Creating a Customer Service App for innogy Stoen
innogy Stoen Operator
New app streamlines the customer support process for customers and employees alike
06 Apr 2020
Most industries’ customer service process is very time-consuming and demanding for employees and customers alike. Each person involved wants to handle quickly and completely.
To meet these expectations, innogy Stoen Operator decided to launch a fully mobile connection portal. The ultimate goal was to transform the system into an eBOK (an electronic customer service office).
About innogy Stoen Operator
innogy Stoen Operator (iSO) started operations in 2007, following the mandatory separation of sales from energy distribution. After this separation, the company has been distributing electrical energy to the citizens of Warsaw, Poland.
Digitalizing Customer Service Business Processes
The key purpose of the project was to promptly launch an online self-service portal that would:
- Optimize the customer service office’s activities.
- Implement a digital solution designed for current market standards.
- Create a fully responsive, cross-device design.
- Allow customers to file applications online.
A Modern Connection Portal with Form Wizards
The first step in the project was a joint workshop with iSO, during which we could analyze their needs and understand the specifics of the energy sector. It was extremely important for us to determine what problems the portal was expected to tackle, both for customers and for internal company processes.
Once we understood which areas required streamlining, we decided to create a self-service portal with a completely new form-completion model. On the first screen, each user could see several customer service categories. After the user made their choice, subsequent fields would pop up depending on the customer’s answers or choice of options. Thanks to this, handling applications has become a lot simpler, faster, and more practical – irrelevant of where the customers are located.
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After completing an application, the customer receives a report of the data entered. After the application is approved, it’s automatically submitted to the system. Then, the case is assigned a number and further processed.
Streamlining the Customer Service System
Apart from implementing the connection portal, e-point's team also streamlined iSO’s existing online customer service system. It allowed logged-in customers to see a list of their open and closed requests as well as to exchange emails with the Customer Service Office. Both the connection portal and the customer service system have been designed according to the mobile-first rule; this provides easy access and smooth operation to all users, regardless of the device used.
"Simplifying processes is one of the key benefits of launching a new connection portal and streamlining the existing customer service system. Processes have become much faster and their results more measurable, so we are likely to see increased levels of customer satisfaction and more customer recommendations. It’s widely known that the most effective sales techniques involve existing customers persuading prospects".
Ready-Made for Further Development
Over 4 months, we built a dedicated, fully digital product that responds to the needs of today's users. We employed the Agile approach, dividing our plan of action into sprints that allowed us to quickly deliver successive portions of an active application to the client. This also enabled us to quickly adapt to changes in our work from business decisions or Energy Regulatory Office requirements.
"The Agile Model offers numerous benefits in terms of technical solutions and project management. Short iterations allow for continuous control through frequent project updates and ensure implementation standards. This approach allowed us to achieve the desired outcomes in the shortest possible time".
As the entire code was to be handed over to innogy Stoen Operator and the application hosted on their infrastructure, we chose to work with these widely recognized technologies:
Front-endReact + Redux
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Back-endLanguage: Java 11
Framework: Spring Boot 2
Communication with database: jOOQ
Database: PostgreSQL 11
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The project was truly outstanding, thanks to partner-like relations and excellent collaboration with the client. I believe that both the outcomes and the very process have laid a foundation for our continued cooperation and growth - Maciej Stolarski, Head of Business Unit, e-point SA.
We can also help your company. Write to us and we will analyze your business needs and determine how to improve the employee and customer experience.