Energy procurement is a much broader subject than many people think. It’s so complex that not even energy suppliers fully understand it. The realization of that fact was one of the key reasons why we started Enerace as a consulting company. We knew that there are hundreds of millions to be saved on energy each year, and we wanted to help companies keep that money in their pockets.
SaaS application that saves enterprises millions on energy every year
But there’s a limit to human capabilities. At some point, we decided that, with a proper software solution, enterprises could make purchase decisions much more efficiently even without our involvement. We wanted to turn consulting into a hands-off SaaS process.
Changing the way companies think about energy
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Energy procurement has been a part of our professional life for the last 14 years. We’ve worked with dozens of companies during that time, and we can say that very few of them had any idea how much money they could save on energy yearly. For most people, energy cost is one of those things in business that they simply don’t give a second thought.
And we can’t say we blame anyone. Energy procurement is an insanely complex issue that, to be done well, requires a lot of knowledge, experience, and analysis. Most importantly, though, very few people even realize that there are many different (better, cheaper) options than their current ones.
Therefore, throughout the years, our main job was to educate, show why, how and when to buy energy. We’ve developed methods, analytic models and personally purchased thousands of GWh of energy for our clients. And, two years ago, we were ready to turn our know-how and experience into a scalable software solution for thousands of big clients to use without our assistance.
A simple platform that saves enterprises a massive chunk of their budget
We knew that the Enerace energy procurement platform had to be as user-friendly as possible. Its role was to collect data about prices, provide information about the energy market, and make simple suggestions on the best time to buy. Before we went looking for a software partner to develop our app, based on dozens discussions with our clients and its wishes we created a long and detailed list of crucial functions and features. Finally, with the requirements, we were ready to look for a software house. And that’s how we met Order Group, a team that still works on many improvements in our Enerace app.
Turning consulting into an app is a huge challenge
In order to create a functional piece of software that plays the same role as experienced consultants, we had to conduct a comprehensive knowledge transfer to the development team. We needed the Order Group team to understand the purpose of the app and how valuable it can be not only for corporations but also for us. It was supposed to be our primary tool. It turned out that their perspective was exactly the same, and getting to know the client’s business is their modus operandi. So we’ve joined Order Group for their Product Workshops, during which we’ve discussed core elements of the app, our strategy, business model, user personas, and more. We’ve established everything necessary for the dev team to understand the idea and plan an efficient development process.
Of course, the learning process didn’t end with Product Workshops. During the entire development process, we stayed in touch, exchanged feedback, and discussed each element of the software, as well as energy procurement in general. In the end, we have to say the Order Group development team has gathered impressive knowledge about the energy procurement market. But, most importantly, they were able to use it to develop a user-friendly platform that helps big companies make better financial decisions precisely as intended.
Data is everything
It assists companies mainly in electricity and natural gas procurement but it also analyzes data about CO2 allowances, coal, Brent oil, and it helps them understand all kinds of turbulences on the energy market around the world.
None of it would be possible without a consistent flow of fully verified information. One of the most challenging tasks in the development process was to collect and structurize many types of data. It was a long process, but with the help of Order Group, we’ve perfected our system. The consistent flow of accurate data guarantees that clients make decisions based on facts.
Making the right decisions at the right time
Another crucial aspect is timing. More often than not, companies have very little time to purchase before it’s too late and the price skyrockets. That is why our clients regularly receive portfolio reports with its current hedged position and prices and in the nearest future also automated alerts. In addition to that, users receive individual weekly and monthly reports with our additional commentary on the most recent news from the industry.
I’m ready to spend less money on energy
If energy procurement has never crossed someone’s mind, there usually is a specific reason why they start thinking about it. Here are some of the most common ones:
- We don’t know how much we spend on energy and we want to find out
- We feel it’s important, but we don’t have time to analyze it on our own
- Our spendings increased by XX% compared to last year
In many cases, however, people realize that they can reduce their energy costs, but they don’t have the tools or time to analyze their spendings and the market.
We’ve developed the Enerace app for all those people. No matter the industry, we can help every company that spends over 200 000 € on energy per year save a significant part of that budget.
If you believe it’s time your company starts spending less on energy, let us know, and we’ll figure out the best way to move forward.
