Uplight: The efficiency experts practice what they preach

About

Uplight is revolutionizing how utilities engage with their customers with an innovative platform that manages Energy Efficiency Partner programs. Established in 2010, Uplight provides a SaaS platform, which offers an array of solutions that assist utility companies in activating their EEP programs. Once implemented, utility companies have a prebuilt foundation upon which to build out the entire EEP program apparatus, including utility-branded marketplaces, Rebates-as-a-Service, and much more.

As municipalities across the country impose more energy-conscious initiatives incentivized by grants, the utility is responsible for tracking necessary data. In this environment, Uplight has expanded impressively, offering energy products to 26 different utility marketplaces.

Background

With this proliferation in EEP programs in recent years, Uplight’s platform became an important go-to solution for this market. Initially, Uplight used separate applications, such as Shopify and QuickBooks, to deliver its solutions. The company relied on custom integrations to move data across the application, which was hard to maintain and required constant maintenance with each new software update. Each iteration cost Uplight time and resources that might be better spent on innovation rather than putting out fires.

As the company grew, its existing integrations were not scalable. When the company engaged with RSM to implement its NetSuite instance, the subject of Celigo’s integration platform came up.

The challenge

Uplight invested in leading applications such as Salesforce, NetSuite and Shopify, and each application plays a role in key business processes. However, the problem was how to get these systems to function together, avoiding data exports and manual data entry. Uplight worked with RSM and Celigo to map key business processes for automation. The solution focused on:

• Optimizing the lead-to-cash process for the B2B sales cycle of selling a software platform
• Removing order entry bottlenecks for the B2C business
• Providing visibility across the supply chain, linking third-party logistics data to the core NetSuite ERP

RSMs functional consultants were able to manage the initial setup of the project and train Uplight staff.

Rob Ericson, a consultant from RSM’s technology and management consulting practice led the effort. “We were able to get the systems integrated in a fraction of the time as a custom integration. After go live, we could turn the solution over to Uplight.” After implementing Celigo’s iPaaS, Uplight can now spend more time innovating and refining its product, and devising new ways to integrate all of its business apps into one central hub.

The solution

One of the most immediate benefits Uplight employees recognized when first introducing Celigo to the setup was the ease and simplicity in implementing integrations. With the platform’s intuitive tools and dashboard, even without a systems background, users can establish data-exchanges between NetSuite and Shopify quickly and confidently.

“With Celigo, we can have functional consultants manage business requirements and build of the integration. This dramatically increases time to value,” commented RSM Principal Matt Kenney.

Uplight has integrated all 26 Shopify instances so they can all be managed from a single NetSuite ERP platform. In fact, Celigo’s solutions have been so extendable that Uplight plans to integrate all of their systems through the platform, from CRM to Accounting to Fulfillment.

Furthermore, as the team at Uplight becomes more familiar with Celigo, they understand just how much more they could do with it. For example, Uplight IS analyst Ryan Wible found the tool to be so simple and powerful he is convinced that a business user could do get the product up and running. “The capabilities are truly endless,” said Wible.

Bottom line

At the end of the day, Uplight is all about providing solutions for energy efficiency. That philosophy not only permeates their products but also extends to the way they approach their operations.

“We needed to invest in technology that would allow us to effectively scale our business with added efficiencies and increase accuracy to support our top-line revenue growth,” said CFO Derek Kraus.

In the same way that Uplight offers streamlined solutions to utility companies looking to roll out EEP programs, Celigo’s platform empowers innovative companies to efficiently connect all of the applications they need to deliver the most forward-thinking products and services.