How do energy and commodity business consultants know what their clients need? Take it from Stephanie Kelly.
“I was a client of capSpire for seven years before working here,” she says. Today Stephanie is a Principal Consultant in the advisory practice at capSpire, helping refined products companies select, implement, and optimize ETRM systems and processes. Stephanie’s job is to help her clients find a better way to operate.
What does a better way look like to Stephanie?
“Good implementation of software or processes should be painless,” she says. For many customers, that starts with the smooth selection of an ETRM system.
Stephanie helps companies modernize and optimize. Typically her customers know their current software or systems no longer fit their needs. “There’s a parking lot out there filled with bright shiny trucks to choose from, and they want to find out which is right for them,” she explains.
Stephanie starts by cataloging her clients’ needs for every phase of business–from trade capture and scheduling, all the way to accounting and tax reporting–then invites vendors to participate in the RFP process. She knows which questions to ask. “We’re looking at things like out-of-the-box functionality,” she says. When companies go through the RFP process unassisted, “it’s not so clear to them what their core requirements are. Will this system require a lot of configuration? What’s the effort level required for customization?” Having capSpire, and an expert like Stephanie help with the classification, takes away the pain.
By understanding customers’ unique needs and having a waterfall approach, implementing the chosen software should also be painless. “With other implementations I’ve experienced, the partner will gather requirements, design the software, and suddenly hand you a system and say ‘go test it.’ This means something’s being built without a lot of ongoing collaboration,” Stephanie warns. With capSpire’s approach, clients experience, learn, and adjust to the system as they go.
That’s because Stephanie is thoughtful in her approach. “You do not want to redesign. Once you make a decision, you shouldn’t be revisiting that decision.” capSpire’s iterative waterfall methodology helps with this, keeping clients in the loop and at the forefront of the decisions being made.
Stephanie wants all her clients to be active and present in their projects. “It’s a partnership,” she says. “I need my clients to understand and engage.” A fixed-bid mentality based on a one-size-fits-all view isn’t effective. “Best practice varies based on the customer,” Stephanie says. “Taking something off the shelf and expecting it to work for all clients is where that painful factor comes in.”
Because she’s been on the other side of the aisle, Stephanie considers herself an advocate for her clients. “Unless you’ve lived and breathed it,” she says, “it’s hard to tell the ramifications of decisions being made.” That’s why she believes in clients being active in the process, and keeping things simple. “I give them options, and let them decide what they need. They’re the ones that need to live with decisions being made.”
Stephanie recalls something a customer once said to her. “They said ‘all implementations are painful.’ But that’s not true. With a good, knowledgeable team, who understands your needs, it doesn’t have to be.”
To learn more about capSpire or to work with Stephanie on system selection or implementation, connect with her on LinkedIn.
