UK Power Networks – Powering Efficiency for Customers
How low-code is driving new digital services for customers
Outcomes
- Low-code supports rapid application development
- Digital transformation at scale
Rising global energy prices, the pandemic and recent climate events have all driven an increase in customers facing some sort of vulnerability. Demand for electric vehicles is strong and growing, producing the knock-on requirement for charging stations.
Increasingly, tech savvy customers are demanding new levels of support and services. UK Power Networks needs to meet growing demand in-line with their business priorities:
The challenge:
- Tackle the climate crisis by connecting renewable energy, electric car chargers and low carbon heating
- Meet customers evolving needs by improving services
- Support customers in vulnerable circumstances
- Go above and beyond for the communities served, currently 19m people across 8.3m homes
Taking a low-code approach
Traditional software development is a specialist discipline, can take a long time and is complex and expensive.
Low-code offers a genuine alternative – enabling applications to be configured quickly and easily to automate and transform the business, without expensive developers. See further information on What is low-code and its benefits.
UK Power Networks utilised the power of Liberty Create, our low-code platform to quickly deliver many successful automated projects, and revolutionised many services for customers.
These include:
- Mission Directed Work – supports the Lean Improvement Team to engage and empower employees to drive performance enhancements and develop more effective ways of working through innovation.
- Compliance Manager – deployed to help drive efficiencies and enhance the service proposition for staff managing GDPR, DPIAs, Legitimate Interest processes and communications in these areas.
- Smart Quote – supports customer connection applications via a wide variety of channels and automates key parts of the process. A Coordinator is allocated to the customer to manage the different parties (electricians, network operators, site surveyors etc). Automation enables the applications and updates to be fed straight into the CRM system, without data entry and for updates and reminders to be sent to customers automatically (for example, survey dates and payments received).
- Smart Connect and Portal – supports applications for installers and customers who wish to connect one or multiple new Low Carbon Technologies.
- Smart Connect – supplies an automated assessment to reduce processing times. It issues instant approvals when all criteria are met and sends automatic referrals to UK Power Networks teams if required and provides tracking and reporting capability.
Enabling further transformation
In 2022, the decision was made to extend the use of the Liberty Platform, Netcall’s AI-powered automation and customer engagement platform, across the wider business to support new projects. This includes a Priority Services Register, which helps vulnerable customers during a power cut. And two-way payments, to seamlessly receive and make payments to customers.
Liberty Create is fully integrated with Liberty AI, our machine learning artificial intelligence solution, which provides richer insights to data. Together, these solutions enable UK Power Networks to relieve the burden on employees. They can now spend their time on tasks which are more interesting and higher-value, to enhance customer experience.
Using the Liberty Platform, UK Power Networks can now equip people in the business, those who really understand the process, with the tools that they need to automate existing processes and develop new digital journeys to support customers.
We are excited to continue our digital journey. The Liberty Platform gives us a solid foundation and Netcall provides the tools that we need today, plus growth opportunities for the future.
Dave Roberts – IS/IT Director, UK Power Networks
Superb customer experience as a result
UK Power Networks was named as #1 Company in the UK for customer service by the Institute of Customer Service in July 2022.
Customers rated them highly for strong communication, trust, being open and transparent, having helpful and competent people and an easy-to-use website. The ability to control and develop their digital processes allows UK Power Networks’ people to focus on delivering outstanding customer service.
Our low-code development platform that enables you to quickly and easily produce applications that automate and transform the business and your customer experience. Power efficiency with low-code.
Our machine learning solution that provides richer insights to your data, allows you to predict outcomes and improve business decision making.
