2020: Suppliers redefined

Our third prophecy concerns the role that suppliers, like Kamstrup, play in our customers’ everyday lives, as we believe 2020 will mark the year when utilities redefine their supplier relations in response to the increasing complexity of their business.

Today’s utility professionals are expected to deliver a high-quality supply in the most efficient way possible while tackling regulatory demands, demanding consumers, competition and complex IT setups. With often only a few dedicated people to handle the daily operation, it comes down to spending your time, resources and competencies where they create the most value: on your core business of producing and distributing district heating and ensuring happy customers.

We are seeing a trend of more utilities outsourcing all or parts of their operation to their suppliers, which is first of all reflected in the growing professionalism in their approach to outsourcing. Also, many are reducing the number of suppliers they have and demanding more from the ones that remain, like expecting suppliers to help them reduce costs and better serve their customers.

The need for supplier services will vary, but the benefit remains optimal value from what you buy. For example, leaving the hosting of your metering system to an expert frees up time and resources but also ensures that the IT infrastructure always meets current demands and keeps personal data and business-critical systems secure. Maybe you prefer outsourcing the entire system operation to spend time on more value-adding tasks, knowing you always have the data you need. Or maybe you want your supplier to deliver the necessary data-based insights to target your maintenance, ensuring your network is running optimally with minimal waste and proactively serve customers.

The right supplier can help you manage your finances and technology, improve operational efficiency and explore new opportunities for optimisation – so how do you choose the right one?

Naturally, choosing a service partner with a solid business and a wide range of service options is a good place to start. But even for an experienced solutions provider, services will never be an off-the-rack product. When it comes to running and taking responsibility for processes in a customer’s business, deciding the best set-up has to be the result of co-creation. Also, putting the operation of your entire meter park into the hands of a supplier requires trust, which takes effort, nurturing, and time, so choose a partner willing and able to invest just that. At Kamstrup, we have been that partner to our customers for over 40 years, and today we handle the daily operation of 5 million meters.

Ultimately, a utility’s reality in 2030 is unlikely to be less complex than today – quite the contrary. But if our third prediction proves correct, your daily work hopefully will be.

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