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CONTACT INFORMATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEMCO Energy Gas Company Goes Live with Systems & Software's enQuesta
enQuesta enters Investor Owned
Gas Utility Market
COLCHESTER, VT and PORT HURON, MI; November 7, 2006
–SEMCO ENERGY GAS COMPANY serving over 283,000 customers in
24 counties in Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas, went live with
Systems & Software's next generation CIS solution, enQuesta™
( www.systemsandsoftware.net ).
SEMCO chose Systems & Software's enQuesta™ in order to replace
their outdated legacy system with an advanced and configurable CIS
solution. With enQuesta™, SEMCO now has enhanced IVR & Web
functionality, increased overall data storage, additional reporting
options and a more detailed audit trail to ease compliance with Sarbane
Oxley's complex requirements . enQuesta™ was ranked by UtiliPoint
as the number one CIS choice for Municipal Customer Care and Billing
in 2006.
"The implementation process was extremely critical to the overall
success of the project given the scale of complexity and the short
time frame. It was a reflection of the intense commitment and teamwork
by Systems & Software's integration team who brought their best
methodology and business practices to the table," said Laurie
Owens, SEMCO's Director of Projects and Planning.
Implementing enQuesta™ will enable a host of new capabilities
for SEMCO's customers and also improve and augment internal business
processes. SEMCO can now offer their customers billing enhancements
such as electronic billing and payment options through enQuesta™
WebConnect. In addition, SEMCO's customer service representatives
are able to view if a customer belongs to the Dealer Finance (Loans),
GE Sharp (Maintenance Contracts), or Customer Choice (Deregulated
Gas) programs in a single view.
Through enQuesta™ 's web services, SEMCO is able to extend the
CIS seamlessly to such systems as the MDSI Advantex, a field order
management system , SNAP meter testing, New Energy's large accounts/transportation
accounts interface, JD Edwards Financials, and LiHeap's Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program.
"Within 24 hours of going live, cash was entered, adjustments
were being posted, new accounts were being created, field service
orders were being worked on mobile data tablets, and customer service
representatives were answering calls and creating service requests,"
said Rick Ayers, SEMCO's Director of Information Technology. "Within
the next seven days, enQuesta™ WebConnect was up and running,
and over 3,500 bills were sent via EBPP (Electronic Bill Presentment
& Payment)," Ayers commented.
Jerry Ford, Vice President, Implementation and Support, Systems &
Software, Inc. said, "As expected, our comprehensive solution
and approach has supported SEMCO's business processes, enhanced customer
service offerings and reduced operating costs. Our engineering and
systems integration teams were successfully able to facilitate enQuesta™'s
entry into the investor owned gas utility segment."
About SEMCO ENERGY, Inc
SEMCO ENERGY Inc, which owns and operates SEMCO ENERGY
GAS COMPANY, headquartered in Port Huron, Michigan, is a company
that distributes natural gas to more than 400,000 customers in Michigan
and Alaska. Additionally it owns and operates businesses involved
in propane distribution, intrastate pipelines and natural gas storage
in various regions of the United States.
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