Case Studies REWAG has its Purchasing Completely Under Control with Process Mining

Edit This Case Study Record

	REWAG has its Purchasing Completely Under Control with Process Mining

REWAG has its Purchasing Completely Under Control with Process Mining

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Big Data Analytics Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
Applicable Industries	Utilities
Applicable Functions	Procurement Business Operation
Use Cases	Process Control & Optimization Digital Thread
Services	System Integration Data Science Services
Challenge	It was a paper jungle at Regensburger Energie- und Wasserversorgung and Stadtwerke Regensburg. Some orders were placed using forms, while others were made electronically. Purchases were numerous, since Regensburger Energie- und Wasserversorgung AG & Co KG (or REWAG for short) supplies electricity, natural gas, heat, and water to more than 200,000 private households and business customers in the region. It spends between 30 and 32 million euros annually on operations and between 12 and 15 million euros on strategic procurement. The primary goal was to consistently digitalize and optimize their processes. “We wanted systems for simpler and more transparent processes,” Brandl explains. He knew the value of data in various IT systems – what was missing was simply the ability to properly process that information. Neither Excel nor SAP standard reporting provided the necessary flexibility and dynamics. “Tedious, rigid, and not very expedient,” is Brandl’s assessment in retrospect. “We wanted more scalability and dynamics. And we wanted to be able to easily analyze and optimize the purchasing processes.” Read More
About Customer	Regensburger Energie- und Wasserversorgung (REWAG) and Stadtwerke Regensburg are utility companies based in Germany. REWAG supplies electricity, natural gas, heat, and water to more than 200,000 private households and business customers in the region. The company has a turnover of 306.4 million euros and employs 425 people. REWAG spends between 30 and 32 million euros annually on operations and between 12 and 15 million euros on strategic procurement. The company sought greater transparency in purchasing and aimed to digitalize and optimize their processes to improve efficiency and decision-making. Read More
Solution	After a detailed selection process, the choice was made to go with Celonis Process Mining. The innovative big data technology brings together all the digital process traces and visualizes actual processes in real time to generate maximum transparency. Brandl can easily integrate data sources in Celonis and gain system-wide insights. REWAG also liked the intuitive handling and the flexibility of the solution. “The software is easy to use, even with very little IT knowledge,” he reports. The proof of concept was convincing, and the subsequent roll-out was “completely uneventful” in a positive sense. “Everything was completed in a week,” he says. Celonis has been in use at REWAG since 2015. In particular, Brandl uses the software to evaluate a wide variety of procurement figures, including procurement volume, purchase requisitions, number of suppliers, and number of orders. Of special importance to him is the ability to benchmark his key figures against those of other companies or management consulting firms like KPMG. With Celonis, he can identify optimization potentials faster and more reliably. “Now I can rest assured that the right figures are just a mouse click away. The results have far surpassed my expectations.” Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Big Data Analytics

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics

Applicable Industries

Utilities

Applicable Functions

Procurement

Business Operation

Use Cases

Process Control & Optimization

Digital Thread

Services

System Integration

Data Science Services

Challenge

It was a paper jungle at Regensburger Energie- und Wasserversorgung and Stadtwerke Regensburg. Some orders were placed using forms, while others were made electronically. Purchases were numerous, since Regensburger Energie- und Wasserversorgung AG & Co KG (or REWAG for short) supplies electricity, natural gas, heat, and water to more than 200,000 private households and business customers in the region. It spends between 30 and 32 million euros annually on operations and between 12 and 15 million euros on strategic procurement. The primary goal was to consistently digitalize and optimize their processes. “We wanted systems for simpler and more transparent processes,” Brandl explains. He knew the value of data in various IT systems – what was missing was simply the ability to properly process that information. Neither Excel nor SAP standard reporting provided the necessary flexibility and dynamics. “Tedious, rigid, and not very expedient,” is Brandl’s assessment in retrospect. “We wanted more scalability and dynamics. And we wanted to be able to easily analyze and optimize the purchasing processes.”

