January 2024 marked two years since the launch of the joint project between Audax Renewables and Fluenta Europe. We talked to Henrietta Nemes, Category Buyer at Audax Renewables, about the experiences of the past two years.
The last time we spoke was last year; that's when you really started working with Fluenta, which coincided with your separation from E.ON, which must have been a major change.
Yes, at the time of the interview, we were already in the implementation phase; the system had already been handed over. We made the decision about Fluenta in 2021, we started the implementation in 2022, and the process was completed around October.
In that interview, you mentioned that it was a significant challenge to become an independent company. There was some data from the past that you didn't even have access to. Were you able to overcome these problems?
The transfer of past data and contracts was obviously a major task. I would add that there was a certain inexperience on our side, but I think we were able to overcome the obstacles quite well, and Fluenta was really helpful in that process.
Other teams within the organization also recognize the valuable support that Fluenta provides. For example, in the contracting process, where a lawyer, a data protection officer, finance and of course the technical area all review the contract. These processes used to be done by email, but we realized that the most efficient way would be to do the whole process in Fluenta. Instead of emailing each other, colleagues now work within this system. That's how we operate now: once procurement approves the contract, it goes to the legal department, then to the data protection officers, then to the other people who need to be involved in the approval.
This made the entire process much smoother. On the one hand, you don't have to search your emails to see who has the contract, whether the other person has already forwarded it or not. On the other hand, we can manage the uploaded contracts in one system, except for contracts that include sensitive data. This is very much appreciated by colleagues, as it makes the work faster and more efficient, and also makes the contracts searchable. It's a major advantage for audits as well, for example, if someone needs to quickly look at a specific detail in a contract, they can access it immediately: whether it's the lawyers, the data protection officers, or even the requesting area itself. A few clicks and you have access to the documents. What's more, the Fluenta system puts timestamps on everything, so you can trace who accessed it and when, who was the person who modified a contract or process.
If you ran into someone on the street and they asked you what it's like to work with Fluenta, but you only had time for a few sentences, what would you say?
First of all, the customer service is great. From the very first moment to this day, we have received maximum support from Fluenta, they try to meet all our needs and answer all our questions. They also give advice when needed, which was an amazing help for us in the beginning when we were a bit "green". In today's world, it is very valuable to really listen to the customer, not to put the phone down after two minutes, not to get rid of them, but to solve the problem they contact you with. Fluenta was mentioned at a company event a few days ago, and our partners have had a similar, excellent experience with the Fluenta team.
Don't miss the second part of our interview with Henrietta Nemes!