Wave Energy

Wave Energy was looking for ways to enhance its risk management and business development through the better use of data. It got in touch with Red Flag Alert to see if we could help with:

• Using business intelligence to explore growth opportunities in the increasingly competitive water sector, and finding business development opportunities offering the best ROI.
• Mitigating risk, particularly a financial risk with clients or suppliers; this was about having access to information at an early stage so it could take the necessary action.
• Streamlining its use of data so that decisions could be made quickly and then acted upon by employees throughout the organisation. It was vital that key stakeholders were updated in real-time when significant changes occurred. For example, if a customer was experiencing financial distress it was important to know this early so appropriate action could be taken.
• Doing all of this without any disruption to existing processes.

We began by having a consultation with the key stakeholders at NWG so that we could understand exactly what it wanted to achieve. We also spent time understanding the current state of its data so we could develop a plan for how to best integrate our data into NWG’s existing processes. This is how we worked through the process:

• Once we understood its needs we audited the current data processes, pinpointing areas where there was scope for improved efficiency.
• We developed a plan for how we could implement these efficiency measures into its CRM and data processes.
• Using our API to plug our data into its database we were able to give NWG access to real-time business information on over five million UK businesses.
• This data allowed NWG to address business development, risk, and efficiency issues. The Red Flag Alert database provided rich information thanks to over 40 fields and 142 indicators of financial health, all updated daily.
• With over 1 million business updates every month, NWG set up alerts to be notified of any significant changes related to the businesses it was dealing with.

Integrating Red Flag Alert into its operations gave NWG a number of benefits:

• Having up-to-date information enabled it to build highly segmented marketing lists. It developed lists based on sector, location, turnover, and many other different fields.
• The information was up-to-date so its business development team were able to access accurate contact details for the individuals it needed easily meaning the team was able to concentrate on what it does best: selling.
• NWG was able to see early indicators of credit risk. The Red Flag Alert system has a detailed health rating for every business in the UK, allowing NWG to see when risk began to emerge rather than only finding out about these problems when the situation had become more severe. This empowered NWG to make better decisions on the customers and suppliers it chose to work with.
• One of the key requirements from NWG was the ability to get real-time alerts when anything changed that should prompt action. We worked with NWG to set up these alerts and now they has the information they needs to make key business decisions based on solid facts.