Of course, the answer is “it depends” – and we have in mind the benefits that these new services can bring in terms of the costs addressed by the reduction project. We could say that it also depends on the share of costs whose decrease can be facilitated by the new services. However, one should keep in mind that external support in reducing costs with a small share significantly improves the level of the most important resource: time for the internal procurement team to negotiate high-impact costs overall.
“Our consulting and representation services mean for most companies in Romania a new kind of service; however, corroborating their cost with the lower price for electricity or natural gas, they mean no additional costs. Our services are suitable both punctually in cost reduction projects and in the long term as external support in the acquisition of the supply of the two types of commodities”, considers Theodor Livinschi, the founder of partnerg-i.
He explains that the relevant parameters in analyzing offers are the total level of costs for a certain period and the indicators resulting from the non-commercial analysis of suppliers, to the detriment of the actual price of the commodity (active electricity or natural gas molecule). The founder of partnerg-i emphasizes that the correct analysis of these two aspects depends on the ability to monetize the particular contract terms specific to the supplier, the indicative quotations for possible open positions and the possible expected benefits from the sale of additional volumes.
“In order to carry out a relevant analysis, it is essential that all conditions in the tenders, which do not imply a clearly stipulated absolute value, be translated into costs. However, the basis for the analysis of commercial proposals from suppliers are the very requests that the consumer has made to them. For this reason, the structuring of demand – which is practically a translation of consumer needs into benefits demanded by suppliers – is just as important as the actual analysis is. The choice of the duration of the contractual period, its fragmentation according to the market context, the flexibility of energy consumption and the configuration of the right products are just some of the aspects to be evaluated before the actual selection process”, says the consultant.
Theodor Livinschi considers the moment of contracting by the consumer to be the most important. Although there are a number of so-called „right moments” validated in time depending to the contractual period analyzed, he appreciates that the right moment can be correctly identified only based on periodic reports correlating the costs with the market and based on “take profit” and “stop loss” principles.
“I see an interest beyond expectations for this kind of services, with our non-contractual partners being already involved in various demo projects. We are in advanced discussions with manufacturers in industries such as automotive, cement, plastics and more, as well as with large chains of shops and restaurants. Our initial business plan provided for September as the time of signing the first contractual partnership, but we are already collaborating with two important players in the paper and cardboard, and industrial gas industries, Vrancart and Messer, respectively.”
Partnerg-i is committed to providing its partners with expertise, time and security in the acquisition of electricity and natural gas supply services, through locally adapted consultancy in accordance with the global requirements of the partners, if the case. Partnerg-i is the first Romanian company in a relatively new local market; only a few foreign companies entered this segment, most often as a result of contracting such services by the groups to which the beneficiaries in Romania belong.