invoice. As a result of long delivery times and ineffective operating principles it often needs several days or weeks until the customer is in possession of his invoice. This has a direct impact on the company´s cash flow. Sort out that problem with SAP Mobile On-Site Billing and make short work of long processes and unnecessary postage and delivery costs.

SAP Mobile On-Site Billing has been developed for the special needs of electricity, gas and water supply companies. As an extension of SAP for Utilities you can smoothly integrate the solution into your existing SAP system. Furthermore, the high integrity of SAP Mobile On-Site Billing reduces the number of process interfaces and keeps transmission errors to a minimum. By extending your SAP solution with SAP Mobile On-Site Billing a versatile spectrum of opportunities will open up
to make your processes more effective and to save financial and human resources. The meter reading data is transferred directly on-site into the backend of the SAP system.



Mobile Billing - Online and Offline

As a special feature, SAP Mobile On-Site Billing enables you to complete the entire accounting process on-site. If a data connection between mobile device and SAP system exists, the value read will be directly transferred into the backend system. Within a few seconds, the invoice is created and can be printed on the integrated printer of the mobile device. Reading errors belong to the past, since reading and billing data are simultaneously reconciled. In case such plausibility check reveals deviating values, the mobile application on the PDA offers different possibilities to record visual information. Using the integra-ted camera a picture of the meter reading can be taken and stored in the internal memory of the mobile device. During the next communication cycle the photo will be transferred to the backend, where it is stored as part of the order results.
Furthermore, SAP Mobile On-Site Billing offers the opportunity to calculate the consumption of your customers even without having a data connection to the backend system. Therefore, you are able to react more quickly and flexible to all local conditions and customer needs. The offline billing functionality uses the Real Time Mobile Billing Engine, developed by PROLOGA. It creates the invoice based on stored data on the PDA. That is functionality at its best.

Minimize Maintenance and Test Requirements

Not only the great functionality that comes with SAP Mobile On-Site Billing makes this solution a best fit to your needs. Expensive adaptations and maintenance for the new innovative application will be a thing of the past that you best leave to your competitors. With the Real Time Mobile Billing Engine, modified billing steps or rates are directly synchronized between backend and mobile device. This functionality makes SAP Mobile On-Site Billing unique and also saves a lot of testing time. Another advantage is the evenly spread system load. Meter readings are transferred to the system particularly during the day reducing the system load of nightly chain batches immensely. As almost all process steps after arriving at the customer on-site are automated using SAP Mobile On-Site Billing.
Catch up on tasks that have previously taken days or even weeks in a few minutes, such as meter reading, invoicing, or payment collection processing. With SAP Mobile On-Site Billing you reduce the duration and expenses of your processes to a minimum. You will save cost-intensive and time-consuming mailing routes as well as the data import in the central office. This will be a time-saving success factor, considerably expediting the order-to-cash process. Furthermore, you will be able to provide a faster and more accurate data collection and billing on-site to your customers. In that way, you will improve the service quality, make billing processes more transparent and strengthen your corporate reputation. These facts create a positive effect on the customer´s trust, as utility companies using SAP Mobile On-Site Billing have confirmed.
Finally, in case you need to integrate your subcontractors in the system, with this solution you will be able to do it giving them the possibility to work with clean interfaces and clear responsibilities.
SAP Mobile On-Site Billing is the ideal solution for collecting and processing data transparently, efficiently and cost-effectively, in order to provide them to the customer as quickly as possible.

Direct integration in SAP S/4HANA for Utilities

The Mobile Onsite Billing is part of the SAP S/4HANA Utilities extensions for meter-to-cash processes by PROLOGA and therefore directly integrated into the SAP S/4HANA for Utilities. This integration enables a continuous and central monitoring of the meter reading execution throughout the day as well as an easy planning/re-planning and dispatching of orders and meter-readers thanks to an integrated map.

Strong business and implementation project support

As more and more utilities worldwide are implementing and using our Mobile Onsite Billing solution we have created some helpful assets (see linked playlist below) to guide them through the respective business process. In the videos per step in the business process the various capabilities of the solution are explained and shown in a demo.



Summary

SAP Mobile On-Site Billing for SAP Utilities by PROLOGA – S/4 On Premise has been developed as an extension of SAP for Utilities in S/4 HANA, implementing new SAP Fiori Apps to fit the needs of electricity, gas and water utilities. It helps to improve meter reading and billing processes. The applications, that support the entire work chain, from system configuration to the reading and billing process, provide a precise and automated data collection and transmission. In this way, you can eliminate time consuming and cost-intensive workflows and print invoices directly on-site. This process optimization saves money, time and increases the customer satisfaction provably.

 

*Christoph Hillmann is working for PROLOGA GmbH a longtime development partner of SAP