CASE STUDY

Santa Energy

Santa Energy, a fourth-generation family-owned and operated company with nearly 200 employees, has grown and evolved over its 80+ years of serving customers in Connecticut and beyond. Headquartered in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Santa Energy provides heating oil, propane, equipment, and service (installation, maintenance, and repair) to residential customers throughout southeast Connecticut and commercial and industrial customers throughout most of New England. It started as a kerosene business back in 1940, eventually adding heating oil and diesel to its offerings. Within the last decade, it expanded into the propane business. In addition to its retail products and services, Santa Energy also has several wholesale propane and diesel terminals. The company will also be expanding into solar installations and services to further fulfill its commitment to providing customers with comprehensive energy solutions.

Industry

Energy

Business Type

Heating Oil, Propane, Diesel, Kerosene

Software Solution

Cargas Energy

Users

180+

Cargas Energy Helps Santa Energy Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Elevated Customer Experience

Technology that automates manual processes, allowing field and office employees to serve customers more efficiently

Improved Cash Flow

Faster accounts receivable interval — from an average of 45 days to under 30 days — by eliminating painstaking manual invoicing process

Enhanced Strategic Decision-Making

Fueled by real-time visibility 24/7 into operational and financial performance

CHALLENGES

No Mobile Delivery or Mobile Service Capabilities = Manual Processes That Detracted from the Customer Experience

According to Tiffany Bachman, Santa Energy’s Manager of IT Services, their previous solution’s lack of mobile delivery and mobile service technology dramatically detracted from the ability to serve customers optimally. Delivery drivers and service technicians had to handwrite paper tickets. Then, they would bring that paperwork to the office so that customer service staff could enter the information into the software system to update accounts and generate invoices.

“With a minimum of four customer visits a day by each of the 20 techs and 30 drivers working at that time, getting a day’s worth of paperwork posted was about a three-day process,” explained Bachman.

That meant if customers had questions or made payments in the interim, Santa Energy’s office staff didn’t always have the details they needed readily available when answering calls. It also meant that the company’s accounts receivables intervals (from invoicing the customer to receiving payment) stretched out further than was ideal for optimal cash flow.

Bachman shared that another downside to not having a mobile delivery and service solution was the lack of information available in the field. Employees on the road had no way of reviewing account details and answering customer questions.

Waning vendor support of the previous software also became a concern for Bachman and others at Santa Energy. They began to doubt its long-term viability.

“Our past provider was an international company, and we were the last U.S. company they were still working with,” said Bachman. “We suspected that the company was going to exit that part of their business in the near future.”

SOLUTIONS

Cargas Energy Software

“Ultimately, we wanted to provide a better customer experience,” Bachman shared.  “That had to start with finding a solution that would help our employees who work with customers on the front line.”

So, she and other Santa Energy leaders began looking for another vendor, one that offers a technology platform with mobile delivery and mobile service capabilities and automates other facets of their business.

Cargas Energy’s software impressed them — and so did the way Cargas treated them.

“Cargas Energy’s solution is more flexible, and the Cargas team is more gracious,” said Bachman. “Selecting Cargas Energy was an easy choice for us because everyone is so helpful and has the expertise to answer our questions. We made a decision pretty quickly. The technology is above and beyond what’s available with other software.”


“Cargas Energy’s solution is more flexible, and the Cargas team is more gracious. Selecting Cargas Energy was an easy choice for us because everyone is so helpful and has the expertise to answer our questions. We made a decision pretty quickly. The technology is above and beyond what’s available with other software.”

—– Tiffany Bachman, Manager of IT Services

Some of the specific features that Santa Energy finds most beneficial about Cargas Energy include:

  • Mobile delivery and mobile service functionality that automates ticketing and billing
  • Cloud-based platform that provides real-time visibility 24/7/365 via the internet.
  • Integration that lets users text customers important reminders, status updates, payment confirmations, and more
  • Fleet fueling module that supports “wet hosing” services, allowing the company to acquire more commercial customers with vehicle fleets and heavy machinery
  • More robust reporting capabilities to effectively analyze data (e.g., Delivery Performance and Sales Gallons)
  • A Cargas Care Plan that provides unlimited technical support
  • Integrations with other software solutions and systems for even more efficiency (e.g., their ERP, phone system)

Implementation began in late April 2015, and Cargas Energy went live at Santa Energy in early September 2015.

