Nordic utilities is one of our priorities in the company’s development roadmap. With the recent announcement of MaxBill’s Nordic expansion, we focused on researching the major market drivers and specifics to adapt the solution to the needs of Northern businesses.
Our partners Lars Enström and Carsten Korgaard, who possess extensive market knowledge, have helped us, providing valuable insights from a wide variety of economic sectors and industries.
Together, we have looked at both the internal drivers of the companies and the external demands they face, to determine the main pain points of providers in the North.
Let’s review what our team discovered in the process, and how we are going to answer the challenges of the new reality that lay before us.
Customers Are Driving the Digitalisation Across All Industries
From banks to factories, and from large corporations to small family-owned businesses, everybody feels the pressure to digitalise at a faster rate than before.
According to the Riksbank’s survey, people prefer to pay by a debit card or mobile app, rather than cash. Such a trend not only presses businesses everywhere to be able to offer the opportunity for customers to pay with the preferred method, it also drives the interest of the enterprises in digital cash and blockchain.
It is highly possible, that the next step in the financial landscape of the Nordic region will be achieved much sooner with the wide spread of e-currency. Providers and companies of all sizes should get ready for this new development.
Moreover, the demand for better customer service is growing among the general public. People know what they want, and they are vocal about it. As evident from the diagram below, based on the EC Consumer Markets Scoreboard, consumers won’t hesitate to talk to the provider directly if they are unhappy with the services.
Customers remain loyal (yet), but expect more from their providers, as the knowledge of the technology develops in all age groups of the population.
This growth of awareness leads to Nordic enterprises being encouraged to focus on innovation and improving customer experience, and they choose to turn to digital service vendors for help, as illustrated by this article by ISG.
Amplifying the Efficiency to Reach More Goals
During the pandemic, when many experienced staff shortages and operational disruptions, the need for better process flows became more evident than ever. We have recently talked about the benefits of automation for revenue management and cannot stress the importance of it in the Nordics well enough.
By reducing the complexity and becoming more efficient, companies can free up staff and time resources to perform more creative and important tasks. This will lead to better scalability, which is currently a pain point for many Northern telecommunication companies in particular.
Additionally, the North is yet to achieve a high-functioning business eco-system. As the shares of dependent enterprises in Denmark, Norway and Sweden are the biggest in the entire EU, it is vital for them to implement the best possible solution for partner and revenue management.
To get to a sustainable level of collaboration within such an environment, providers need a system that would help them avoid errors, deliver services to partners and invoice for them without delays.
AI Paves the Way for Sweden, Denmark and Finland Utilities to Deliver Their Best
Let’s show it all with examples.
Mälarenergi, a Swedish utility company, is pioneering digital transformation in the energy sector, leveraging AI to enhance the efficiency of district heating services in Västerås, Sweden’s fifth-largest city.
By integrating AI through the Azure platform, the company has automated its heating production, tailoring output to meet fluctuating demands while optimizing energy efficiency.
This strategic application of technology not only ensures homes remain warm during the frosty Nordic winters but also mitigates environmental impacts, preparing the city for sustainable growth.
The company’s project, Smart Flow, has harnessed the power of AI to process over a billion data points from diverse sources, including weather patterns and user behaviour, to predict heating needs accurately.
This capability allows Mälarenergi to avoid energy overproduction and adapt swiftly to peak usage periods. The transformation facilitated by AI not only enhances operational efficiency but also provides Mälarenergi with a competitive edge by enabling more personalized and responsive services to their customers, setting a benchmark for innovation in the global energy market.
Danish Utilities embrace AI to minimise grid risks
Speaking of current trends among Danish utility companies, at present, they are facing significant challenges due to the shift towards green energy and changes in consumption patterns.
These changes demand a robust upgrade to the nation’s energy infrastructure to handle increased and diversified energy consumption effectively.
To address these challenges, Danish companies are focusing on implementing future-proof technology solutions that are essential for maintaining stable operations during the transition to renewable energy sources.
This involves adopting advanced digital systems that offer high levels of automation, data quality, and usability, ensuring operational efficiency and resilience.
AI plays a pivotal role in assisting Denmark’s utilities, like Energinet, in managing the complexities associated with increasing the share of renewable energy sources in their power grid.
As Denmark aims to shift 100% of its electricity production to renewable sources by 2030, the fluctuating nature of sources like wind power poses unique challenges in maintaining grid stability and security of supply.
Energinet has leveraged AI to enhance its grid management capabilities significantly. By using AI-driven tools, the utility can better predict and simulate potential grid issues, enabling more informed decision-making.
This is particularly useful in scenarios where operational adjustments are needed, such as during equipment maintenance or unforeseen disruptions.
The AI system provides precise predictions that are often more accurate than traditional methods or human intuition, aiding in the planning and execution of grid operations that minimise risks like brownouts or blackouts.
Examples of the use of AI by Finnish energy companies
Leading energy supplier Vapo is partnering with IBM to use artificial intelligence and data analytics to create a new business model focused on profitability through sustainability.
Vantaan Energia, together with CGI and Sumitomo SHI FW, is developing an artificial intelligence-based solution to reduce the environmental impact of energy production. Using this approach, they have achieved a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions at their Martinlaakso power plant.
Finland’s transmission system operator Fingrid, working with VTT Finnish Technical Research Centre, developed VTT EnergyTeller, an artificial intelligence-based solution for predicting available generation capacity to improve the efficiency of the power system.
What MaxBill Brings to the Table
Equipped with the extensive experience, gained over the years of aiding business growth of companies across Europe, and backed by our partner’s knowledge base, MaxBill is ready to offer the Northern companies its support.
Thanks to the solid basis of the MaxBill platform and its ability to outline business process flows, it can assist businesses of any size and growth rate.
Our solution will help to develop the industrial ecosystem, which will be very beneficial for each company and the northern economic landscape overall.
We take our mission to deliver innovation very seriously, constantly improving our solution according to the latest technological trends and clients’ needs, and implementing new modules and functionality to cover emerging industry requirements.
Most modules like billing, CRM, and revenue management come with AI-enhanced capacities, empowering your business to grow exponentially.
Reach out to us, and we’ll help you go through digital transformation seamlessly and efficiently.
Related:
Digital Transformation in Utilities Through Real-World Examples & Best Practices
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Utility Debt Prediction Model to Protect Revenue and Enhance Customer Retention
