Waterbilling

BILLING SYSTEMS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT AS THE UK WATER INDUSTRY CONSIDERS ‘USER-PAYS’

The recent OFWAT pricing determinations, combined with the outputs from the Walker/Cave reviews and the DEFRA Water Strategy, have created what is undoubtedly a challenging situation for water utility companies in the UK. Many are now taking a long hard look at their operations to see how they can re-engineer their business to be more efficient, more customer-focused, and prepared for the ‘user-pays’ market on the horizon. For some, the move to a new billing and CRM platform will be inevitable to maximise the opportunities presented by these market changes. In this paper, we outline some of the essential billing system capabilities required for success in any evolving water market, including the UK.

Gentrack Whitepaper | Water Billing Systems under the Spotlight

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BILLING SYSTEMS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT AS THE UK WATER INDUSTRY CONSIDERS ‘USER-PAYS’

The capping of proposed capital budgets by the regulator has come at a turbulent time for the UK water industry. With many utilities already under financial pressure, the implications of both the recent DEFRA Water Strategy and the independent industry reviews are significant. transition to universal smart water metering technologies, without major disruption to their business or customers. Indeed, the timely implementation of a dedicated water billing and CRM system should neither be an unmanageable risk nor a significant cost endeavour. Successful billing and CRM implementations can provide a core platform for driving efficiency gains and profit growth in conjunction with new automated metering technologies – all essential to any water utility in the current economic climate.

Billing and CRM systems under the spotlight

Utilities will have to rein in costs while still ensuring they have the ability to develop and implement the new charging mechanisms, tariff structures and efficiency programs recommended by the Walker Review....