RESULTS

Advanced Efficiency and Enhanced Customer Service

“We’ve seen growth in all aspects of our business,” explained Bachman. “But the most important thing is that we can serve our customers better. Depending on what the customer wants to do — pay a bill, get a delivery, or have service — all of those things have been automated due to having Cargas Energy.”

She shared that all their customer-facing employees are equipped with the technology they need to perform with professionalism. Immediate access to real-time account information enables the customer service team, delivery drivers, and service technicians to effectively address customers’ needs.

“Because we have mobile delivery, we can instantly see where tickets are in the process. Customer service knows exactly what’s happening in the field. That helps ensure an excellent customer experience.”

The integration with Santa Energy’s phone system has also helped Santa Energy’s credit department serve customers more efficiently. Whenever a customer calls into the office, their information automatically pops up on the credit rep’s screen.

“They can see everything related to the customer’s account without fumbling through files or calling others for information,” Bachman explained.

Another significant improvement is that delivery drivers and service technicians now use mobile tablets to update their activity in the system right away — no haggling with manual paperwork. Posting of deliveries and service visits usually happens on the same day, whereas before, it would take several days to a week, delaying billing.

According to Bachman, “The amount of receivables has come down by $1 million over the last few years because of faster turnaround times. We went from 30 – 45 days to receive payments down to under 30 days. Sometimes, it can take less than two weeks to complete the entire process of taking a customer call to doing all the work and sending an invoice to receiving payment.”

Integrating an online portal solution has also enhanced the Santa Energy customer experience. Approximately 5,000 retail customers (nearly 50 percent of the company’s residential customer base) have registered for the portal and use it to manage their accounts. The portal gives customers self-serve capabilities for requesting service, viewing account information, paying bills, and more. That has provided customers with convenience, and it has decreased some of the demands on customer service staff.

The automated texting capabilities available through Cargas Energy’s solution have also helped Santa Energy elevate its customer care efforts.

“We automatically send reminders to customers five days before we will be at their location, update them when our work is done, and notify them when payments are due and posted,” Bachman said.

Santa Energy’s managers and leadership team have benefitted from the software as well; reports now give them up-to-date data about operations and financials.


“When it came to reporting with their former software solution, nothing was on time. Our president and managers had to make decisions based on reporting that reflected activity weeks and months back. With Cargas Energy, they now can see what happened yesterday, what’s going on today, and what will be happening next week.”

—– Tiffany Bachman, Manager of IT Services

She said that’s important because, in today’s world, everyone wants everything as quickly as possible. The Sales Reports — for example, Delivery Performance and Sales Gallons — have been beneficial.

“We have so much more visibility into what we deliver, how many deliveries we made, how much was sold, what was the margin, and how much did we sell then compared to now,” described Bachman. “From me to the customer service reps to our drivers to management to accounting to the board of directors, the software encompasses features that provide value in every aspect of our business.”

Beyond the software’s capabilities, having unlimited support through the Cargas Care Plan is of high value. Anyone at Santa Energy can call Cargas with questions or issues and get assistance. “It’s a value-added service that Cargas provides,” said Bachman. “I don’t see why anyone would want to not take advantage of it.”

Bachman said that it’s not just the software’s flexibility and capabilities that make Cargas Energy stand out. “It’s the people. I feel that the Cargas employees really care about their customers.” She said that regardless of whether she has the most basic or the most complex question, her Cargas contacts are always pleasant and willing to listen and help.

As an energy company that continually strives to advance the value it provides to its customers, Santa Energy has found Cargas Energy instrumental in its efforts.

“Cargas Energy has given us the opportunity to serve our customers better. And that’s the goal.”

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