Case Study: Ascorp Retele Electrice

Ascorp-Hero

ASCORP, a green energy trailblazer in Romania, faced challenges managing and standardizing its green energy projects’ bidding process. Driven by a vision of sustainability, ASCORP sought a solution to streamline its operations. Collaborating with Pepas Cloud, ASCORP developed an innovative app called Deep Quotes, on Power Apps. The solution helped ASCORP enhance its efficiency and improve collaboration by cutting down the time it takes to create an offer from 2-4 hours to five minutes.

ASCORP-SVG-LOGO

ASCORP offers people a greener alternative to energy with quality photovoltaic systems and electrical networks. Led by seasoned professionals, ASCORP has lit up the energy sector with an impressive portfolio, having already designed and executed more than 350 projects. 

ASCORP is driven by a vision for sustainability. “In the last two years, our mission expanded to include supporting the market’s shift towards green energy,” shares Dan Marinescu, Bid & Design Director at ASCORP. As it started to scale, ASCORP was faced with a challenge. “Unlike the highly regulated grid market that we were used to, the green energy installation market is lightly regulated. There are many options available and we often modify solutions as we communicate with customers,” Mr. Marinescu elaborates. 

Without a centralized system to manage offers and store data, ASCORP didn’t have easy access to records of past bids or the ability to make modifications to offers. “We didn’t like the way our legacy system represented us. We wanted something more flexible that would leverage automation and allow us to customize offers in real time,” explains Mr. Marinescu.

Delivering customized offers at speed

ASCORP had already begun its digital transformation years ago, moving from paper-based and face-to-face communications to cloud-powered collaboration via Microsoft 365. The successful collaboration with Microsoft encouraged ASCORP to continue using Microsoft software to develop its new bidding solution.  

Together with Toma Daniel from Pepas Cloud, a Microsoft Partner and systems integrator, ASCORP launched an innovative app called Deep Quotes. The app was developed in just six weeks using Power Apps. “The transition to using Deep Quotes was initially complicated, but with support from Pepas Cloud, we overcame all challenges. As a result, we’ve set up processes that we continue to use to this day,” says Mr. Marinescu.

ASCORP’s new Deep Quotes app is designed to bring speed and organization to its processes. “With the Deep Quotes app, we only need to input information on the type of installation, the materials needed, and costs involved—within five minutes, we have an offer ready for the customer with the correct pricing,” shares Mr. Marinescu. “Everything is in one place, making it easy to calculate and generate bids, and we can make changes easily and quickly with the app.”

As a result of streamlined business operations, ASCORP has been able to optimize employees’ time and efforts to deliver more offers. Dan Marinescu shares, “We’ve at least tripled our bidding capacity. Before, when we used to type up documents manually, we were able to present one or two offers per day. Now, we can process 10 or 12 at the click of a button—that seems unbelievable.”

 

“Before, when we used to type up documents manually, we were able to present one or two offers per day. Now, we can process 10 or 12 at the click of a button—that seems unbelievable.”

Dan Marinescu, Bid & Design Director, ASCORP

 
 

The team at ASCORP has also gained better control over contract management, allowing tenders to be approved rapidly while maintaining strict security measures. “We can set up parameters like who can issue offers, who can download them, and that only two or three people can approve bids,” says Mr. Marinescu. The app has also made it more convenient for engineers and designers to construct offers from their mobile devices, enabling them to react to customers’ needs seamlessly.

An efficient organization empowered to be more sustainable

Besides increasing productivity, ASCORP also used Deep Quotes to create a detailed database of its products that it could update easily, enabling it to stay on top of new changes. “For example, we need to input new prices based on our cooperation with suppliers, and that’s really quick to do now,” says Mr. Marinescu. Another part of the application also allows the team to develop a better overview of customers, beyond just having their email addresses or contact numbers. “By having more information such as previous photovoltaic systems installed, we are able to prepare a better customized offer,” adds Marinescu.  

The company also visualizes valuable data by integrating Deep Quotes with Microsoft Power BI, automates workflows with Power Automate, and maintains a coherent record of offers with SharePoint.

Moreover, the transition to using the app for bids has contributed to a huge decrease in paper usage. “We used to print, stamp, and scan the offers for every change we did—that used up a lot of paper. Now, these changes are just done in-app and we’re able to minimize our paper usage,” explains Dan Marinescu.

A future powered by sustainable energy 

The reception of the ‘Deep Quotes’ app has been overwhelmingly positive. Mr. Marinescu proudly shares, “I’m glad that we had the courage to make this decision, and our staff have greatly benefited from it. Once people saw how the app could make their work simpler, they adopted it quickly.”

 ASCORP continues to explore possibilities of expanding the app’s use to other types of offers. “We received a request for a project that should be calculated based on the materials used, which is not something we would usually do. With the app, however, it was simple enough to input the materials needed for the project and get a price quote,” says Mr. Marinescu. “Even after three years, we are still finding ways to use the app, even for those it wasn’t originally designed for.”

Looking forward, ASCORP is determined to continue refining the app to meet emerging needs and introduce even more efficiency to its operations. Among the planned enhancements are better control elements and filters, automation of certain registers and even exploring the benefits of artificial intelligence, all of which aim to further decrease time spent on tasks and minimize human error.