BSI interviews Techem: How a long-standing partnership continues to be on track for success

BSI Software, the Swiss software company, and Techem, the German energy service provider, have worked together for a number of years. In 2018, Techem implemented BSI’s customer platform, the BSI Customer Suite. Recently, Techem took the next step and transitioned to BSI’s SaaS solution and the new release of BSI’s state-of-the-art CRM/CX software. In this interview with BSI Software, Christian Friese (right) and André Wittenberg (left) share compelling insights into the challenges the transformation posed, favorites, and joint successes.

Recently, you switched from an older version to the current BSI Customer Suite, which is a SaaS solution. What were your main reasons for choosing BSI Software once again?

Christian: “We have used the years since we implemented the BSI Customer Suite to establish the system in the company. Techem Energy Services GmbH has about 1,400 users, whom we have successfully taken along on the journey and into the processes. It was important to us to make those who are affected by the BSI Customer Suite participants in the Suite. We believe that we have an excellent tool available with this software solution, and we are continuously expanding it.”

What benefits do you get from the BSI Customer Suite as a SaaS solution?

André: “The coordination between the operational and IT areas has become so much easier. We now have higher stability, better availability and we can respond faster and more proactively to high utilization, for example.”

What challenges were you able to solve by migrating to the current version?

Christian: “We have been able to significantly reduce our special software solutions as a result of the switch. In recent years, we had accumulated more than 300,000 individual lines of code, which we were able to reduce by 85% percent, thanks to the BSI Customer Suite’s configurable low-code/no-code interfaces, in particular.”

How did the migration to the SaaS solution unfold for you?

André: “Although it had the magnitude of a new implementation for us at Techem, the migration to the SaaS solution went smoothly: We uploaded about 4.5 million communications and business cases to the cloud almost silently in one weekend.”

What are your favorites in the BSI Customer Suite? What's your superhero step?

Christian: “(Laughing) I have found my toys. With the BSI Customer Suite, we don’t depend on programmers and can do a lot ourselves. This makes us faster in terms of time. I build CX flows and interfaces myself. These are now so straightforward that I, as a non-computer professional, can make changes myself. So, my favorite would be the lambdas.”

André: “I am deeply involved in the configuration. But if I had to highlight one step, it would be the criteria step for me. I used to build countless process branches myself, but with the criteria step, a lot becomes so much easier. When we have time, we always test new tools and see how we can use them – that’s a major benefit of the BSI Customer Suite.”

What are your plans for BSI next year?

André: “We see a lot of potential in expanding digital interactions in the CX and service environments. We are also planning additional data integrations from other systems, thus expanding the 360° view to Techem’s customers. We work in an environment with connected systems, and we have a strong customer service focus, which means that our employees need a complete view of the data. The customer experience can only be optimal when I have all the information. And finally, we see the use of Artificial Intelligence — inbound and outbound — as supporting our service employees.”

What do you consider the elements of success in our long-standing partnership?

Christian: “Most important is the mutual relationship of trust. Plus, constructive communication. BSI does not simply implement development requests but examines the requirements, looks for alternatives, and tries to ensure proximity to the standard. The dialog that can at times be demanding brings new momentum to the projects.”

What would your advice to new BSI energy & utilities customers be?

André: “Build a solid project team that is responsible for the BSI Customer Suite for the long term. You need people in liaison roles on both sides that are on par. Stay as close as possible to the standard and challenge your requirements. Use this opportunity to rethink your company’s processes. Very important: training, training, training; and involve your users right from the beginning.”

Thank you very much for this interview!

“Building and maintaining a project team is essential for the sustainable success of a software implementation.”

“The mutual trust and the ever-new drive are elements of success in our partnership with BSI.”