Eneco eMobility: Building a Future-Proof Application Landscape on a Data-Driven Foundation

Over the past few years, Eneco eMobility has emerged as a key player in the sustainable electric charging market. To maintain its position and continue growing, the company aims to achieve operational excellence and provide the best service to its customers and end users. Eneco eMobility chose the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform to realize its ambitions for growth, service, and data-driven operations. Ruben Kruit, CIO at Eneco eMobility, shares more about this transition, the decision to adopt Microsoft Dynamics 365, and the collaboration with HSO.

The electric vehicle market is experiencing significant growth. When Eneco eMobility, a subsidiary of Eneco, began its journey as a sustainable electric charging service provider a few years ago, it became clear that flexibility and agility were crucial in this expanding market. To become and remain a leading player, Eneco eMobility became an independent operation with its own management, location, and inevitably, its own IT landscape.

Eneco eMobility aims to provide extensive support to electric vehicle lease drivers and establishes agreements with large lease companies or businesses with substantial electric vehicle fleets. The end users are the customers of Eneco eMobility's clients, making the business processes, such as finance and relationship management, quite complex.

Ruben Kruit, CIO, explains, "We needed software that could handle these complex processes and information flows. For example, the charging station is located in the lease driver's garden, connected to their electrical meter, but billing and reimbursement need to be handled through the lease company and employer. Initially, there was no ERP software that aligned well with these processes, so we worked with a custom application. However, after a few years, we reached its limits. The system couldn't keep up with the rapid growth and changing customer and business requirements.

I was then tasked with assessing these applications, and the conclusion was that we needed to develop a new IT landscape, seeking the best products for different processes. That's when we decided to build an application landscape with Microsoft Dynamics 365 at its core."

There were several reasons behind choosing Microsoft Dynamics 365. Ruben explains, "We chose the Microsoft ecosystem not only for its functionality and alignment with our needs but also because we are working towards integration with our parent company, Eneco. Initially, we were disconnected to enable growth and innovation, but now we are preparing to work closer together again. This influenced our decision to choose Microsoft as we aim for a shared model.

HSO was the right partner for us because they have a comprehensive understanding of the Microsoft IT landscape and extensive experience in (international) implementations. HSO can support us across the board, not just in customer engagement, but also in areas like finance, data, and integrations."

Eneco eMobility's business model involves numerous interactions and complex processes that require optimal facilitation. Ruben emphasizes, "Operational excellence is one of our key unique selling propositions. To handle the process effectively, a comprehensive customer view is crucial. Therefore, we started with Dynamics 365 Customer Service, as it forms the foundation of our service delivery. Our leads often consist of a large volume of data, as our customers include major lease companies. Subsequently, the customer processes become highly specific and contain detailed information, ranging from the appearance of electrical meter cabinets to excavation depths. From lead to installation, we want to execute these processes well and efficiently, ensuring that installations can be planned correctly with installers equipped with all the necessary information and materials."

The project had a relatively long preparatory phase, partly due to COVID-19 and the initial lockdown. However, once the implementation commenced, the pace accelerated significantly. Ruben says, "The first phase of the project focused on the fundamentals. Together with HSO, we mapped out the business processes and made the necessary operational agreements through online workshops during the lockdown. At the same time, there was an acquisition taking place in Germany, adding some complexity: What should be standardized and centralized? After the summer, we began the actual implementation. The first release of Dynamics 365 Service and the replacement of our telephony solution occurred as early as September.

This process was certainly exciting, given the speed involved. We ensured close communication and opted for working with the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) to maintain a good pace. Currently, multiple tracks are underway. Every 12 weeks, we set new priorities for each track and proceed accordingly. After completing Service with the Customer Engagement Team, we are now working on Dynamics 365 Sales. Furthermore, we are developing the kernel for Finance and Operations, working on the data lake, and integrating the new environment with the front end."

Ruben emphasizes the importance of effective communication and involving the right stakeholders: "To ensure the success of this implementation, it was crucial for the organization to understand that this wasn't just an 'IT project' but a business transformation. Therefore, clear messaging and communication from the management, for instance, were vital to give the project the appropriate level of significance. Additionally, investing time in thorough preparation is essential to have a clear vision of what needs to be built. Missing any steps leads to inefficiency, which then needs to be addressed later. Utilize that time to gain buy-in, foster involvement, and align the program within the organization.

I am very proud of the progress we are making. When we began the project in the spring of 2020, it coincided with the first lockdown. We had to adapt to a new way of working and re-establish control, which slightly extended the duration of the fundamentals phase. HSO provided us with an excellent project manager who took charge of the implementation like a conductor. The process progressed rapidly and smoothly. We are noticing that our collaboration with HSO is becoming increasingly seamless, which is significant as we will be taking many more stepping stones in the future."