Bohemia Energy

Hundreds of traders have thrown away their pens and paper. To sign contracts with clients they now just need tablets. And the application from eMan.

Client:BOHEMIA ENERGY entity s.r.o.

When:

2014-2015

< Předchozí

Bohemia Energy, the largest supplier of alternative energy in the Czech Republic, has successfully implemented the transition from paper forms to the fully electronic signing of new contracts through tablets. The innovative solution prepared for Bohemia Energy by the company eMan, has brought about a significant increase in the efficiency of sales representatives, including a significant acceleration and cheapening of the related processes.

Bohemia Energy utilizes an extensive network of sales representatives for the acquisition of new clients, among other tools. Communication with potential new customers usually takes the form of a personal meeting directly at the client’s location. Up till now, representatives were using price lists, forms and other paper-based documents during negotiations.

Aim of the project – streamlining the signing of new contracts

Bohemia Energy is constantly looking for new innovative solutions. One of the challenges that stood in the company’s path was an attempt to overcome the limits associated with the traditional model of the functioning of business processes.

The activity of sales representatives was burdened by a large volume of work tasks performed themselves as sales representatives, and subsequently by call center and back office employees. The signing of new contracts was not possible without having to print huge amounts of paper forms, price lists and other materials. All related activities were tedious and prone to error. The entire process associated with the conclusion of contracts was shortened from 14 days to just 2 days.

Solution

As an effective solution to the situation, Bohemia Energy chose the deployment of the latest mobile technology in signing new contracts that completely replaces the traditional process of using paper forms. To implement the solution they chose eMan, one of the few Czech suppliers of mobile solutions that had the necessary experience, knowledge and know-how.

The main components of the solution

Mobile apps for tablets

A crucial part of the solution is a mobile application for tablets, through which sales representatives can perform all activities related to the conclusion of new contracts. Through the mobile application, the salesperson presents the offer, fills in the information about the customer, who eventually signs the just concluded contract directly on the tablet display.

The completed and signed document is then automatically sent via the Internet to the appropriate Bohemia Energy database. If the site does not have a mobile data connection, the data transmission is performed as soon as the salesperson with the mobile device connects to the Internet.

Collective mobile device management

Bohemia Energy has equipped all of its nearly 500 sales representatives with tablets on which the Bohemia Energy mobile application is installed. The entire fleet of tablets is centrally managed through the AirWatch tool, whose implementation has been an integral part of the overall solution.

AirWatch is the current leader among collective mobile device management tools. Thanks to its implementation, the possibility of remotely managing updates of the Bohemia Energy mobile application was ensured and issues related to security risks on mobile devices were resolved. Business representatives only have access to the Bohemia Energy application, a calendar and a calculator on the tablet. Using the web browser is restricted to a limited set of domains and it is not possible to download and install additional applications on the tablet. When lost or stolen, tablets can be completely erased remotely. All of these measures are used to provide maximum safety and the protection of corporate data.

Partner Portal

An integral part of the solution is a Web application for managing contracts and sales representatives. Through a convenient Web interface, backoffice employees can perform all activities related to the contracting process. This primarily concerns the checking of contracts in terms of formal accuracy, elimination of any typos or supplementing any missing data.

The portal is also used for the administration of sales representatives. The web application provides detailed information about each member of the sales team, while the activity of individual sellers can be monitored on well-arranged maps. The application is also able to detect any possible fraudulent behavior and the solution effectively helps to eliminate fraud.

Integration layer

The linking of all parts of the solution with the existing IT systems of the company was realized through the integration layer. This part of the solution ensures data exchange between mobile applications, the partner portal and the IT infrastructure of Bohemia Energy, with an emphasis on speed, security, and seamless scalability in the future.

What the realization of the project has brought about

The results of the deployment of the solution into operation exceeded the client’s expectations. Although it was a pioneering solution and one not yet realized in the Czech environment, it managed to achieve excellent results.

The time required for the processing of new contracts was shortened from 14 days before deployment to just 2 days. The acceleration of this phase was one of the key criteria for evaluating the success of the whole project.

The deployment of a solution for signing new contracts through a mobile tablet application while also abandoning the current paper-based forms has brought a range of benefits to Bohemia Energy.

The benefits of the solution:

Acceleration of the processes associated with the signing of contracts from the original 14 days to just 2 days.
Streamlining processes, reducing backoffice costs.
Cost savings on printing and distributing paper documents (order forms, price lists, terms and conditions etc.).
Great reduction of errors due to writing the input data electronically.
Greater transparency and control over the functioning of the network of sales representatives.
Significant reduction of space for the emergence of fraud in the case of the dishonest behavior of sales representatives.
Standardization of business processes due to the fact that sellers are guided through the entire process of concluding a contract by the mobile application.
Detailed reports serve as a support tool for the further streamlining of the sales network.
Higher comfort in the filling out of contracts for sales representative.