Managing your energy can be tough, that’s why it’s one of the many services 70% of UK businesses outsource to third parties. And for energy-intensive businesses, outsourcing their energy is a smart move, as it allows staff to concentrate efforts elsewhere.

The challenge is selecting the right energy partner and for these businesses, we would always recommend a full-service energy provider rather than an old fashioned broker…and here’s why:

1.       Old fashioned brokers provide no value

Unfortunately, many old fashioned energy brokers have underserved clients through opaque, expensive and outdated offerings, causing distrust. These brokers simply request your energy price on the day and add on a commission.

But if you want to ensure you’re getting the best price, reduce consumption and explore energy management solutions then a full-service energy provider is the partner for you. They’ll take complete control of your energy management needs with regular communication and support from dedicated contacts.

2.       You get expert skills and advice with a full-service energy provider

For many businesses, it doesn’t make sense to employ a full energy team to monitor the energy markets, trade energy, check bills, manage meter installs and implement and maintain energy efficiency projects. But by choosing to partner with a full-service energy provider you get access to all these services and more at a fraction of the cost of employing an in-house team.

As mentioned above, full-service providers have experienced energy experts within their team who monitor the market constantly. This means that they are in the perfect position to be able to provide expert advice when it comes to anything energy-related, but in particular energy procurement.

Case in point: the energy market saw huge spikes in September, but our experts advised clients to lock in their energy supply immediately and saved them £55,000 over the following 6 months. It’s savings like that which really make a third-party energy provider pay for themselves, and something you will rarely get with an old fashioned broker.

3.       You get access to a full suite of services

‘Full-service’ and ‘end to end’ can sometimes sound like buzzwords, but it takes a lot to truly live up to the hype. So where energy brokers focus purely on energy procurement (it makes them the most money), a full-service provider offers so much more…

As well as monitoring and trading on the wholesale market mentioned previously, a full-service energy provider offers other services like bill validation (ensuring your bills are correct and your business is being charged correctly).

Through bill validation, it was identified that the UK’s largest white goods and electrical retailer had £50,000 in bill anomalies, this was queried and clawed back for the client.

Site works services manage complex meter installs, upgrading/downgrading existing meter supplies, KVA increases/decreases and MOP/DC contract management.

A sixth-generation family food business was juggling MOP contracts from 12 different suppliers, all at different prices and with varying contract end dates. Once we took control of the situation, we reduced the supply chain from 12 to 1, at one price, and one contract end date. 

Another service is demand aggregation, where smaller energy users pool their consumption to gain better market access to premium buying products.

Our current demand aggregation buying solution actually beats the market by 9.8% over the last 12 months – this wouldn’t be possible without our expert traders.   

Some full-service providers also offer innovative energy management solutions, designed to maximise efficiency and eliminate energy waste but we’ll cover this later.

4.       Dedicated support and portfolio management

Communication is so important in the B2B world, so why is one of the biggest complaints about old fashioned energy brokers that they do not stay in touch with their clients until they need to renew their contract?

This isn’t the case with a full-service provider, they’re constantly looking for opportunities to add more value, which means they’ll stay in touch every step of the way. It comes back to the feeling of transparency – keeping the client fully in the loop to provide a partnership, not a simple transaction. Account managers also make sure your business’s portfolio is being managed in a careful and balanced way – keeping you informed the whole time.

We’re proud of the service and support we provide our clients, in fact, we don’t like to brag but we have 98% client retention rate with our account managed clients.

5.       Innovative solutions

Brokers love energy procurement – and why wouldn’t they? It’s too easy for them to suggest a supplier, slap their commission on and carry on with their day. But modern providers are pushing the envelope a lot more. In the digital age, digital services need to be provided to give a truly holistic method of approaching a business’s energy needs. In fact, we have something up our sleeve at the ready: introducing Energy-Management-as-a-Service Powered by Businesswise Solutions TM.

Our revolutionary online platform eliminates previously unknown energy waste by utilising real-time data and statistics to give a complete overview of your business’s energy consumption. It can highlight problem areas that are costing your business serious money and make recommendations as to how to address these.

A plastics manufacturer found machinery left on while not in use was costing them £200 a week, that’s a massive £30,000 which had been wasted during the three years since these machines were installed. Our solution picked this up within a number of days and adjustments made to ensure the saving was maintained.  

So, there you have it. When it comes to outsourcing your energy management, the true value lies in selecting a full-service energy provider, who becomes an extension of your own team.