An analysis of "Gewerbekunden": Identifying business opportunities in the energy market
(2009) MIO920Production Management
- Abstract
- The objective of thesis was to do an analysis of the current situation of Vattenfall´s “Gewerbekunden”.
The “Gewerbekunden” are small-to-medium enterprises that consume up to 100
000 kWh/year.
Since the deregulation and liberalization of the energy market conditions have changed. New
actors entered the market and the competition increased distinctly. All the energy suppliers
were focusing on the private market and the “Gewerbekunden” was a forgotten segment.
Therefore the request for this the thesis became a response of a request to map the situation of
the “Gewerbekunden” and forecast what opportunities can be gained.
The “Gewerbekunden” must be described and classified. Other objectives had to explain their
needs. Vattenfall´s... (More) - The objective of thesis was to do an analysis of the current situation of Vattenfall´s “Gewerbekunden”.
The “Gewerbekunden” are small-to-medium enterprises that consume up to 100
000 kWh/year.
Since the deregulation and liberalization of the energy market conditions have changed. New
actors entered the market and the competition increased distinctly. All the energy suppliers
were focusing on the private market and the “Gewerbekunden” was a forgotten segment.
Therefore the request for this the thesis became a response of a request to map the situation of
the “Gewerbekunden” and forecast what opportunities can be gained.
The “Gewerbekunden” must be described and classified. Other objectives had to explain their
needs. Vattenfall´s current relation to them, how the existing products match the customers’
needs and needs that can be satisfied by new products.
The approach of thesis was to work through the different steps in a Market planning. But the
focus tuned in a situation analysis of the “Gewerbekunden” and segmentation. Because of
limits in resources and time the Master of thesis has a qualitative approach. No quantitative
surveys have been done. Conclusions of the author are based on outcome from the collected
qualitative data.
It has not been possible to do accurate assessments of Vattenfall´s resources to implement the
result of the thesis. The geographical delimitation of the assignment was the market of Berlin
and Hamburg.
The assignment is based on Vattenfall´s internal data of the “Gewerbekunden”. Included is
existing material such as Market Reports and Customer Satisfaction Investigations and interviews
of employees at Vattenfall. No survey directed to customers has been accomplished.
The assignment resulted in a recommendation to divide customers into different segments.
Five segments correspond to different needs and behaviors of the “Gewerbekunden”.
“The interested” have a relative high consumption. Customers in this segment consider
themselves as more important and want a more intense relation to the supplier.
“The environmental-minded” has a large ecological and environmental interest.
“The entrepreneurs” have a low to a medium consumption level. A more intense relationship
that supports the segment to run business more profitable will reinforce Vattenfall’s opportunities.
“The traditional-minded” include customers with a large consumption of energy and price
sensitive.
“The sensitive” have a low consumption and are very price sensitive. The segment includes
many relative unreliable businesses (eg. imbiss).
The thesis suggests Vattenfall to focus on the profitable segments and only allocate limited
resources to segments that imply too much cost to Vattenfall. Segments that Vattenfall especially
must focus on are “The interested” and “The environmental-minded”. “The interested”
are the high consuming customers that for a long time have been neglected and are the most
unsatisfied. “The environmental-minded” is an interesting segment because of the increasing
ecological interest among customers.
The conclusion is that the intensity in relations to the customers must increase. This is done
by segmentation and an offensive communication. To improve the “Image” a closer integration
to the customers and a more active promotion of the offers are necessary. A closer relation
and effective communication can also create a better perception of energy.
A practical tool to build a platform of relations and communication is the new technology to
measure transfer information of consumption. Software and consulting will together create
many opportunities to make business and improve the features of segments. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1978469
- author
- Fahlvik, Emma
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MIO920
- year
- 2009
- type
- M1 - University Diploma
- subject
- other publication id
- 09/5329
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 1978469
- date added to LUP
- 2011-06-16 16:15:22
- date last changed
- 2011-06-20 12:30:10
@misc{1978469,
abstract = {{The objective of thesis was to do an analysis of the current situation of Vattenfall´s “Gewerbekunden”.
The “Gewerbekunden” are small-to-medium enterprises that consume up to 100
000 kWh/year.
Since the deregulation and liberalization of the energy market conditions have changed. New
actors entered the market and the competition increased distinctly. All the energy suppliers
were focusing on the private market and the “Gewerbekunden” was a forgotten segment.
Therefore the request for this the thesis became a response of a request to map the situation of
the “Gewerbekunden” and forecast what opportunities can be gained.
The “Gewerbekunden” must be described and classified. Other objectives had to explain their
needs. Vattenfall´s current relation to them, how the existing products match the customers’
needs and needs that can be satisfied by new products.
The approach of thesis was to work through the different steps in a Market planning. But the
focus tuned in a situation analysis of the “Gewerbekunden” and segmentation. Because of
limits in resources and time the Master of thesis has a qualitative approach. No quantitative
surveys have been done. Conclusions of the author are based on outcome from the collected
qualitative data.
It has not been possible to do accurate assessments of Vattenfall´s resources to implement the
result of the thesis. The geographical delimitation of the assignment was the market of Berlin
and Hamburg.
The assignment is based on Vattenfall´s internal data of the “Gewerbekunden”. Included is
existing material such as Market Reports and Customer Satisfaction Investigations and interviews
of employees at Vattenfall. No survey directed to customers has been accomplished.
The assignment resulted in a recommendation to divide customers into different segments.
Five segments correspond to different needs and behaviors of the “Gewerbekunden”.
“The interested” have a relative high consumption. Customers in this segment consider
themselves as more important and want a more intense relation to the supplier.
“The environmental-minded” has a large ecological and environmental interest.
“The entrepreneurs” have a low to a medium consumption level. A more intense relationship
that supports the segment to run business more profitable will reinforce Vattenfall’s opportunities.
“The traditional-minded” include customers with a large consumption of energy and price
sensitive.
“The sensitive” have a low consumption and are very price sensitive. The segment includes
many relative unreliable businesses (eg. imbiss).
The thesis suggests Vattenfall to focus on the profitable segments and only allocate limited
resources to segments that imply too much cost to Vattenfall. Segments that Vattenfall especially
must focus on are “The interested” and “The environmental-minded”. “The interested”
are the high consuming customers that for a long time have been neglected and are the most
unsatisfied. “The environmental-minded” is an interesting segment because of the increasing
ecological interest among customers.
The conclusion is that the intensity in relations to the customers must increase. This is done
by segmentation and an offensive communication. To improve the “Image” a closer integration
to the customers and a more active promotion of the offers are necessary. A closer relation
and effective communication can also create a better perception of energy.
A practical tool to build a platform of relations and communication is the new technology to
measure transfer information of consumption. Software and consulting will together create
many opportunities to make business and improve the features of segments.}},
author = {{Fahlvik, Emma}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{An analysis of "Gewerbekunden": Identifying business opportunities in the energy market}},
year = {{2009}},
}