James Barnes City of Tallahassee

“I was looking for a technology partner that could help us meet a customer’s needs and expectations in ways defined by the customer, and then exceed them. We needed a customer information system with a ‘wow’ factor.”

James Barnes,
Chief Customer Officer, City of Tallahassee

Itineris Customer: City of Tallahassee

Opportunity

The City of Tallahassee, Florida (COT) supplies water, wastewater, electricity, gas, and refuse services to more than 106,000 customers in the state capital, Tallahassee, and parts of unincorporated Leon County.

The fourth largest multi-service municipal utility in Florida, COT maintains an absolute dedication to providing safe, reliable service to its customers and recognizes that proactively replacing aging utility infrastructure with modern solutions is crucial to delivering on that promise.

COT’s aging legacy, on-premise customer information system (CIS) was among those systems due for replacement. They initiated the procurement process by sending an RFP to 78 different solutions vendors. COT went on to closely evaluate 14 CIS solutions providers. But one stood out from the rest.

water
sewer
Elec
gas
waste
0k
ACCOUNTS
0k
PEOPLE SERVED
0
USERS

Solution

COT required a CIS solution that could:

  • Empower employees through easy and immediate access to data

  • Provide automation to streamline workflows and improve efficiencies

  • Deliver out-of-the-box, workflow-oriented solutions

  • Be managed in a secure and reliable cloud environment, paired with an ongoing SaaS support model

  • Deliver superior customer engagement

After a thorough evaluation of leading utility CIS vendors, COT selected Itineris’ UMAX, a native cloud-based solution built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform.

Not only did UMAX fulfill every major technical requirement, but Itineris also possessed an impressive record as a vendor focused on customer partnerships and an absolute commitment to project success.

The implementation of the UMAX CIS and Customer Self-Service System (CSS) at COT:

  • Provided efficient access to critical decision-making information

  • Reduced silos within COT’s various functional units

  • Delivered faster, more reliable business processes through operational efficiencies, including automated workflows and queue management

  • Empowered COT’s end users with an enhanced customer experience and additional self-service capabilities, which also reduced inquiries and turnaround times

  • Ensured COT could flexibly adapt to future requirements, including rates, service orders, workforce management planning, and more

  • Provided data consumption, demand response, and predictive forecasting to support the city’s expansion into solar energy initiatives

Selection

Itineris competed against a staggering fourteen vendors offering solutions for COT’s CIS replacement project. The procurement was managed by AAC Partners, a leading consulting firm specifically focused on the tier one and tier two utility space. This proved an extremely competitive process where Itineris was chosen based on the following scoring criteria:

Itineris & UMAX cited differentiators by COT

  • Layout and navigation of UI

  • Payment arrangement functionality

  • Cases

  • Flexible collections process, including bankruptcy management

  • Chatbot and social media integration

  • Wizards for intelligent business processes / workflow management

  • Microsoft ecosystem and stability

  • Clear delivery blueprint and risk management assessment

Tallahassee Final Scoring

“Took time to understand our business, very well prepared.”

“Product design and Microsoft integration is fantastic”

“By far the most modern, forward-looking user interface.”

“Clearly understands integration requirements and our needs.”

Results

Following a two-year-long implementation process involving hundreds of personnel, CoT successfully went live with their UMAX CIS on February 13, 2023! The project team from Itineris and CoT maintained an optimistic outlook filled with eager anticipation and enthusiasm throughout the days leading up to the cutover. They were enormously proud to see the system go live without any issues, ready to serve the city and its residents well for years to come.

James Barnes City of Tallahassee

“We were all connected and had a stake in the success of this project. That’s one of the things I like about our partnership with Itineris. It makes a difference when you work with someone who shares your values and culture. That’s very critical, and you can’t put that in an RFP.

James Barnes,
Chief Customer Officer, City of Tallahassee

36%

reduction in back-office tasks
and truck rolls

40,000+

Customer Self Service (CSS)
sign-ups within the first month

62%

of customers now
opt for electronic billing

This resulted in

51%

increase in enrollment in budget billing program

82%

increase in
electronic bill payments

62%

reduction in customer requests sent via email

10,000

autopay enrollments in the first year

45%

reduction in manual service orders

18%

increase in
billing accuracy

50%

reduction in CSR  training:  from 4 weeks to 2 weeks

An award-winning utility

James Barnes Customer Executive Icon Award

Customer Executive Icon Award 

James Barnes, chief customer officer at the City of Tallahassee, received the prestigious Customer Executive Icon Award at the 2022 Cloud for Utilities Summit in Beverly Hills. The Icon Awards spotlight projects, initiatives, and executives who are helping to move the utility industry forward. This was the first inaugural award ceremony conducted by Cloud for Utilities.

City of Tallahassee public utility award

The #1 public utility in America

The City of Tallahassee has been recognized twice as the #1 public utility in America (’12 and ‘21). The American Public Power Association’s (APPA) E. F. Scattergood System Achievement Award recognizes the top public utility in the country for demonstrated achievements that made a difference in the community, improved service to customers, and enhanced the profile of public power.

APGA System Operational Achievement Recognition

APGA System Operational Achievement Recognition

CoT’s Gas Utility has an outstanding reputation, having not only achieved a violation-free audit from the Florida Public Service Commission for the 14th consecutive year, but also receiving the American Public Gas Association’s (APGA) System Operational Achievement Recognition (SOAR) for sustained operational excellence—three times! In fact, CoT’s system is the only one in the United States to maintain the highest level of APGA’s operational achievement recognition since the inception of the program in 2014.

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