Publications / Reports

Utilities Flash Report

Analysis of the Italian Utilities Sector - Full Year 2012 results

The Arthur D. Little’s Italian Utilities Flash Report , is a quarterly publication aimed to highlight the financial and industrial results of the most important Italian listed Utilities’ companies as well as to describe the main events of all the sectors covered by the report (natural gas, electricity, water, and waste). The attached report focuses on full year 2012 results.

Even if 2012 was characterized by significant uncertainty surrounding the global macroeconomic situation, the full-year figures confirmed the positive trend already seen in the previous quarters for almost all Utilities in the panel. Despite the high cost of the commodities, the negative macroeconomic situation, the uncertain regulatory framework and the end of CIP6 incentives, most of the companies were able to turn their increased revenues into higher margins. The financial structure too shows an improvement for most of the companies thanks to the growth of their marginality and to the reduction of their net financial position (NFP) through corporate rationalization strategies.

The report depicts also the key challenges to watch in 2013, for the Italian utilities:

• An unstable regulatory environment that impacts all Local Public Services that does not allow Utilities to have a clear vision on the medium-long term
• The huge amount of planned investments for energy infrastructures as well as to acquire new customers and the increasing difficulty to obtain loans
• The impact of technological innovation on utilities’ business models: e-mobility (offering and business model), smart grid and smart home (management models and relationship with telco) and storage
• The general trend towards the concentration of operators in different modes as recently occurred (mergers, joint ventures with financial investors), rather than through target acquisitions

Released: June 2013

Download File Utilities_Flash_Report_FullYear_2012Report.pdf (.PDF, 2.7 MB)

Electricity Trading beyond “Buy and Sell”

Wholesale electricity trading now becomes essential for utilities in Southeast Europe

Electricity trading has become a common and important value chain component in most large energy utilities in liberalized markets. Trading acts as an essential link between a utility’s own electricity production, the wholesale market and sales. In most non-EU countries currently preparing for electricity market liberalization, electricity trading and wholesale markets are still in an early development stage. We suggest several business models for electricity trading that enable an utility to develop its trading capabilities step by step.

Released: June 2013

Download File 2013_ENRUTL_Insight_Trading-SEE.pdf (.PDF, 190 Kb)

Technology Application in Mid-Sized Oil and Gas Companies

Helping E&P Companies to Better Results by Improved Use of Technology

Mid-sized upstream oil and gas companies often make relatively low investments in technology development and lack the leverage over service and equipment companies that is held by the larger E&P companies. In this viewpoint, Arthur D. Little describes the results of a review in which it found that those mid-sized E&P companies with more proactive approaches to the adoption of technologies and stronger technology management processes generally seemed to yield better overall business performance expressed in both cost and resource replacement terms. This suggests that improving technology strategies can bring substantial benefits to the business performance of mid-sized E&P companies.

Released: June 2013

Download File 2013_ENRUTL_Viewpoint_TechnologyApplicationMidSizedOilGas.pdf (.PDF, 488 Kb)

Project Risk Management – An Executive Concern

Actively Manage Risk to Deliver Capital Projects on Time and to Budget!

The main objective of this paper is to highlight how important it is for companies to proactively manage risk in the delivery of their capital projects to ensure that capital projects are completed on time and to budget. Risk management is one of those areas which is assumed to be well established in most companies, yet many projects suffer significant cost overruns and delays, so it is worth asking the question why is the risk management process failing? We have also highlighted in this paper how some of the softer aspects / risk culture is as important as some of the harder aspects, such as processes, methodologies, etc. In some of our recent client engagements we have helped clients understand their risk exposure at a project portfolio level and take the right decisions for the organization as a whole.

Released: May 2013

Download File Project_Risk_Management.pdf (.PDF, 2.0 MB)

National Fibre Strategies

National economic imperative or just another private industry task?

The socioeconomic benefits of advanced telecommunications infrastructure and services are intuitive, as well as definitive. Arthur D. Little studies have demonstrated the links between advanced telecommunications and the diversity and strength of economies.

Released: May 2013

Read more »

Download File National-Fibre-Strategies_ADL-Report_HR.PDF (.PDF, 2.3 MB)

Utilities Online - a Case Study of Italy

How Utilities Compete on the Web to Capture and Retain Customers

“The dynamics of online competition are affecting the gas and power retail markets. The number of different offers, their widespread accessibility and increasing energy costs has caused a transformation in customers' behavior that is already noticeable in other industries. The growing willingness of consumers to change supplier has significantly increased switching rates in major European countries and is leading operators to review their approach to communicating with customers. Arthur D. Little analyzed more than 100 web offers, related to domestic and small business markets, in order to capture new customer oriented strategies”.

Released: May 2013

Download File ENRUTL_Utilities_Online_EN_2013.pdf (.PDF, 559 Kb)

New GDP guidelines: looking beyond

Regulatory changes of Good Distribution Practice (GDP) of Medicinal Products increase complexity

In 2013, the EU-guidelines on GDP of Medicinal Products for Human Use have been augmented: Now for example, the required storage conditions of pharmaceuticals are to be maintained during transportation. In addition, new requirements apply concerning cleanliness and security of any intermediate storage facility. Although increasing complexity these specifications create space for opportunities such as differentiation or benefit from cost advantage over competition.

Released: May 2013

Download File ADL_HC_Insight_EU_GDP_Guidelines_2013.pdf (.PDF, 172 Kb)

Launch excellence for new medicines

Global challenges require new approach for market entry

After years of low productivity, R&D in leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies is starting to deliver on its promises and the number of New Molecular Entities (NMEs) approved by the US FDA has leveled out. Once approval has been gained there needs to be a launch. However, complexity of global market access has substantially increased. In this viewpoint, Arthur D. Little assesses the key success factors for launch excellence in times of global market access challenge.

Released: April 2013

Download File HC_2013_Launch_excellence_global.pdf (.PDF, 825 Kb)

Arthur D. Little - Exane BNP Paribas report 2013

4G - going faster, but where?

The 12th edition of the joint annual report by Exane BNP Paribas and Arthur D. Little focuses on 4G LTE. We held 91 meetings in the telecom-media-technology arena, across 15 countries.

Overall, 4G is unlikely to restore pricing power in the European mobile industry. We see no capacity shortage before 2020 and differentiation is elusive, with spectrum imbalances in favour of challengers. European telecom operators‘ revenues will further decline by -1.8% pa until 2016.  

If you would like your own full copy of the report, please contact Isabelle Tisserant.

Released: April 2013

Download File Arthur_D_Little_Exane_Study_Executive_Summary_2013.pdf (.PDF, 518 Kb)

A Glint in the Eye of the Customer

Outstanding “Wow-Effects” Through an Innovative Customer Journey

Today, differentiation from competitors by just delivering a failure-free customer journey across all touch points is not enough anymore. Companies need to take Customer Experience Management (CEx) to the next level and surprise customers with outstanding “wow-effects”. Arthur D. Little showcases a methodology to design such effects of high appreciation and positive astonishment, by the implementation of a service innovation process that ties the customer’s emotional response to a product or service.

Released: March 2013

Download File S_O_2013_CEx_Service_Innovation.pdf (.PDF, 825 Kb)