Energy retailer integrates eSignatures into their mobile app — then switches vendors

Across the business world, companies are looking for ways to achieve their digital transformation, and eSignatures have gained wide acceptance as a fundamental component of this change. This energy retailer was stifled by the inefficiencies of their paper processes. Paper was hindering their sales team and impacting their overall revenue numbers.

The company decided to make a change and implement an eSignature solution. The results were transformative, but the story doesn’t quite end with their first eSignature vendor. A price hike at contract renewal drove them to switch eSignature providers and replace their existing eSignature integration with an integration from OneSpan Sign.

Sales lost due to paper drops from 50% to 1%

The company is the largest North American retailer of energy and energy services, with more than six million customers in the US and Canada. They depend on eSignature capabilities to fulfill door-to-door sales in 13 states plus the District of Columbia.

The ability to gather signatures via their mobile app is vital to the company's success. Prior to eSignatures, the energy retailer’s door-to-door reps had to carry and fill out paper forms; however, half of all paper contracts would get lost or misplaced. Without a contract, the sale is invalid. The company’s field reps now use an iPad, mobile app, and integrated eSignature capability to keep the customer onboarding process end-to-end digital, all the way through to archiving contracts in Salesforce.

Paper contracts have long been cumbersome and unwieldy processes in the digital age. Due to lost contracts and the other costs of using paper, this energy retailer saved $1.2 million dollars a year by using an eSignature solution. Furthermore, the rate of contracts lost plummeted from ~50% down to only 1%. The company was finally able to fully capitalize on the efforts of their sales team without the misplaced paper contracts dragging down their revenue.

600% price increase at contract renewal

In business, acquiring a new customer and keeping an existing customer are two very different things. The retailer first had a relationship with another eSignature provider, DocuSign. The business relationship was going reasonably well, until it came time for contract renewal.

Leading up to the end of their contract, Ken Long, head of technology for consumer sales, tried to get in touch with DocuSign to negotiate a new contract for three months. It wasn’t until the week before expiration that DocuSign came to the table to discuss the renewal. This left Long with little time to finalize a deal and little leverage in the negotiation. 

“They said they were going to raise my rates by 600%,” Long says. With so much at stake, Long scrambled to find a solution. He negotiated a temporary renewal with “only” a 300% rate increase on DocuSign pricing, then initiated a search for a better eSignature value.

10 potential eSignature vendors: OneSpan Sign stands out

Long and his team began a new eSignature evaluation process. They looked at 10 different providers to find one that could meet their requirements: document security, branding capabilities, and ability to integrate with critical sales applications. After a period of research, they narrowed the field to two providers.

Ultimately, OneSpan Sign won the contract after a six-week proof-of-concept test period. 

OneSpan Sign won the contract for a few key reasons:

• After a full feature capability/cost comparison, OneSpan Sign proved to be the best value. While it was not the least expensive solution on the market, lower-priced alternatives did not have nearly the functionality required.
• The opportunity to white-label the full user experience with their logo and branding was unique in the market.
• OneSpan Sign offered the ability to integrate eSigning and document workflow capabilities directly into their mobile application and Salesforce through iOS and Android SDKs.

Rip & replace: Easier, faster than expected

After the proof of concept, the OneSpan team focused on integrating the solution into their mobile app. “We built in a 90-day window for the integration and go-live,” says Long. “We got full implementation in 48 days, exceeding my expectations.”

In addition to a seamless integration, the release of the new capability also went smoothly. The original plan was to roll-out the OneSpan Sign integration to the 350 field representatives over a four-week period. OneSpan and the energy retailer completed the entire rollout in a week. In response to such a rapid rollout, Long said, “We didn’t experience a single problem. I anticipated an influx of calls. Not a one. No bugs, no latencies, no problems.”

Switching eSignature vendors: You have options

When an eSignature provider is truly invested in your success and wants to form a long-term relationship with your organization, they will do what it takes to ensure a cost-effective solution today and in the long term.

However, if you are faced with an unreasonable price increase at renewal time, there are options. Contact us to learn our methodology for switching integrated use cases – and learn about unique features we offer, such as vendor independence.

“Changing out eSignature solutions is not something we take lightly. We understand this touches your core processes. The first thing I tell prospective customers is: you are not the first. In two decades of business, we’ve seen it all. The difference is our experience, consultative approach, and proven migration methodology. That’s how we’ll make you successful.”

Sameer Hajarnis, GM Digital Agreements
OneSpan