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SBS
was selected by a large Energy Service Provider to provide a system to track
and report on customer historical usage information. Initiated by user
requests, the system would issue EDI historical usage request transactions to
energy distribution companies and compile the response transactions into a
reporting database, for generating standard and custom reports. Design began
with the following requirements:
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User driven interface/front-end with the ability for mass import of utility
account information.
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Timely response to historical usage requests.
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Request tracking capability – In many cases, historical usage requests are time
sensitive so the use of a request-tracking component was necessary.
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Access to historical usage information via a set of pre-defined reports against
the Access database where the historical information would reside.
By taking advantage of the existing EDI infrastructure, it was
possible to integrate this system to allow historical usage requests to be
processed via EDI in conjunction with the existing mainstream EDI flow. Doing
so cut down on development time and avoided unnecessary complexity through
duplication of existing components.
The user interface was created using Visual Basic 6.0 with an
Access database. The application would give a single user the ability to
request, track, and report on historical information, as well as resolve
exceptions that might occur during processing.
To allow for mass input, Microsoft Excel templates were created
with import/export features in correspondence with the application. Users were
given the ability to cut and paste large amounts of data for import, creating
less chance for error and saving time.
An email notification component was later added to the system to
notify users of responses that were received to their requests. Email addresses
of users were tracked in user profiles and automated emails were generated and
sent by the system. The email notifications contained summary tracking
information based on successful and unsuccessful responses to requests, and any
lost/missing requests that were past due.
Upon implementation, target users were trained how to operate the
system and access the reporting facility. User feedback was positive and in a
short period of time the system was able to run successfully with virtually no
routine administration or maintenance.
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