From my point of view, the clarity of Flowable – in addition to the automation, of course – is clearly the most important advantage.
The Swiss Federal Electricity Supply Act, a central component of the Swiss Energy Strategy 2050, provided the backdrop for the project. The law stipulates that at least 80% of conventional electricity meters must be replaced by smart meters by the end of 2027. Smart meters provide real-time data on electricity consumption, enabling consumers to better monitor and manage their energy usage. They also simplify consumption-based billing, eliminate estimates, and promote the development of a smart distribution network.
To meet these requirements, the sgsw partnered with Mimacom to implement the Flowable business process management (BPM) platform. The goal was to control and manage the planning and preparation of the meter change – from conventional electricity meters to smart meters – in Flowable. This should ensure the changeover is completed efficiently and on schedule by the 2027 deadline.
The challenge
The IT infrastructure didn't offer any possibilities for cross-application process automation.
The manual planning of meter replacements was time-consuming, prone to error, and lacked transparency, which made internal communication difficult.
Data exchange and access between systems were only possible to a limited extent.
sgsw faced a variety of challenges in their smart meter rollout project. The existing IT operation had grown organically over time, and there were various areas where efficiency gains could be made. For example, there was a strong case for implementing business process management (BPM) software, which also implied the expansion of digital skills.
The previous meter-changing system was based on manual processes, Excel spreadsheets, and analog documents. As a result, planning, coordination, and collaboration between internal and external partners was very time-consuming and, moreover, didn't provide the scalability necessary for the upcoming workload. In addition, transparency regarding the current status of work was limited, making it challenging to provide customers with comprehensive information at all times. The data landscape was also affected: data exchange between different systems was restricted, and access was limited.
The solution
Flowable was implemented to efficiently manage the planning and triggering of the meter replacement process and to automate the exchange of data between systems.
The project relied on agile methods and close collaboration, enabling rapid and effective implementation.
Mimacom's BPM expertise and cultural proximity to the Swiss client made it the ideal partner.
After a public tender with 15 competitors, sgsw chose Mimacom. The deciding factors were Flowable's superior offering as a BPM platform, the comprehensive BPM expertise, and cultural proximity to the client, which guaranteed frictionless collaboration.
We work best when we can exchange ideas with someone in the same context. Mimacom perfectly delivered this rare combination of cutting-edge expertise and local roots.
Before the smart meter project, sgsw carried out a "learning case" to put Flowable into operation and gain initial experience in the context of “energy procurement back-to-back”. After successfully completing this pilot project, Flowable was integrated into the existing system landscape. The project followed agile principles, with a large part of the collaboration taking place virtually. Once implemented, Flowable not only enabled data transfer but also provided a central control platform.
The project work was agile and methodical, without being unnecessarily academic. This made it clear and comprehensible for the entire team.
The process includes identifying the specific area where the rollout is being carried out, defining communication links, obtaining confirmations, preparing the communication devices, and automatically creating meter replacement orders for installation. With Flowable, the SGSW could optimize this process significantly: efficiency was increased, communication improved, and execution risks were considerably reduced.
The results
Flowable BPM significantly improved operational efficiency for every team. The focus was not only on accelerating the planning of preparatory work for the meter changes but also on providing employees with the tools they needed to work more efficiently and effectively. These successes can be summarized as follows:
Clear overview: All relevant information is bundled on one platform.
Higher efficiency: Automated processes accelerate meter replacement.
Improved data access: Information is easily accessible for different users.
Optimized communication: Collaboration between stakeholders has been strengthened.
Increased traceability: The status of each process was always traceable.