Networking

Cross industries

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Aareon has a long tradition of thinking across sectors with a view to connecting business partners. The latest example of this approach is the Aareon vacancy management solution: it optimises processes between housing companies, energy suppliers and meter reading service providers – and has great potential for expansion too.

The contract has been terminated, the apartment handover has taken place and the new tenant is ready to move in. It all sounds simple – on a superficial level, at least – but in fact a change of tenant is a pretty complex affair, involving various utilities and meter reading companies as well as the old and new tenants and their landlord. Meter readings have to be documented and invoices issued, data processed and forwarded. The new tenant may also have to take over existing contracts from his or her predecessor. It is in the management of such copious amounts of data that the problem lies: housing companies, utilities and meter reading companies require specific customer and consumption data in their own formats at times compatible with their specific schedules. This data is still captured multiple times, processed by hand and forwarded on paper – a time-consuming process that takes time and is rife with error.

Great potential for optimisation
“These manual processes are problematic, especially in the case of vacancy management,” says Anke Morlath, Head of Department at the EVU Competence Center. “Although some housing companies send their data to supply and disposal utilities or meter reading companies in the form of a PDF file, the data is still processed manually thereafter, slowing operations down considerably. However, utilities have certain deadlines to meet. In short, the number of cases to be resolved is high and goodwill claims are on the rise.”

Anke Morlath is the head of the EVU Competence Centre at Aareon and oversees the solution portfolio for the energy supply industry. She is also the managing director of phi-Consulting GmbH. One of the process engineer’s focal points is the digitalisation of the interface between the housing industry and suppliers. The latest solution here is vacancy management.
Photo: Aareon AG, Mainz, Germany

Aareon has added a new vacancy management solution to its digital ecosystem Aareon Smart World with a view to exploiting this vast optimisation potential. The solution connects housing companies, meter reading companies and utilities. The housing company makes an entry in its ERP system and everything else follows automatically. The portal forwards the required data in the right format in good time – for contract takeover or invoicing information purposes. In addition, the meter reading company benefits from regular master data matchup relating to apartment and tenant data, with meter data also being exchanged. These digitalised and optimised processes generate added value for all three partners: transparency increases while the number of goodwill claims declines along with the time taken and the costs involved. Contiguous processes such as invoicing are also optimised: BK01 functions of the parent company Aareal Bank can now be used for payment management in the vacancy management process too.

Other sectors can also benefit
“Development is currently in the pilot phase: our high level of integration in housing industry systems has already given us a unique selling point in the sector,” says Morlath. “We are initially launching the solution for the three above-mentioned sectors but are already considering extending it – to local authorities, key services and various additional branches of industry.”

This is the cross-industry approach in a nutshell: thinking outside the box and connecting various parties with a view to generating added value for all those involved. This approach will succeed thanks to the ongoing expansion of Aareon Smart World to include additional digital solutions.

Other cross-industry products
from Aareon

Tradespeople

The Mareon service portal has been networking housing companies and trade contractors on a virtual platform since 2001. It is used by over 250 customers in the housing industry and more than 8,500 tradespeople throughout Germany. Mareon is being further developed and adapted to take account of practical needs on an ongoing basis. Tradespeople and energy supply companies were first connected on the basis of this platform.

Facility Management

The facility management solution Facilitor enables services to be managed clearly and costs to be saved as a result.

Predictive maintenance allows items of equipment and sections of buildings to provide notification via sensors and networked ERP systems when components need to be replaced or maintained, rendering maintenance more efficient as well as more sustainable.

Locking systems

An intelligent keyless door access system was added to Aareon Smart World’s smart home offering in the wake of a sales cooperation agreement concluded with the Berlin-based start-up KIWI.KI in 2016. The KIWI solution, currently used by over 430 companies in Germany, is integrated in the Mareon service portal.

Invoices

The Aareon invoicing service is another cross-industry product used for the forwarding, editing and processing of electronic invoices in property industry systems. A study has found that the fully integrated, digital invoicing process saves up to 70 per cent of the time and costs previously expended.

Commercial real estate

Aareon solutions boost investment certainty in the field of commercial property: financial requirements and results can be forecast in the form of treasury management following the linking of administrative and operational data. Property asset management solutions provide a selective overview of the economic data of the properties in question.

Insurance companies

The BauSecura service that Aareon offers free of charge to customers of BauSecura Versicherungsmakler GmbH enables damage reports to be distributed in the ERP system with just one click. Captured data is transferred automatically, so that the damage does not have to be re-entered at any stage. The time saved is of great benefit to tenants.

More information on cross-industry solutions is available in the film “Managing supplier relations”