Unitywater turns the tap on digital overhaul

Queensland utility Unitywater is preparing to implement a new CRM system and omni-channel contact centre to round out its online transformation.

The government-owned utility provides water and sewerage services to around 316,000 properties, including residential and commercial customers, in the Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Noosa Council areas of Southeast Queensland.

According to a request for tender, the utility’s online services program is looking to deliver a “modern, contemporary experience” for its customers and staff.

The program involves the implementation of a new intranet, website, portal, CRM system and omni-channel contact centre.

Unitywater currently uses Gentrack’s Velocity billing and customer management platform, which it deployed in 2012.

It is now looking for new tools that will help it to manage events, territories, partners, leads, multichannel campaigns, product development, demand forecasting, product configuration, quotes, target marketing, and measurement of its sales pipeline.

The RFT also calls for the CRM to deliver real time KPI reporting, predictive analytics, dashboards, administrator reports, and a single 360-degree view of stakeholders.

On the contact centre side of the approach to market, it is looking to upgrade its current customer service office with voice-over-IP support, speech-to-text and text-to-speech tools, and queue management features like callbacks.

In a statement issued to iTnews, a Unitywater spokesperson said the utility plans to conduct a number of workshops, surveys and interviews with customer groups ahead of the deployment.

“Utility customers today expect a level of service and service options comparable to what they receive from other institutions such as banking and travel. The solutions which result from this RFP will allow Unitywater to move more in line with these expectations."

“This journey is guided by a multi-year digital plan for customer services which outlines improvements across the range of communication channels offered, services provided via these channels, and the use of information and insights relating to customers and services,” they said.

The Unitywater spokesperson did not specify the CRM or call centre products that would be replaced as a result of the procurement.

Submissions to the Unitywater RFT close July 1.