SAP for Utilities
I am Pieter Bangels, an SAP Solution Architect for utilities. I help energy and water companies to get the most out of their SAP landscape.
Expertise
Most problems in a utility's SAP landscape sit between modules. Choose a step to see the typical problem and how I help.
Meters, installations and replacements: the physical base of every bill.
The smart meter rollout drives a sharp increase in profile values to store and process.
Guidance in determining the right data model to store these profile values, in S/4HANA or in other SAP products such as DER.
Reads, validation and estimation, from manual reads to interval data.
Implausible reads and estimations pile up and block billing.
Optimised validation rules and automated exception handling that keep reads flowing into billing.
Rate structures, billing schemas and the exceptions that keep teams busy.
Complex rates, billing outsorts and price changes under time pressure.
Simpler rate structures and schemas, using external prices, time-of-use billing, flexible user-exit logic and more.
Turning billing documents into clear, correct, on-time invoices.
Invoices customers do not understand, and changing legal requirements on content.
Correct invoicing logic and output that customers can read.
Contract accounting: payments, dunning and the cash at the end of the line.
Open items, payment allocation and dunning that do not close the loop.
A contract accounting set-up that reduces bad debt and turns every bill into cash.
Message exchange with grid operators and the market.
Market rules and message formats change often, and every change touches the core.
Robust message processing and market process logic that absorb market changes without disruption.
What I bring
Designing utility landscapes on SAP ECC 6.0 and S/4HANA that fit the business and stay maintainable.
Billing, invoicing, device management, FI-CA and more, so the handovers between domains work.
Guiding utilities through market processes and message flows to gain a competitive edge.
Setting up proofs of concept to showcase CX, FSA, DER and more, and their integrations with IS-U.
Track record
SAP implementations delivered end to end and on time, giving utilities a core system they can build on.
Existing SAP landscapes improved and simplified, cutting the effort needed to keep them running.
Hidden value unlocked in existing systems, so SAP contributes to profitability instead of only cost.
Insights
The move from IS-U to S/4HANA Utilities is not a technical upgrade. These are the five assumptions I see most often in utility projects, and what to do instead.
Speaking
Practical lessons on choosing a migration path and keeping billing running along the way.
How utilities in the Benelux handle market processes in SAP, and what others can learn from it.
Where AI already helps in billing and customer service, and where it does not yet.
Conferences · user groups · webinars · podcasts · customer workshops · in English, Dutch and French
Questions
Pieter Bangels is an SAP Solution Architect who specialises in SAP for Utilities. He has more than 20 years of experience with SAP IS-U and S/4HANA Utilities across the full meter-to-cash process, and is one of the partners at TheValueChain.
SAP IS-U on ECC 6.0 and SAP S/4HANA Utilities: device management, meter reading, billing, invoicing, FI-CA contract accounting and market communication. He combines solution architecture, roadmap exercises, functional analysis and proofs of concept.
Yes. He helps utilities choose a migration path, analyse custom code and keep billing running during the transition. Read his article on the most common misconceptions about this move in the Insights section.
Yes. Pieter speaks at conferences, user groups, webinars and podcasts about SAP for Utilities, in English, Dutch and French. Contact him by email to discuss a slot.
He is based in Belgium and available for projects and events across Europe.
Beyond SAP
Always upskilling, currently in AI, leadership and sales strategy.
Supporting young companies and social projects that drive positive change.
Running, mountain biking on the trails and boxing training.
Quality time with my daughters and family.
Ready to talk?
A project, a second opinion on your landscape, or a speaking slot at your event: I am happy to hear from you.
