Affordable Natural Gas Operations Solution for Smaller Businesses
A few of you have commented or asked about my Seeking an affordable alternative to spreadsheets? blog published last Fall. I’ve been asked, “How can an enterprise software solution like nGenue be financially viable relative to a spreadsheet-based system?” One person wrote, “We’re small, just five of us. We can’t afford anything but Excel.” I understand the premise, but our newest customer, a startup with just a handful of customers to start with, is proof that small businesses can afford the comprehensive nGenue natural gas operations solution.
That’s right, this Marketer has just a few customers since launching its business last Fall – more new customers in the pipeline of course – and has equipped itself with nGenue’s all-in-one software solution for natural gas operations. So why nGenue vs. Excel? The answer lies in the knowledge and experience of those involved.
As is often the case, entrepreneurs start their careers in larger companies where they gather knowledge and experience to a point where confidence in themselves (and probably some amount of frustration in others) motivates them to start their own business, as is the case in this situation. An executive from a national natural gas marketer struck out on his own and rounded up a small group of smart and experienced people capable of getting a new company off the ground and launching its growth trajectory. A key hire was a talented, natural gas operations manager who had spent the previous 15 years building another marketer’s business from scratch using a spreadsheet-based system he had himself built.
The spreadsheet system was a labor of love, his baby and you’d think continuing where he’d left off would be the natural tendency. So did we, but it wasn’t the case. In fact, for the past few years in his prior company, he’d been advocating ditching the spreadsheet system he’d created in favor of software with some sophistication, perhaps some automation and, above all, with a single, central repository for all operations data that requires significantly less manual effort and is much less susceptible to human error. His take on it is that spreadsheet management only takes you so far:
- As you grow, spreadsheets translate to lower productivity and higher business cost.
- It’s not only the human error, but also the excessive cross-referencing and data reconciliation.
- Worksheet integrity is poor and more spreadsheets or a more complex spreadsheet only increases the number and severity of problems that result in cost to the business.
- Too much manual effort impacts productivity, employees bear the brunt, frustration mounts and unwanted attrition causes even more problems.
So, with this experience and a word-of-mouth referral, he gave us a call and we introduced him to nGenue’s ‘Emerging Growth Program’, specifically designed for natural gas small business marketers. It provides access to nGenue’s complete all-in-one solution without the typical prohibitive upfront cost, but rather an affordable monthly licensing fee aligned with the seasonality of the natural gas business. This is how an enterprise software solution like nGenue is both financially viable and superior to spreadsheet-based operations.
Whether large or small, Marketers, Producers, LDCs, Utilities, and Pipelines face increasing competitive and compliance pressures, requiring increased operational efficiency, data integrity and process improvement. Their operational systems must support this, but most don’t. Engage us and we’ll show you how to make an affordable breakthrough. It’s what we do for natural gas companies, and we are experts in our field.
– Ken
