For a global provider of IT services to the Telecommunications sector Enstra provided an assessment of the value which could be delivered to the UK Utilities market through the deployment of their proprietary technologies in revenue management.

Using a combination of the Pyramid Thinking Plus approach (to craft the compelling value proposition), and over two decades of energy modelling experience, and our well developed industry networks we have created opportunities to introduce fully automated time series forecasting to the UK energy sector and its service providers.

Enstra deployed the Pyramid Thinking Plus approach to create a compelling case for supporting the case for fuel cell technology to the European Parliament.

We co-ordinated the bid for both the Pilot (CEDS City Energy Demand Simulation) and the main project build (SiCEDS - The Stakehoder Interactive City Energy Demand Simulation) for an Innovate UK funded project. The model we built not only calculated energy demand for the whole city it allowed a spatial drill down to post code groupings which allowed examination of how energy demand changed over time under different scenarios.
The model also looked at the impacts on CO2 emissions, Energy costs and investments, air quality, and health impacts of alternative energy policies.
This was a major project which ran for more than one year and embraced a host of parties inuding the Energy Saving Trust, UCL, Business Laboratory, AECOM, Frazer-Nash Consultancy and the city planners in Birmingham and Exeter.
During the pilot phase we ran a Value Mapping intervention to find out from 5 cities how energy architecture planning added value to a city. This Value Map was instrumental in providing us with the insight that the tool needed to be open, accessible, and collaborative in nature. We then took this insight into the design of the main model and tendered competitively for the main research funding. Our bid strictly followed the priniciples of Pyramid Thinking and we won the funding.

Using our competitive positioning framework we worked through a segmentation of the potential market for fuel cells in the UK and worked with the management of the company, Elugie BV of Belgium, to identify the most attractive segments to concentrate on.

Enstra provided mentoring (through the Greater London Enterprise High Growth Company scheme) and management support to one of London's fastest growing Energy Services companies.

Enstra provided market analysis and bid support to Innax. Innax are continental Europe's leading and largest provider of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). They are based in the Netherlands with operations covering the Netherlands, France and Germany. Enstra provided support to Innax during their initial research into entering the UK market for EPCs. Enstra then went on to conduct some conversations with housing associations in the UK in order to facilitate a dialogue between Innax and potential users of their innovative and highly cost effective approach to EPC production.

Using the Pyramid Thinking Plus approach we trained the management team of an IT service systems provider, VRM Technology, in the discipline. We then worked alongside the commercial team to fine tune the compelling Value proposition.

We coordinated a year long piece of work as part of Project Falcon, a Low Carbon Network funded research programme of Western Power Distribution. We managed the delivery consortium made up of the Energy Saving Trus, UCL, and the Business Laboratory to deliver an electricity demand model out to 2050 which could be run at any of the project Falcon sub-stations in the west midlands.
This project was procured competitively and we used the Pyramid Thinking Approach to structure our bid and make it truly compelling. The proof of the pudding is that we won the bid to enable us to then work on what became a fascinating and educational energy demand research project exploring alternative scenarios for electricity demand on low voltage networks.

For a group of independent management consultants we facilitated a review of a business model canvas and compelling propositions for the association

For a Netherlands based investor did due diligence on a potential Metering acquisition

Enstra provided a series of workshops on the UK Smart metering market to enable a group of UK and International managers to review the scope and scale of the potential opportunity and to think through where their organisation's particular competencies and experience would best fit in the value chain.

For a US/EU based think tank headquartered in Washington we interviewed program sponsors who were drawn from senior levels in corporate, regulatory and academic life in both Europe and US to create a Value Map of how policy issues create value in the the climate change arena. This was used to explore transatlantic initiatives that could be taken to mitigate climate change.

Working with the head of business development and his team, Enstra used Strategic Roadmapping to define and communicate the landscape into which Smart Home Energy Management would fit. This led to a joint review, in workshop format, of the opportunities available for EST to assist in developing the sector to assure maximum energy and carbon savings delivery. The opportunities identified were ranked using Enstra's (SR/CC - Sustainable Revenues, Competitive Capability) mapping tool and then, in a follow up workshop an action plan was developed using Enstra's go-to-market planning methodology.

For a potential new entrant into the smart metering market Peter worked as part of the Quadrant Consulting (www.qcl.co.uk) team engaged to assess opportunities for market entry in the UK, Spain and Germany. This involved interviews with senior players in the industry to understand the market potential from both a metering and a telecommunications perspective.

Enstra worked for an investment firm with an interest in telecommunications technologies to use Pyramid Thinking Plus to write the compelling case for selecting a competitive architecture for the design of telecommunications to support UK Smart Metering. This resulted in a published document which was sent tot he Select Committee deliberating on the structure of telecommunications for Smart Metering. A competitive architecture was then chosen by the government.

For a Low Carbon Conusltancy we conducted a market review to identify the optimum segments to target, the Business Model needed to engage the market, and the compelling proposition to take to market.

Enstra deployed the Strategic Roadmapping approach to both create a shared understanding of the Smart landscape both now and in the future and then to identify the most significant business opportunities for development.

