A 2.1 Background and Context

Lower Murray Water Context

LMW faces a complex operating environment servicing a relatively small and diverse urban and rural customer base along the Murray River. Regulatory pressures for flat or falling prices, limited opportunities to develop economies of scale, and challenges around operational efficiency all contribute to challenges for the organisation. LMW recognises the need to reform its business to ensure it continues to deliver water services consistent with regulatory obligations and customer expectations.

Historical underinvestment in the underlying operating model of the business and associated technology systems has meant that the core systems are outdated and unable to meet the growing needs of the business and its customers. LMW is heavily reliant upon manual and time-consuming processes to deliver essential water and corporate services. Challenges have been identified across a range of core technology systems including the Finance system, Billing system and the Customer Management system. Systems and data flows have not kept pace with the changing needs of the operating environment. This has raised LMW’s risk profile should its present challenges not be addressed.

As a result, LMW has embarked on a multi-year Business Transformation Program (BTP) to uplift its capabilities, address its operational challenges and respond to increasing customer expectations.

 BTP Background

Lower Murray Water is committed to enhancing our systems and processes to better support our people and communities, through improved ways of working and a customer-centric approach that will secure sustainable water services for our future.

The strategic drivers of the BTP are outlined below:

The program scope includes a range of people, process and technology related initiatives to which core system replacement is central. To balance budgetary constraints and the ability of LMW to deliver transformational change, the BTP is to be delivered in a stage approach (Stages) over multiple years.

LMW has completed the solution selection and confirmed the target state and technology platforms for the LMW business. The target SaaS solutions which LMW have selected are:

• Finance, Procurement, Payroll & HR: TechnologyOne CiA
• CRM, Billing, and Customer Portal: Infor IPS
• Asset Management: Infor IPS

A.2.2 Services Scope

This RFT is seeking Invitees to provide services to support the development, improvement changes and or design of a limited number of strategic initiatives. Lower Murray Water’s key objectives for this RFT is to select a partner who is capable of providing all listed services, individually costed, and delivered as a project.

A.2.2.1 Customer Journey & Service Design (Customer Experience Strategy)

Lower Murray Water has made a strategic commitment to improving customer experience and providing high quality water services to its customers. Customer service and stakeholder engagement are at the core of Lower Murray Water strategic vision, with a focus on embedding customer engagement across the business.

The LMW Customer Experience (CX) Strategy will define the direction, service principles and capabilities required to measure and manage customer interactions and enable LMW to improve customer engagement, outcomes and therefore experience. The analysis should include:

• Customer Definition and Customer Segments
• Current state - based on the work completed above, work with LMW to document the current customer experience.
• Future state
• Document and finalise with LMW a CX strategy and roadmap.

A.2.2.2 Information Management and Data and Governance Frameworks

Lower Murray Water requires appropriate frameworks to support strong governance and best practice relating to its information and data management practices and compliance with corporate reporting requirements.

These artefacts should incorporate all regulatory, statutory and financial reporting needs as relevant to a Victorian Water Corporation, as well as establishing records, retention, disposal, and archiving rules in accordance with Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.

Establishing strong data governance to ensure that appropriate authority, control, protection, and shared decision making (planning, monitoring and enforcement) is applied to the management of data assets is a fundamental outcome of this project.

Whilst this project requires an assessment of both the current and future state, Lower Murray Water acknowledges that an information management and data framework is a key document that will enable it to align its practices and meet its obligations. It is anticipated at the very least, an information management and data strategy, a corporate reporting framework and an information and data governance framework will be required to best support the organisation in understanding its data assets, meeting its current and future compliance obligations and protecting its assets through appropriate governance and risk mitigation strategies.

• Information and Data Governance Framework - should support Lower Murray Water in understanding the who, what, where when and how of data management including where its key information and data is stored, who has authority and responsibility, how it is being utilised, protected and secured. This framework should consider Lower Murray Water’s data in a holistic manner incorporating both digital and physical elements.
• Information and Data Management Framework – should support the organisation in understanding what data assets it owns and how these assets support the organisation to achieve its goals and make good decisions. From the collection of data through to the reporting of various information, the strategy should consider the people, processes and technology that provides control over the structure, processing, delivery and usage of information in a manner that is accessible, accurate, complete and secure. It should also consider future data requirements, particularly with regard to emerging compliance obligations such as environmental, social and governance (ESG). An outcome from the strategy should also include an order of magnitude cost for uplifting to future state.
• Corporate Reporting Framework – should enable clear, transparent, and consistent presentation of Lower Murray Water’s financial and non-financial performance. It should consider regulatory and governance requirements, both internal and external to the organisation and factor in the need for future corporate reporting requirements, particularly relating to environmental, social and governance (ESG), financial disclosures, and the uplift in maturity of the organisation which may see internal metrics, measures and KPIs evolve over time.

The following requirements should be factored into the tender response:

1. Assess current state
2. Define future state
3. Document and finalise an appropriate suite of documentation which should include an Information and Data Governance Framework, Information & Data Management Strategy, a Corporate Reporting Framework and a roadmap to take the next iterative steps.

A.2.2.2 Solution Architecture Framework

To assist with the successful delivery of the Business Transformation Program and to provide an overall Solution Architecture, Lower Murray Water require a suitably experienced Solution Architect or Architects, to lead the evaluation of Current State, propose a Future State and continued involvement in the design, build and testing of the infrastructure to support a complex business environment.

The critical importance of solution architecture in the case of the Business Transformation Program is to ensure the future state architecture of the business is defined and supportable and that there is a clear transitionary process to implement the many capability releases, while maintaining business continuity. A gold standard enterprise solution architecture is characterised by its seamless integration of diverse systems and technologies, it’s scalability and it is secure and robust. It is also adaptable to evolving business needs. It provides numerous benefits such as enhanced operational efficiency, reduced costs through streamlined processes, improved data accuracy and better decision-making capabilities. Ultimately fostering sustainable growth and competitiveness for the organisation.

The objective of this Framework is to develop a comprehensive enterprise and solution architecture for the Business Transformation Program, ensuring the definition of a supportable future-state business architecture and a clear transition process for system upgrades that maintain business continuity. The project aims to establish a Lower Murray Water specific enterprise solution architecture characterised by the gold standard mentioned above.

Whilst the priority of the role of Solution Architect is to develop an Enterprise Integration Architecture, the Solution Architecture encompasses the Customer Journey, Corporate Reporting, Information and Data Management frameworks and other strategic initiatives.

LMW requires a robust integration platform with fast development and operational efficiency along with business scalability. LMW require this integration platform for achieving various transitional states across all enterprise applications, while transforming their landscape along with long term operational simplicity.

The following requirements should be factored into the tender response:

• Assess and document current state.
• Determine and document future state.