Case study

Grampians-Wimmera-Mallee Water (GWMWater)

“TechnologyOne’s software has given our people the information they need at their fingertips.”Mark Williams, Managing Director

Highlights

72,000 customers

Land area of 62,00 square kilometres

180 staffReplaced multiple best of breed systems with 1 enterprise solution

Removed business silos

The challengeGWMWater was previously using numerous disparate systems and went to market seeking an integrated enterprise solution that would provide it with a single source of truth for all its business information.

“Integration has been a key driver for us at GWMWater,” Managing Director Mark Williams said.

“We have shifted very much away from best of breed systems, as we look to improve our overall operational efficiency and productivity.”

The solutionGWMWater implemented TechnologyOne Financials, Human Resource & Payroll, Property & Rating, Corporate Performance Management, Supply Chain and Asset Management to form an integrated enterprise solution.

These products are the key components of TechnologyOne’s preconfigured OneWater solution, which was developed in collaboration with more than 60 utilities and infrastructure organisations.

The benefitsTechnologyOne’s enterprise solution has enabled GWMWater to transform its business, by breaking down business silos and centralising information. The single modern platform and consistent interface has reduced training and improved the user experience for staff.

“As we’ve added more TechnologyOne products it has made it easier to share information across different departments,” Mr Williams said.

“We’ve created a single point of truth for all data, so it isn’t splashed across multiple systems. When you use a common platform across the organisation, and staff from different areas need to access each other’s data, it forces a discussion that we weren’t previously having.

“TechnologyOne’s software has given our people the information they need at their fingertips. For GWMWater, TechnologyOne has been an enabler of business efficiency.”

“TechnologyOne’s software has certainly supported us to achieve the significant productivity gains we were targeting, and continue to target, year-on-year.” Mark Williams, Managing Director

GWMWater’s perspectiveGWMWater provides water services to 70,000 customers across a geographic spread of 62,000 square kilometres, which is about 30 per cent of Victoria. The water corporation was using a number of disparate systems and decided to shift from a best of breed approach to a single integrated enterprise system across the business.

“When we were using best of breed systems, it was really hard to integrate them,” said Manager, Knowledge Systems Brendan Nitschke.

“When you’re dealing with multiple vendors, they can be reluctant to integrate with competing business systems. We would end up with our data across multiple systems, and were never sure which was the original or accurate source.

“It is much more seamless now that we have all our information in the one system.

“We no longer need to work with multiple vendors or administer multiple systems, and we have been able to save a lot of time by reducing the amount of training our staff need to undertake.”

Managing Director Mark Williams said TechnologyOne’s software has also provided GWMWater with a future-proof solution, enabling it to better mobilise its workforce and embrace smart mobile devices.

“We have improved productivity quite significantly by having hand held tablets for our Asset Management workforce.

“We have made more efficient use of our workforce by making the information available instantly to field workers. They can record what they’re doing seamlessly in the field, rather than having to do paper-based recordings and come back into the office to enter it manually.”

Spotlight on Corporate Performance ManagementBy enabling GWMWater to define its strategic goals and outcomes, and measure and manage performance against them, TechnologyOne Corporate Performance Management (CPM) provides the water corporation with the insight it needs to achieve its organisational goals and focus on growth and innovation.

“CPM has given us the ability to integrate with our existing systems and streamline business processes and workflows,” Executive Manager of Business Planning and Performance Sally Marshall said.

“By having all our information in the one enterprise system, we now have better quality information to support our decision making. We have one place where we capture all our information, and CPM provides the functionality to report that information multiple times over.

“Through automating regular reports, such as our monthly board report, we now focus less on validating and inputting the information, and more on the issues and how to resolve them. CPM has freed us up to spend more time analysing the data, rather than putting it together.”

Ms Marshall said GWMWater has also improved the timeliness and accuracy of its information.

“When our billing system was separate to our reporting software, we only used to load the information in to report once a month. By having a single system for all our information, we don’t have to wait for a particular reporting period for it to be up-to-date - it’s always in real time,” she said.

“We have seen a lot of improvements by moving to a single enterprise system. It has enabled us to make better use of resources, with staff working on strategic and value added tasks, rather than data entry.”Peter Drummond, Human Resources Manager

Spotlight on transforming businessSSince implementing TechnologyOne’s enterprise solution, GWMWater has made significant improvements to its productivity, accuracy and customer satisfaction. These improvements have received a nod of approval from the Essential Services Commission (ESC), Victoria’s independent economic regulator of prescribed essential utility services supplied by the water and sewerage, electricity, gas, ports and rail freight industries.

