“Sunny” chatbot: Taking the pressure off heating technology providers

Challenge

Ritter Energie- und Umwelttechnik specializes in renewable heating technology and cooperates in customer service with a broad network of specialist partners. This network obtains all information on products, installation, maintenance and issue resolution via the company's service hotline. Especially at peak times, this leads to longer hotline wait times, among other things. At the same time, there are inquiries and queries as well as information that can be digitalized to take the pressure off the hotline. On the part of the inquirers, changes in employees (know-how carriers retiring, shortage of skilled workers, etc.) also become noticeable, which sometimes also lead to the fact that the need for information constantly increases and important data must be made accessible more quickly. 

Solution

A SaaS solution in the form of a chatbot via WhatsApp business, which tradespeople can ask for values and data in a targeted and intuitive manner in the event of a service call. The digital assistant of the Neo Enterprise Assistant Platform (NEAP) supports these inquiries and queries with Quick Replies and AI-based intention recognition. It was particularly important to Ritter Energie- und Umwelttechnik that the existing databases, especially from the existing SAP ERP system as well as Excel tables, be connected smoothly. In the future, all data should thus be stored and maintained centrally in only one place. The chatbot can then draw information from the data on specific questions on topics such as maintenance, contact data, diagnostic information or exhaust gas values and answer them in writing or via voice output. The channel for transmitting the information is provided by msg: NEAP is an omnichannel solution that can be used across channels. 

Benefit

After just a few weeks, the introduction of NEAP is already showing the first positive effects. Within a very short time, the chatbot solves questions and provides targeted answers. The digital assistant is already being used by many trade partners and supports them during their work. They receive the information relevant to them faster and more efficiently, around the clock, without having to wait in service queues for long periods of time. The pressure is taken off service hotline staff who can now concentrate on cases that require particular explanation or are unusual. End customers benefit from faster service and from the fact that faults can usually be corrected directly during the first callout.

Customer testimonial

“The heat transition in Germany is in full swing and is set to be accelerated even further. Our new msg chatbot Sunny is helping us to cope with the enormous increase in the number of customer inquiries. Sunny is fast, clear, intuitive, available 24x7 and is constantly evolving. This is how msg is supporting us in the energy transition.”

Jochen Stein, Area Manager Service of Paradigma (a company of Ritter Energie-​ und Umwelttechnik)