Imatran Seudun Sähkö Oy

Finnish Ropo Capital has won another significant tender in the energy sector, as Imatran Seudun Sähkö Oy will join its receivables management clientele. The successful bid was based on Ropo Capital’s service model that generates savings, makes the invoicing process more transparent, and gives the customer company more control over how it manages its own receivables.

Imatran Seudun Sähkö will outsource its invoicing, payment-related customer service and ledger management to Ropo Capital, a Finnish company specialised in financial management and invoicing solutions. Once the comprehensive service agreement takes effect in February 2016, Ropo Capital will be in charge of invoice delivery to Imatran Seudun Sähkö Oy and Imatran Seudun Sähkönsiirto Oy customers, receivables management, and customer service related to the content and settlement of the invoices.

Imatran Seudun Sähkö sends some 200,000 electricity bills a year, of which about 30% are delivered electronically.

– The partnership allows us to provide even better service to our present customers and concentrate our resources on areas that support our core business. By redirecting staff resources from financial management and customer service to sales we make sure that we continue to be a competitive partner for your customers, explains Jussi Selenius, Head of Energy Services at Imatran Seudun Sähkö.

– As Ropo Capital will handle a large part of our customer service, our customers are able to enjoy longer service hours than before. An important criterion in the selection process was service in Russian, which Ropo Capital will now organise. For our Russian-speaking customers this will be an added bonus, Selenius continues.

Automated invoice lifecycle management as an advantage

Ropo Capital with its 130 finance experts is a technological forerunner in its field. Its processes are based on advanced automation. In the energy sector, its competitive edge stems from a customised, sector-specific solution, which not only automates invoice lifecycle management, but also the service suspension and reconnection process typical for the industry. The solution is already used by Mäntsälän Sähkö and Etelä-Savon Energia.

According to Mikko Uotinen, Account Director at Ropo Capital, the solution is ready for deployment and thus fast to implement. The benefits start accruing quickly.

– Our solution streamlines the receivables cycle and modernises the entire invoicing process. With these invoice quantities, cost savings are significant and resource reallocation from routines to productive work noteworthy. We compete with the biggest players in the field, and this makes every new customer particularly important, Uotinen adds.

Major customer

The agreement between Imatran Seudun Sähkö and Ropo Capital is of an indefinite duration and significant in value. Both parties look for long-term partnership that will support Imatran Seudun Sähkö in the changing energy market and contribute to its customer care.

– Price was naturally one of the decisive criteria, but so was the cooperation, which has been very smooth from the onset. For us, Ropo Capital’s digitised solutions are important mainly because we want our invoices to be delivered correctly and on time without the possibility of a human error. The fact that the company is from Finland is of course a plus – if there are more than one provider to choose from, of course we opt for a domestic partner, explains Jussi Selenius of Imatran Seudun Sähkö.

Imatran Seudun Sähkö Oy is a local, medium-sized electric company, whose owners include both businesses and private individuals. The Imatran Seudun Sähkö Group consists of the parent company Imatran Seudun Sähkö Oy and its subsidiaries Imatran Seudun Sähkönsiirto Oy, Imatra FNW Oy, Imatran Energia Oy and Kaakon Energia Oy. In addition, an associated company Suomen Voimatieto Oy is part of the Group. www.issoy.fi