Your Guide to Smarter Energy Procurement
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What’s on this page?
- Control and optimise your energy portfolio with better energy procurement
- Energy procurement challenges
- It’s time to start thinking strategically about your energy procurement
- What should your energy procurement decisions be based on?
- Monitor the market
- The benefits of smart energy procurement software
- The benefits of a platform with true transparency
- Other capabilities of smart energy procurement include:
- Openview: energy procurement UK at your fingertips
- The benefits of a platform with true price transparency
- Other capabilities of Openview include:
- Why use Openview for energy procurement UK?
- 5-steps to smart energy procurement
- Fixed or flexible energy contracts?
- Tips for managing your energy procurement
- Why Smarter Business?
Control and optimise your energy portfolio with better energy procurement
An open energy market allows for smarter energy procurement. There are a range of business energy tariffs and contracts available, giving organisations the ability to source the contract best-suited to their business needs.
Energy procurement challenges
Today’s businesses are faced with an increasingly volatile energy market, with wholesale energy prices on the rise. In this environment, effective energy procurement is a must for any UK organisation.
It’s time to start thinking strategically about your energy procurement
Consider how your energy strategy fits into your wider business strategy.
Getting the best energy prices requires determination, experience and skill. A little industry knowledge also goes a long way, especially since energy tariffs have a reputation for being complex and hard to understand.
What should your energy procurement decisions be based on?
Today’s businesses are faced with an increasingly volatile energy market, with wholesale energy prices on the rise. In this environment, effective energy procurement is a must for any UK organisation.
Short-term drivers
- The current state of the energy market
- Weather
- Geopolitical risks
- Seasonality
- Your current immediate business requirements
Longer-term drivers
- Your budgetary processes
- Hedging capabilities
- Business-dictated strategies
Consider your energy consumption
An effective energy strategy starts with knowing about your current consumption habits. This will help you predict future usage with better accuracy.
Monitor the market
The energy market is constantly shifting in line with supply and demand. To get the best energy prices, you’ll need to track the ups and downs of the energy price and make your energy purchases accordingly.
The question is: how?
Tracking wholesale prices requires reliable sources of market data, time and experience.
Prices alone do not an energy bill make. Even if you find a contract with a good unit price, you’ll also need to consider other factors such as:
- Out-of-contract rates: how much do you pay when the contract comes to an end?
- What additional charges are hidden in the Ts & Cs?
- What is the standing charge?
- How are pass-through charges structured?
The benefits of smart energy procurement software
- Simple tender negotiation and execution
- Accurate cost and consumption comparison
- Daily price updates for future contract periods
- Simplifies the management of all sites, meters, consumption and utility contracts
- Automated change of tenancy or change of ownership process
- Buy your energy in any way you like
- Choose from all the major UK suppliers
- Budget out for 3 years
- Complete visibility of the REAL price
- 24/7 automated platform
- Store all site, meter, consumption and contract information in one place
The benefits of a platform with true transparency
The best energy procurement platforms allow suppliers to view each other’s bids. This reverse auction technology allows suppliers to re-submit their contract prices based on where their final cost to serve sits in the recommendation table. The result is much greater competition, which means that your business gets the best price outcome aligned with your needs.
Other capabilities of smart energy procurement include:
The best energy procurement platforms allow suppliers to view each other’s bids. This reverse auction technology allows suppliers to re-submit their contract prices based on where their finalcost to serve sits in the recommendation table. The result is much greater competition, which means that your business gets the best price outcome aligned with your needs.
Invoice validation
Ensure the accuracy of your suppliers’ billing, together with a query resolution service.
Portfolio management
Manage your energy metering assets with all the relevant technical and usage information together with existing supplier contract details. Linking through to the supplier network helps to automate any changes such as site closure, meter change or change of tenancy.
Data management
Data management capability empowers the user to delve into energy management from both a usage and cost perspective by detailing each price component together with the timing of consumption. The ability to break down your usage by department or site enables you to identify points of high or unusual consumption, which in turn helps drive efficiency opportunities.
Carbon management
Manage your legislative carbon compliance requirements; whether that is reporting against your carbon reduction commitment, greenhouse gas emissions, the implementation of ESOS, energy audits (DEC’s / EPC’s) or helping to apply or maintain Climate Change Agreements.
The Smarter Business Solution
Openview: energy procurement UK at your fingertips
Energy procurement UK has a new face, and it’s called Openview. Exclusive to Smarter Business customers who consume over 200,000kWh per year, Openview’s procurement technology that is changing the corporate energy solutions game.
Larger Smarter Business clients with some energy expertise have free access to Openview, the most advanced energy management platform in the marketplace. The platform gives you a breakdown of all commercial energy costs for current and future contracts on a daily basis, empowering you to take advantage of favourable conditions in the energy markets and save money on energy procurement.
What is Openview?
Openview is the most advanced energy management platform in the marketplace. The platform gives you a breakdown of all commercial energy costs for current and future contracts on a daily basis. This empowers you to take advantage of favourable conditions in the energy markets and save money on energy procurement UK.
