EDP Comercial is the company within the EDP group responsible for offering products and services to end customers, both private and corporate. In addition to the traditional electricity supply services, EDP Comercial has products in the scope of renewable energy generation.
With a range of photovoltaic solar panels for domestic energy production, EDP Comercial positions itself as a promoter of sustainable forms of small-scale energy production.
Challenge
Despite being widely accepted by consumers that photovoltaic panels are increasingly an efficient and competitive form of energy generation, there are many doubts about the applicability of existing solutions on the market in each case. Doubts about initial costs, technical requirements for installation, maintenance and integration in the network hinder a greater dissemination of this type of solution, even in cases where the added value to end customers would be very significant.
Customer service with an adequate level of knowledge on the topic can mitigate this limitation. However, the varied options and characteristics of consumption make systematic analysis very difficult. Thus, the need was identified for a digital tool that allows simulations based on user characterization data and that produces documentation that clarifies all doubts, facilitating the commercialization process of this product.
Solution
Responding to EDP Comercial's challenge, Caixa Mágica Software created a digital solution that allows product managers to define the characteristics of the offer and the solution's cost and profitability calculations using a spreadsheet. In this way, EDP Comercial has a high degree of independence, being able to manage the business logic according to the constant changes that occur in the market and in the objectives.
The system has a web frontend where the end customer's data is inserted and initially organized. Orders are then processed by bots that perform all calculations in accordance with the rules defined in the spreadsheet input, producing reports that can be issued in pdf format and sent to the final customer for consideration. The logic of the system and its capacity require the application of software architecture rules that ensure the robustness, scalability and flexibility of the solution.
Results
The platform created is used by employees at the lime center who interact with end customers interested in EDP Comercial's solar panel solution. The easy and direct way to characterize a home in terms of energy consumption as well as the automated production of reports facilitates the process of raising and selling to the final customer.
Experiences of attracting customers in public spaces have already been carried out, and this is expected to be one of the privileged commercialization channels. The platform is also used in these activities and is the main tool for fundraisers.