• ClickSoftware solution will form part of field force transformation program designed to enable the water utility to increase visibility and control across the business while improving the productivity of the field resources
BURLINGTON, MA, June 4, 2008 -- ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd., a leading provider of mobile workforce management and service optimization solutions, has announced that Scottish Water has selected ClickSoftware's ServiceOptimization Suite to improve scheduling capabilities in Scottish Water's service organization.
Scottish Water is the fourth largest water and waste water services provider in the United Kingdom, serving around 5 million customers in 2.3 million households. By implementing optimized scheduling, street level routing and real time analytics, Scottish Water is looking to improve visibility and control of their field workforce, drive down its operational costs and improve the level of service it gives to its customers.
"Customer service is at the very heart of everything that we do and we are always looking for ways in which we can improve the quality of service to our customers and overall efficiency," said Raymond Smith, Application Development Manager at Scottish Water. "We conducted an extensive market evaluation of advance scheduling and workforce management suppliers through the European Journal and it soon became evident that ClickSoftware had the utilities domain expertise, functional capabilities, proven track record and vision to meet our needs both now and into the future."
Scottish Water will be implementing ClickSoftware's packaged solution for water companies. ClickSoftware for Water Utilities is a pre-configured application for handling all the different aspects that water and/or waste water companies are facing: from generation (water reservoirs), through infrastructure and distribution of the water, up to meter operations and meter reading. The solution enables companies to effectively balance the costs of maintenance (pro-active work) and break-fix (reactive work). In addition, the solution creates the ability to provide service that is compliant with current regulations, while also allowing customers to do more with existing resources and in line with corporate service goals and objectives.
The introduction of dynamic, real-time optimized scheduling will enable the vast majority of scheduling decisions to be handled automatically. This will allow the dispatchers to focus on the exceptional cases that require human intervention. At the same time, Scottish Water will be able to provide their customers with a greater level of service via narrow appointment slots that they will be able to commit to.
As well as optimized scheduling and street level routing, they will also be deploying ClickAnalyze Reports which is a tool that will allow Scottish Water stakeholders to create real time operational performance reports, monitor field force performance in real time, control service operations, including service level, customer appointments, associated costs and service revenues. These reports can be produced by each stakeholder easily within minutes.
"We recognized that our existing CRM/ERP solution had taken us as far as it could from an automation perspective but we wanted to move to the next level with real-time decision-support and optimization. This is particularly important as Scotland became the first country to introduce a competitive framework for the business water and sewerage sector," said Raymond Smith of Scottish Water. "As well as the dynamic scheduling, ClickSoftware's Service Optimization Suite provides us with the ability to integrate forecasting and workforce planning capabilities enabling us to improve the service delivery process still further," he continued.
As part of the business transformation programme the ClickSoftware Water Package will be integrated to Scottish Water Work and Asset Management and CRM System. All planned maintenance as well as reactive work will be optimized. The solution is planned to be deployed across 6 business streams including Repair and Maintenance, Electrical and Mechanical, Network Service Operative, Choke Squads, Reinstatement, and Sludge Management.
"We are delighted to welcome Scottish Water into our customer community," said Dr. Moshe BenBassat, founder and CEO of ClickSoftware. "With revenue potential all but capped by rigid service areas, doing more with less is important in the water utility industry. ClickSoftware is fast establishing itself as the mobile workforce management solution of choice for water companies across the UK and beyond. Our pre-configured packaged solution creates the ability to provide service that is compliant with current regulations, while also allowing companies to do more with existing resources and in line with corporate service goals and objectives".
ClickSoftware is a leading provider of workforce and service optimization solutions that maximize workforce productivity and customer satisfaction while minimizing operations costs.
Scottish Water is focused on improving customer service, increasing efficiency and addressing decades of under investment in the country's network of treatment works, water pipes and sewers.
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