New Marketer Goes Live with nGenue
There are many things exciting in this world, but when you’re a software solutions provider, for me at least, there’s nothing more exciting than a new customer implementation Go Live! Last month, we recorded our first Go Live of 2020 for a startup natural gas marketer who opened its business in late 2019 and has aggressive plans for growth.
The leadership team comprises natural gas personnel from previous large and small businesses who came together with lots of experience and tremendous competitive enthusiasm. Prior to forming the new business, the team had experience with a spreadsheet-based system for natural gas business operations. For one team member, 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 birthed 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.
Implementation was straightforward. After an As-Is, To-Be Assessment, we got down to work configuring (not coding) the nGenue software according to this marketer team’s preference – how they saw themselves being most productive using the system. LDC EDI integration, existing data conversion, wholesale supply, pricing parameters and configuration of the customer quote engine tailored to their own nuanced needs took a handful of weeks amidst the Coronavirus confusion. Out the back end was a live nGenue system the marketer is now using – a centralized operations system, accessible remotely from virtually any work location, spreadsheet free and with washed hands.
Many people we speak with think that a single solution to service their natural gas book either does not exist or, if it does, it will be cost prohibitive, but neither of these opinions are true. Utilizing a comprehensive, closed loop natural gas solution is both possible and affordable. As this startup client said to me the other day, “You not only have a great solution, you have the only one I have ever seen that services the entire natural gas business lifecycle.”
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. nGenue enables competitive advantage.
– Ken
