DALLAS – April 12, 2010 -- Vertex, a leading international Customer Management Outsourcing business with clients in the private and public sectors, has signed a multi-year contract to consolidate, upgrade, and host NorthWestern Energy’s existing Customer Information Systems (CIS).
NorthWestern Energy provides electricity and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving approximately 661,000 customers in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska. NorthWestern Energy already uses Vertex E-CIS customer information platforms which are Vertex hosted or supported. Within the new contract Vertex will be upgrading and consolidating the existing E-CIS databases into one hosted eCIS+ platform, the next generation enterprise CIS from Vertex.
With eCIS+, NorthWestern Energy expects to streamline and gain efficiencies within contact center and billing operations while reducing costs. In addition, the company will be providing enhanced customer care through better online customer self-service functionality.
“We are continually seeking better ways to serve our customers, and with eCIS+ we will be able to deliver valued enhancements that make a difference to the experience of our customers. Our new, single website will provide enhanced self-service features, including streamlined logon and customer navigation, simplified payment options, and an easy way for customers to self enroll in programs such as eBill and EZ Pay,” said Bobbi Schroeppel, Vice President of Customer Care, Communications and Human Resources for NorthWestern Energy. “In addition, eCIS+ will provide improved functionality allowing us to better serve owners of multiple properties.”
“We first started working with NorthWestern Energy in 1996. This extension of our relationship is a testament to the strong partnership we’ve established and the value we are delivering through our CIS offerings,” commented Dan Sullivan, Managing Director, Utilities, Vertex North America. “With our eCIS+ solution, utility businesses can expect higher accuracy of customer records, faster call handling time in the contact center and increased customer satisfaction, translating into operational savings and lower costs.”
This new contract follows on the heels of several recent client wins for Vertex, including with Texas-based Oncor.
About eCIS+
eCIS+ and its predecessor E-CIS currently support over 7 million end use customers. The systems are well suited for municipal and mid-sized investor-owned utilities. eCIS+ provides a unique, browser-based interface. Its design is based on usability studies of utility customer service representatives, taken from thousands of hours of analysis around call types, user behaviors, business process and Web best practices. The result is a highly interactive desktop application that is designed to achieve optimum business performance.