Data Reconciliations Impact On The Future Of Energy

The energy sector is no stranger to digital transformation. From smart grids to digital twins, recent digital innovations promise to transform the future of the energy industry entirely and create a more sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective energy ecosystem. But despite its recent advancements, digitalization hasn’t reached every corner of the industry yet — and brokers are bearing the brunt of this lag. Without digital and automated solutions, brokers are potentially leaving hard-earned commission money on the table and missing out on key opportunities to level up their businesses.

The Reconciliation Challenge For Energy Brokers

Despite the digital transformation rippling across the energy sector, the status quo of data reconciliation is analog. Analog processes equal operational inefficiencies and thousands of dollars left on the table. 

Suppliers typically hand brokers a spreadsheet that more often than not contains thousands of rows. To add onto the complexity, those spreadsheets usually come in different formats from different suppliers; there’s no standardized format. Brokers must manage several of these massive spreadsheets manually, wasting precious hours that could be spent closing deals.

Manual data reconciliation isn’t just tedious and time-consuming. Sifting through these spreadsheets manually also greatly heightens the risk for human error to occur. In a spreadsheet containing thousands of rows, it becomes perilously easy to lose track of information, incorrectly read a number, or accidentally skip over a cell entirely. When brokers scan data sets for discrepancies, these kinds of errors can translate to heavy losses in commission funds. 

When tens of thousands of dollars in commission are on the line, brokers simply can’t afford to rely on manual spreadsheets anymore. Without access to an automated system that identifies discrepancies, brokers must simply trust information that comes from suppliers without concrete data to corroborate against. If a supplier says a meter was or wasn’t read, there’s no other way for brokers to know if the information is correct. 

Furthermore, relying on manual processes alone is also a painstakingly inefficient endeavor for brokers managing a business. Brokers need to pay commissions to their sales teams, agents, and sub-agents. They also have to manage multiple deals at the same time with multiple accounts. Keeping track of all those details manually is overwhelming and, once again, can increase the risk for errors to occur.

Solving The Reconciliation Challenge

Clearly, the need for data reconciliation solutions is pressing, and digital innovators in the energy sector shouldn’t overlook the key opportunity for making the process more efficient. 

Meeting this challenge will require an automated solution that collects, blends, and analyzes data from disparate systems and sources. The manual reconciliation process should be replaced with an automated solution that streamlines the processes and makes it easier for brokers to quickly and accurately identify data discrepancies. By automating repetitive tasks, brokers will be able to continuously perform data reconciliation tasks and eliminate the risk of making manual errors. Not only should the solution be automated, but it should be transparent and readily accessible to all who need complete access to data in real time, whenever and wherever they need it. 

Last Thoughts

Better data reconciliation tools are paramount to the digital evolution of the energy sector. The right data conciliation technologies will help energy brokers optimize operating efficiency, eliminate human errors, and improve their bottom line. After all, it’s 2022. Shouldn’t we be ensuring better work processes for everyone?