“In Victoria the ESC produces an annual water performance report which is released to the public, publishing information about our performance across a number of parameters, such as service reliability,” Mr Williams said.

“The report relies on data provided by us, and about four years ago we received quite a poor score because we weren’t able to provide all the information needed.

“In the most recent audit, we had a quantum shift in performance, with more than 95 per cent of scores in the top A1 category.

“TechnologyOne’s software has certainly supported us to achieve the significant productivity gains we were targeting, and continue to target, year-on-year.

“It has been a cultural shift for the organisation that has been successfully enabled by the systems we use.”

Spotlight on Human ResourcesTechnologyOne’s software has enabled GWMWater’s HR team to save time by automating manual processes such as timesheets, reporting and performance reviews. With integrated real-time data and employee self service, staff have access to the information they need, at their fingertips.

“By automating the process we now do our payroll in two days, cut down from six days previously. We also have just one payroll person to process this, whereas in the past we had two people working full time to crunch the numbers and enter data,” said Manager People and Culture Peter Drummond.

“One of the huge benefits is that all the information across the system is in real time. This leads to much more accurate information and eliminates the need for separate spreadsheets, databases and other scattered data.

“We have seen a lot of improvements by moving to a single enterprise system. It has enabled us to make better use of resources, with staff working on strategic and value added tasks, rather than data entry.”

About TechnologyOneTechnologyOne (ASX:TNE) is Australia’s largest enterprise software company and one of Australia’s top 200 ASX-listed companies, with offices across six countries. We create solutions that transform business and make life simple for our customers. We do this by providing powerful, deeply integrated enterprise software that is incredibly easy to use. Over 1,000 leading corporations, government departments and statutory authorities are powered by our software.

We participate in only eight key markets: government, local government, financial services, education, health and community services, asset intensive, project intensive and corporate. For these markets we develop, market, sell, implement, support and run our preconfigured solutions, which reduce time, cost and risk for our customers.

For 28 years, we have been providing our customers enterprise software that evolves and adapts to new and emerging technologies, allowing them to focus on their business and not technology. Today, our software is available on the TechnologyOne Cloud and across smart mobile devices.

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“TechnologyOne is now our one-stop-shop; our single source of truth. Our whole business operates from it.”Steve Briggs, Billing Manager

Spotlight on Asset ManagementTechnologyOne Asset Management has enabled GWMWater to improve efficiencies and save time, through a holistic solution that manages the entire lifecycle of its assets.

“Through the mobile application, field staff can enter data directly into the system, which has saved a lot of time,” Acting Executive Manager, Service Delivery Rob Caris said.

“Paper-based processes have been replaced by mobile devices, which has improved the accuracy and reliability of information coming into the business.”

By implementing Asset Management as part of an enterprise solution, GWMWater is also reaping the benefits from improved integration of its business software.

“It’s very handy to have full integration between all your business systems,” said Mr Caris.

“GWMWater is moving away from a best of breed setup to a whole of business solution, and we saw using TechnologyOne for asset management as the best way to achieve that.”

Spotlight on BillingTechnologyOne’s Water Management has enabled GWMWater to streamline its business, by consolidating urban and rural billing into a single enterprise system across the business.

“When our billing system was separate from our other core business systems, we only used to sync the systems once a month. Now we don’t have to wait for a particular reporting period to get current information - it is always available, in real time,” said Billing Manager Steve Briggs.

With integration between the TechnologyOne system and the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Victorian Water Register, Mr Briggs said the company has saved time and significantly improved data accuracy.

“Our billing system is now integrated with the Victorian Water Register, which is the central repository for all water allowance information across the state,” he said.

“Essentially that means we’re not having to duplicate records in the Register, which has improved the accuracy of our records quite dramatically. It has improved the process for customers as well, which is a real measurable parameter.

“TechnologyOne is now our one-stop-shop; our single source of truth. Our whole business operates from it.”

About GWMWater

GWMWater provides water services to 72,000 customers across 13 municipalities in the Grampians-Wimmera-Mallee region, which represents 62,000 square kilometres or about 30 per cent of Victoria. The innovative water corporation’s vision is to provide sustainable water for regional growth and vibrant communities.

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