THE CHALLENGE
An energy cooperative based in central Texas was growing rapidly, in part because of a population increase in the area it serves. As commercial and residential developers began to build in the region, this cooperative’s responsibility to provide power for the dedicated land area increased exponentially.
In response to the cooperative’s growth, impacts of extreme weather events, and evolving best practices, the organization decided to modernize their systems and technology solutions. This effort would enable the company to continue to meet the evolving needs of its membership base by providing reliable and cost-effective service.
The cooperative decided to work with Sendero to identify growth and enablement initiatives for modernization.
OUR APPROACH
“What can be improved?”
This was the guiding question for Sendero’s team as they led the first set of growth and enablement initiatives. The cooperative made the decision to invest in these improvement projects early, so there wasn’t a need to identify band-aid solutions to urgent problems. Instead, the cooperative and Sendero were able to prioritize scalable, planned improvements that would lead to meaningful, long-term transformational results.
Some of the guiding principles across each initiative included communicating transparently and consistently with stakeholders, understanding best-in-class solutions, and identifying opportunities to make efficient changes that will ultimately improve reliability. Additionally, because of the cooperative structure of the organization and their mantra of “putting members first,” Sendero prioritized cost-conscious recommendations that would appeal to members.
Primary Growth and Enablement Initiatives
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Analysis
- Project: A current-state assessment and research into industry peers.
- Purpose: Evaluate the scalability of the current ERP system, connecting applications, and relevant processes.
Data Strategy Assessment
- Project: An evaluation of the current system integration and a detailed recommendation for optimization.
- Purpose: Ensure that there is a clear organization-wide view of the data passed between systems and enable access to that data across the company.
Business Impact Analysis (BIA) and Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) Plan
- Project: An assessment of critical business processes and key technologies and recommendations for procedure updates that would minimize downtime in the event of an outage.
- Purpose: Strengthen the cooperative’s emergency procedures in order to further their reliability.