About Customer

Regensburger Energie- und Wasserversorgung (REWAG) and Stadtwerke Regensburg are utility companies based in Germany. REWAG supplies electricity, natural gas, heat, and water to more than 200,000 private households and business customers in the region. The company has a turnover of 306.4 million euros and employs 425 people. REWAG spends between 30 and 32 million euros annually on operations and between 12 and 15 million euros on strategic procurement. The company sought greater transparency in purchasing and aimed to digitalize and optimize their processes to improve efficiency and decision-making.

Solution

After a detailed selection process, the choice was made to go with Celonis Process Mining. The innovative big data technology brings together all the digital process traces and visualizes actual processes in real time to generate maximum transparency. Brandl can easily integrate data sources in Celonis and gain system-wide insights. REWAG also liked the intuitive handling and the flexibility of the solution. “The software is easy to use, even with very little IT knowledge,” he reports. The proof of concept was convincing, and the subsequent roll-out was “completely uneventful” in a positive sense. “Everything was completed in a week,” he says. Celonis has been in use at REWAG since 2015. In particular, Brandl uses the software to evaluate a wide variety of procurement figures, including procurement volume, purchase requisitions, number of suppliers, and number of orders. Of special importance to him is the ability to benchmark his key figures against those of other companies or management consulting firms like KPMG. With Celonis, he can identify optimization potentials faster and more reliably. “Now I can rest assured that the right figures are just a mouse click away. The results have far surpassed my expectations.”

Impact #1	REWAG has saved tremendous time and money thanks to process mining technology. When it comes to knowledge, Celonis gives Brandl a clear edge over competitors and suppliers as well as a better position in negotiations. With suppliers in particular, he checks time runs and price changes in the process. “The software gives me information about rebates and successful renegotiations,” he says. Based on that information, he develops price expectations that allow his employees to take a more aggressive approach and help them contribute to the success of the company.
Impact #2	Brandl has now become a sought-after specialist: Other departments often ask him for evaluations of processes and data. Within minutes, he can deliver a visual representation of the desired analysis – while in the past it used to take three to four days. This does require the department to have digitalized processes, however. The advantage: It doesn’t require in-depth technical expertise, and IT doesn’t have to be involved.
Impact #3	For Brandl, working with Celonis means always discovering something new. He can zoom into processes and take a detailed look at the individual steps. Brandl is amazed that the solution can show the relationship between individual process traces and reveal interdependencies. “You start out with three or four tables,” says Brandl, “and that results in an entire sheet of various dependencies. If you decide that more dependencies might be of interest, you simply open a new one and draw completely new insights from it.”

Impact #1

REWAG has saved tremendous time and money thanks to process mining technology. When it comes to knowledge, Celonis gives Brandl a clear edge over competitors and suppliers as well as a better position in negotiations. With suppliers in particular, he checks time runs and price changes in the process. “The software gives me information about rebates and successful renegotiations,” he says. Based on that information, he develops price expectations that allow his employees to take a more aggressive approach and help them contribute to the success of the company.

Impact #2

Brandl has now become a sought-after specialist: Other departments often ask him for evaluations of processes and data. Within minutes, he can deliver a visual representation of the desired analysis – while in the past it used to take three to four days. This does require the department to have digitalized processes, however. The advantage: It doesn’t require in-depth technical expertise, and IT doesn’t have to be involved.

Impact #3

For Brandl, working with Celonis means always discovering something new. He can zoom into processes and take a detailed look at the individual steps. Brandl is amazed that the solution can show the relationship between individual process traces and reveal interdependencies. “You start out with three or four tables,” says Brandl, “and that results in an entire sheet of various dependencies. If you decide that more dependencies might be of interest, you simply open a new one and draw completely new insights from it.”

Benefit #1	REWAG spends between 30 and 32 million euros annually on operations and between 12 and 15 million euros on strategic procurement.
Benefit #2	The company has a turnover of 306.4 million euros.
Benefit #3	REWAG supplies electricity, natural gas, heat, and water to more than 200,000 private households and business customers in the region.

Benefit #1

REWAG spends between 30 and 32 million euros annually on operations and between 12 and 15 million euros on strategic procurement.

Benefit #2

The company has a turnover of 306.4 million euros.

Benefit #3

REWAG supplies electricity, natural gas, heat, and water to more than 200,000 private households and business customers in the region.

Download PDF Version

Overview

REWAG has its Purchasing Completely Under Control with Process Mining

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit