Sending Text Messages to a Device
You can use this function to send text messages to customers with advanced meters that have the corresponding capability.
To use this process, you must activate the business function Energy Supplier (CRM_UT_ER_1
).
Whenever a customer needs to be informed about any significant event, you can send them a text message through the CRM application that appears on an In-House display in their home. This allows the Utility service provider to actively communicate with the end customer and manage their accounts. Examples of important events may include simple verification events or reminders for payment dues. Customers could also receive information regarding peak pricing that encourages them to plan wisely regarding energy use.
This active communication with the customer enables Call Center agents to serve consumer requests and queries more effectively as a result of accurate inputs from both the customers and meters.
Examples of information that could be sent to customers include:
Reminders for payment dues
Outage notifications
Restoration confirmations
Energy conservation information (critical peak periods/pricing information)
The text messages are time-stamped according to when they were sent from SAP for Utilities, and are automatically stored in the SAP for Utilities system. This information enables the user to resolve a customer query or complaint and also ensures that the same message is not sent again. The time that the customer received the message is not tracked and no confirmation messages are created from the customers’ end. The text messages are periodically deleted based on a time-limit.
Note
This new functionality is available provided the customer has a functional advanced meter with the On Demand Status capability enabled.
Prerequisites
The user has logged in to the IC Web Client and identified a business partner and, optionally, a premise. The application can be accessed if the identified business partner or the identified premise has an advanced meter that is able to receive text messages.
This functionality is available within the IC Web Client under Communications -> Send Text Message To Device
, from within the device details or from the Context Menu for device or premise.
Procedure
To send a text message to a device:
From the Device dropdown list, select the device that you would like to send a text message to.
To view specific information about the device, choose the Device Details pushbutton.
You can choose the Back pushbutton to return to the AMI Text Message page.
From the Message Type list, select a message type.
From the Message Template list, select a message template and choose the Preview pushbutton.
A preview of the template appears in a dialog box. The placeholders are automatically replaced with specific information pertaining to the device.
Do one of the following:
If you would like to choose this template as a base for your text message, choose the Apply pushbutton.
The dialog box closes and the predefined message text appears in the Message Text field.
If you do not want to choose this template as a base for your text message, choose the Cancel pushbutton.
The dialog box closes.
To apply the template directly without opening the Preview dialog box, choose the Apply pushbutton.
The predefined message text is displayed in the Message Text field.
Enter a different validity date to over-write the existing date, if necessary.
Choose the Send pushbutton to send the text message to the device.
At the bottom of the screen, you can see all the messages that have already been sent to the customer, as well as the associated details. You can use the available filters and adjust the search criteria to search by number of days, by source, or by type to limit the results.
Result
The result of completing the process is that the customer will receive a text message that appears on the In-House Display in their home.