For a leading IT services organisation we supported a multi-million pound bid to provide services to a major UK Utility. This involved translating the IT service offer into business value, structuring the proposition, and conducting a "Value Mapping" intervention with the end customer management team to create a common Vision of how IT delivers value across the bidding and receiving organisations to ensure the bid was focused on the areas the end user considered critical to their own business.

Using a matrix evaluation based on proposition prospects "prospects for profitability" and the organisations "competitive capability" a long list of brainstormed ideas (generated with input across the broad sales. marketing and technical teams) was both clustered into larger, composite ideas and ranked on the basis of their position on the matrix. This led to the selection of the 7 most powerful propositions to take to market. Where required we also assisted with strategic partner identification and development (to fill capability gaps in the propositions)

For the boiler service business of a major UK energy supplier we created a value map of how various aspects of the customer engagement architecture created value for the business. This identified the levers that could be pulled to significantly improve business performance.

For Datamonitor, a major provider of information services Enstra led the authoring of five reports into Residential energy market development spanning the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Canada. These covered Smart Metering, Cost to Serve, Tariff development, Market segmentation practices, and Switching behaviour (UK)

For EUROPIA, the Trade representation body of the European Oil industry we deployed our "Value Mapping" approach to create a shared understanding for how the oil industry could best interact with EU institutions such as the Commission and the European Parliament. This was achieved through creating a shared assumption set using a "Value Map" depicting the issues arising when managing the dialogue with the institutions and other stakeholders in this arena, which itself was drawn out of one-to-one discussions with the senior executives debating the strategic direction to be followed.

For a joint venture between the UKAEA and Fujitsu we developed the proposition to take to market for their nuclear material accounting software.

For one of the leading global providers of call-centre hardware software solutions providers we worked with the Utilities team to transform a set of functional capabilities into compelling business propositions for the Utilities. This involved developing the business concept and shaping it such that is seen to be of maximum value to the end customer e.g. moving from call centre switch effectiveness to value delivered through enhanced debt management. We also assisted with strategic partner identification and development.

For a major UK electricity I&C (Industrial and Commercial) retail business conducted a review of where best value could be created through the deployment of e-technology. This involved the brainstorming of options, their high level commercial evaluation, and the selection of manageable number of projects for implementation. Critical to the success of this project was the delivery of a process to facilitate management team decision making and Board member buy-in to the outcome.

For the UK Electricity Association we conducted a review of the way in which Trade Associations in the UK Energy Utilities arena could best develop to optimally serve the interests of their members. We used cognitive modelling techniques to create a “Value Map” which acted as a consistent backcloth to the dialogue between a multiplicity of diverse parties – enabling them to reach a common Vision as to the best way forward. This work was undertaken by enstra supported by enstra network partner RBC.

For the UK energy retailing industry developed, delivered and managed a framework for compliance with the Code of Practice for the Face to Face Marketing of Energy Supply. Over the period (2003/4) of EnStra's involvement 90+% of issues identified in Enstra's audits were resolved and consumer complaint levels (as monitored by energywatch) halved.

For one of the UK's largest Retail Utilities we lead the performance modelling work-stream. We were in charge of the development of a system dynamics model of the Retail supply business, together with conducting a review of customer segmentation. This was based on shareholder value principles aimed at re-focusing the enterprise to significantly increase the value of the Retail customer portfolio. This work delivered significant insights on resource deployment, price positioning, and sales targeting.

For a Netherlands Utility assisted in the development of a gas purchasing strategy in the light of scenarios depicting the consequences of retail market liberalisation in the Netherlands.

For a major UK financial institution provided risk assessment support regarding a proposed investment in metering assets following the liberalisation of the UK meter operations market. Deployed scenario planning techniques to successfully evaluate the breadth of risk and enable the client to improve its negotiation position with counter-parties.

For one of the UK’s largest Utilities led the “Issues and Vision” review work-stream as part of a broader Finance Business Performance Improvement programme. This work-stream entailed interviewing the MD’s and Finance Heads of each of the Utility subsidiaries, mapping out the issues in a “Value Map ” and then ensuring the development of a Vision, Goals and Objectives statement for Finance which was in alignment with the business needs of both the subsidiaries and the group.

For an international provider of systems, equipment and servicing to the petroleum forecourt retailing sector conducted a review of the industry value chain and the clients positioning within it. This entailed analysis, desk research and interviews with a cross section of MOC’s (Major Oil Co’s) and Hypermarket/Supermarket operators in Europe. The outcome was a recommendation of a major repositioning and further restructuring of the organisation.

For one of the leading I&C (Industrial and Commercial) energy retailers in the UK we worked through the brainstorming and systematic evaluation of business development options to complement the core energy supply activity. This led to the creation of a shared Vision across the client team as to the portfolio of energy services to be taken forward to market testing and formal business planning. The output of the work was a combination of strategic rationale and high level value assessment of each element of the chosen portfolio.

For a major Danish Gas distributor co-led a workshop on understanding the impacts of retail market liberalisation on a Gas transportation business.