A rapid, strategic options analysis for a UK energy supplier

The Managing Director of a major UK energy supplier asked Oaklin to quickly help him understand how best to respond to a new regulatory change. The regulator, Ofgem, had launched a new flagship requirement that all customers should be able to switch their energy supplier in one day (down from an average of 21 days). This would require fundamental business and technology change, at a time when the business was already undergoing a highly complex digital transformation and customer migration. The detail of the regulatory requirement was not well understood, and there was a lack of clarity over how this could be achieved alongside the many other competing priorities. 

In just three weeks, a small Oaklin team conducted an intensive options analysis. First, Oaklin rapidly determined what success would look like for the client, and what the priorities were. Alongside this, the team worked with experts across the business – including regulatory, technology, and business process teams – to understand the changes that would be needed, challenge existing assumptions, and examine the relative merits of multiple technology and business process solutions that could be implemented in the time available. This culminated in a strategic options analysis and clear recommendation, which carefully considered the costs, risks, implications and strategic value of each potential course of action. The Oaklin team distilled this complexity into a succinct Board paper for the Group Executive Committee, enabling the Managing Director to gain leadership buy-in to his approach and secure the necessary funding.