COLCHESTER, Vt. and PORT HURON, Mich., Nov. 7, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- SEMCO ENERGY GAS COMPANY serving over 283,000 customers in 24 counties in Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas, went live with Systems & Software's next generation CIS solution, enQuesta(tm) (www.systemsandsoftware.net).
SEMCO chose Systems & Software's enQuesta(tm) in order to replace their outdated legacy system with an advanced and configurable CIS solution. With enQuesta(tm), SEMCO now has enhanced IVR and Web functionality, increased overall data storage, additional reporting options and a more detailed audit trail to ease compliance with Sarbane Oxley's complex requirements. enQuesta(tm) was ranked by UtiliPoint as the number one CIS choice for Municipal Customer Care and Billing in 2006.
"The implementation process was extremely critical to the overall success of the project given the scale of complexity and the short time frame. It was a reflection of the intense commitment and teamwork by Systems & Software's integration team who brought their best methodology and business practices to the table," said Laurie Owens, SEMCO's Director of Projects and Planning.
Implementing enQuesta(tm) will enable a host of new capabilities for SEMCO's customers and also improve and augment internal business processes. SEMCO can now offer their customers billing enhancements such as electronic billing and payment options through enQuesta(tm) WebConnect. In addition, SEMCO's customer service representatives are able to view if a customer belongs to the Dealer Finance (Loans), GE Sharp (Maintenance Contracts), or Customer Choice (Deregulated Gas) programs in a single view.
Through enQuesta's(tm) web services, SEMCO is able to extend the CIS seamlessly to such systems as the MDSI Advantex, a field order management system, SNAP meter testing, New Energy's large accounts/transportation accounts interface, JD Edwards Financials, and LiHeap's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
"Within 24 hours of going live, cash was entered, adjustments were being posted, new accounts were being created, field service orders were being worked on mobile data tablets, and customer service representatives were answering calls and creating service requests," said Rick Ayers, SEMCO's Director of Information Technology. "Within the next seven days, enQuesta(tm) WebConnect was up and running, and over 3,500 bills were sent via EBPP (Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment)," Ayers commented.
Jerry Ford, Senior Vice President, Implementation and Support, Systems & Software, Inc., said, "As expected, our comprehensive solution and approach has supported SEMCO's business processes, enhanced customer service offerings and reduced operating costs. Our engineering and systems integration teams were successfully able to facilitate enQuesta's(tm) entry into the investor owned gas utility segment."
About SEMCO ENERGY, Inc.
SEMCO ENERGY Inc., which owns and operates SEMCO ENERGY GAS COMPANY, headquartered in Port Huron, Michigan, is a company that distributes natural gas to more than 400,000 customers in Michigan and Alaska. Additionally it owns and operates businesses involved in propane distribution, intrastate pipelines and natural gas storage in various regions of the United States.
About Systems & Software, Inc.
Systems & Software, Inc. offers enQuesta(tm), a browser-based CIS solution, to leading municipal and investor-owned water, gas, and electric utilities. enQuesta(tm) offers advanced customer information features, billing, meter management, revenue management, field services management & GIS integration, customer self service web portal as well as business intelligence and reporting through enQuesta. Systems & Software, Inc. supports customer care operations with millions of transactions per month throughout North America. For more information on how Systems & Software, Inc. and enQuesta(tm) empowers the utility industry, please go to www.systemsandsoftware.net
The Systems & Software logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2975