Background

In 2017, a leading ESG data management solution provider contacted ARDEM for utility bill processing.  The client came to us with an average volume of approximately 50,000 bills per year which translates to about 80,000 meters each year. During certain times of the year, they experience peak volumes that exceed more than 3,000 bills in a single week and usually have an expedited turnaround. The bills are of all different formats and need to be normalized and compiled into a single format. For this, ARDEM was able to help.

Key Benefits
  • -Fast turnaround rates
  • -Reliable Utility Bill Processing
  • -Stability and scalability for efficiency

Problem

The major challenge faced by our client was that the volume fluctuates day to day and the data comes in various formats. Management of this volume becomes a difficult task. During certain times in the year, there are peak volumes that require increased resources in order to keep with the overall timeline.   In addition to the peak periods, the non-uniformity of formats makes some forms of automation difficult and relies on a human in the loop approach. 

  • Process  

To help our client achieve accurate utility bill processing, we spent a lot of time understanding what the current process was and what the best workflow would be to handle the volume and the various formats. By meeting with the client to understand their needs and specific pain points, we were able to design a solution that met their turnaround expectations as well as helped to guarantee high accuracy.  The frequent communication during the onboarding of the project allowed the client to feel comfortable with what they should expect in working with ARDEM.

1,200

Electricity Meters Per Week

50,000

Bills Per Year

700

Bill Formats

80,000

Meters Per Year

  • Solution  

After sketching the process and understanding the problem, ARDEM offered a solution which utilized a proprietary platform to extract data from the utility bills in a timely manner and included human in the loop to handle all exceptions. Processing within the ARDEM Platform allows for multiple validations and quality checks to be incorporated to ensure high accuracy.

Our solution included the ability to ramp up and scale back down based on the volume coming in. The team dedicated to the project has years of energy experience allowing for a better understanding of what is being extracted and some of the nuances that come with utility bill processing. Because of the 700+ various formats, it was extremely important to make sure the team working on this project had experience in this industry.

During validations and quality audits, it is important that each member is able to understand the terminology related to all different types of commodities. The processing of a water bill requires different knowledge than the processing of an electric bill. Understanding different components of the bill such as units, demand, cost distributions, helps to ensure that the data extracted from the ARDEM Platform is absolutely correct.  

Overall, ARDEM’s solution currently processes approximately 500 bills per week or 1,200 meters per week. Data is delivered as soon as it is ready, which allows the customer to start any downstream processing as quickly as possible.

Benefits of Working With ARDEM

ARDEM has kept this client out of a backlog for over four years. By offering expedited turnarounds, and high quality of data, our client is able to focus on the analysis of the data rather than getting caught up in the data extraction. With the use of human intelligence and machine capabilities, we are able to provide a sustainable solution that will benefit our client for many years. For more details on Utility Bill Outsourcing email us at pricing@ardem.com or call us at 908-359-2600.

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