Water
We’ve partnered with BFY for over 2 years now and have been really pleased with their ability to roll their sleeves up and work as part of our team to expedite delivery. When working together, we really value the contribution and material impact made by BFY's team, creating an ambitious and high achieving project environment whilst also passing on their expertise to the team.
Managing Director
Water Retailer
Water
Deep expertise for Water’s most urgent challenges
Water suppliers are facing a perfect storm. With bills set to rise over the next five years, many households are already under financial strain due to energy costs. Suppliers will need to step up their efforts to support customers, as Ofwat and the UK Regulators Network call for more proactive and effective engagement, recognising current standards aren’t good enough.
This pressure is compounded by the impact of climate change, aging infrastructure, and financial instability in the sector. To thrive, suppliers must strike a delicate balance between regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction, all while adopting new technologies and strategies to stay competitive.
At BFY, we partner with water suppliers to tackle these urgent challenges, unlock new opportunities, and deliver results that last. With our deep sector expertise and a commitment to driving meaningful change, we provide tailored solutions that not only address immediate issues but also lay the groundwork for long-term success. Our approach empowers clients to handle complexity with confidence, ensuring they remain competitive and resilient.
How can we help?
Strategy & Commercial
We provide actionable insights to help you make strategic decisions that drive profit growth and long-term value.
Transformation
We partner with your teams to drive change effectively, delivering the outcomes you need while enhancing customer and employee experiences.
Operations & Service Recovery
When facing service challenges, we help you address root causes to restore performance and improve customer outcomes.
Customer Debt
Enhance your approach to managing debt, building a high performing, risk-focussed collections process.
Leadership & People Excellence
Create a service culture your customers will shout about, with our ILM-accredited programme.
Customer Experience
Build empowered, engaged teams that can resolve issues at first contact, reducing unnecessary costs and ensuring a seamless customer experience.
Water
Meet the Team
Rachel Littlewood
Director
Rachel leads our Financial Optimisation work streams, working with leaders to improve profitability & cashflow
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Kev Brown
Senior Manager
Kev leads continuous improvement and lean transformation projects with our clients, supporting customer operations to deliver our Leadership and People Excellence programme.
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Jonathan Paton
Senior Manager
Jon specialises in Customer Operations leadership, customer contact, and operational service delivery transformation/improvement.
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Ed Breslin
Manager
Ed works with clients to improve their cash flow/revenue delivery, and leading the Commercial/Financial Modelling within our M&A/Transaction Advisory engagements.
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Joseph Cooper
Manager
Joseph supports our Retail clients to improve their operational processes and business performance.
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Drew Jackson
Manager
Drew partners with our clients to solve complex operational problems and deliver Lean Transformation activity.
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Our Impact
Collections improvements deliver ~£5m cash for Water retailer
We supported a B2B Water retailer with a series of collections improvements, achieving a cash uplift of ~£5m in five months.
Debt Taskforce delivers 10x ROI for large B2B Water supplier
A large B2B Water supplier was facing significant bad debt challenges, and required support with managing this. They recognised that their collections strategy was underperforming, seeking opportunities to optimise this and increase output.
Developing an ESG strategy in B2B Utilities through due diligence
BFY undertook a ESG Due Diligence assessment for our client, who was looking to develop their ESG strategy building on business sustainability and identify areas of value. The business was going through a period of transition and looking to take on additional investment to support long term growth.
Water
Our Insights
Collections in Water – Exceeding Ofwat’s expected outcomes
Water customers have seen their cost-of-living challenges amplified throughout Q1-24. It’s a concerning narrative largely driven by April’s expected bill increase, stats showing more customers are unable to pay, and most recently, the joint debt collection statement shared by the UK Regulators’ Network (UKRN) – in which Ofwat is prominent.
Service demand to rise with water bills – What next for suppliers?
Service demand is set to rise for water suppliers. More households are facing cost-of-living pressures, with Water UK forecasting a 6% increase in bills from April. Preparing to manage this demand is crucial. And while people and processes are fundamental to the performance of any servicing operation, their importance is amplified when supporting vulnerable customers.
Are Water suppliers ready for the latest cost-of-living challenges?
The Institute of Customer Service (ICS) showed in their July 2023 UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) that customers are more dissatisfied than ever, with the index at its lowest score for 8 years.
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