Openview provides a completely web-based energy platform that keeps you in control of all your energy contracts, site information, non-energy costs, and, most importantly, your future energy contract prices. The software delivers an overview of your company, portfolio, site data, tenders, market intelligence, fixed and flexible procurement, risk management and forecasting in real time.
Why Openview?
Through Openview’s capability of keeping your portfolio completely up to date, tendering with the supplier market has never been easier for both you and the supplier. This results in greater supplier participation and thus drives down prices.
In addition, our data management capability empowers you to delve into energy management from both a usage and cost perspective by detailing each price component together with the timing of consumption. The ability to break down your usage by department or site enables you to identify points of high or unusual consumption, which in turn helps drive efficiency opportunities.
Example of fixed price e-auction for energy, with full granularity per site on commodity cost and non-commodity breakdown, supplier selection and multiple within day bids.
With constant live forecasting of future contract pricing, together with the transparency of all contract costs, they don’t need to go through lengthy discussions to understand their contract positions.
The benefits of a platform with true price transparency
Openview is the only platform that allows suppliers to view each other’s bids. This reverse auction technology which allows suppliers to re-submit their contract prices based on where their final cost to serve sits in the recommendation table. The result is much greater competition, which means that your businesses gets the best price outcome aligned with your needs.
Other capabilities of Openview include:
Invoice Validation
We can provide our clients with an invoice validation service to ensure the accuracy of their suppliers’ billing, together with a query resolution service.
Portfolio Management
We manage your energy metering assets with all the relevant technical and usage information together with existing supplier contract details. Linking through to the supplier network helps to automate any changes such as site closure, meter change or change of tenancy.
Data Management
Our data management capability empowers the user to delve into energy management from both a usage and cost perspective by detailing each price component together with the timing of consumption. The ability to break down your usage by department or site enables you to identify points of high or unusual consumption, which in turn helps drive efficiency opportunities.
Energy Audits
Our team of certified energy auditors conduct a full energy audit of your commercial premises. Post-audit, we will advise you on what steps you need to take to enable energy savings within your business.
Carbon Management
At Smarter Business we have the capability of managing your legislative carbon compliance requirements; whether that is reporting against your carbon reduction commitment, greenhouse gas emissions, the implementation of ESOS, energy audits (DEC’s / EPC’s) or helping to apply or maintain Climate Change Agreements.
Why use Openview for energy procurement UK?
We have tailored our services towards the larger energy user by using leading-edge technology to deliver best practice. The ultimate aim is to help our customers buy better, manage appropriately and reduce energy usage where possible.
Driving prices down
Through Openview’s capability of keeping your portfolio completely up to date, tendering with the supplier market has never been easier for both you and the supplier. This results in greater supplier participation and thus drives down prices.
Real-time forecasting
Delivers an overview of your company, portfolio, site data, tenders, market intelligence, fixed and flexible procurement, risk management and forecasting in real time.
Quotes and tenders
You get a real-team price e-auction for energy. This gives you full granularity per site on commodity cost and non-commodity breakdown, supplier selection and multiple within day bids.
Other benefits of Openview energy management and procurement include:
- Transparent and accurate assessment of tenders from over 20 suppliers.
- Cost forecasting for up to 5 years (including past the contract end date, and accurate NNC forecasts).
- Simple management of multisite portfolios.
- Regular market updates and information to increase internal knowledge.
- Invoice validation.
- Onsite energy trader for flexible contracts.
- Simple tender negotiation and execution.
- Accurate cost and consumption comparison.
- Daily price updates for future contract period.
- Simplifies the management of all your sites, meters, consumption and utility contracts.
- Automated change of tenancy or change of ownership process.
5-steps to smart energy procurement
- We’ll get a clear understanding of your requirements.
- Evaluate our findings.
- Recommend an appropriate product or service to help you achieve your goals.
- Set up predetermined pricing ‘trip wires’ to set high and low notifications for action.
- Implement these within our Openview technology platform alongside our market intelligence.
You get ultimate control and the ability to optimise your site portfolio going forward.
Fixed or flexible energy contracts?
At Smarter Business, we don’t believe that our clients should have to choose between either fixed or flexible procurement. Rather, our clients can have a hybrid model of both, allowing for driver-dependent decisions.
Tips for managing your energy procurement
- Set the goals of your procurement strategy, tailored to fit the requirements of your organisation.
- Compare the market and check what other suppliers are offering
- Explore both fixed and flexible contract options
- Analyse your consumption data to identify potential areas for savings.
- Consult the energy experts
Why Smarter Business?
With Smarter Business, you can be assured that we will provide you with the most up-to-date, cutting-edge technology to engage the diverse wholesale market, ensuring that you have the best possible tools to accomplish the task ahead. Just as important, we look to engage with your key stakeholders to clearly define the strategy for the short-and long-term goals of your business. Get in touch with a Smarter Business consultant for more information.