Case study
Rope and Marine Services fixed its water billing and moved everything to one account
Multiple sites, bills that kept arriving wrong, and a supplier relationship that wasn’t getting fixed. We moved them to a retailer chosen on service, consolidated the sites, and cleared the legacy billing problems on the way.
Rope and Marine at a glance
Rope and Marine’s bills weren’t accurate and queries weren’t getting answered. We shortlisted retailers on service rather than price alone, consolidated every site onto one account, and tracked three historic billing problems through to resolution as part of the move. The client now rates the new supplier’s service five stars.
Client overview
Rope and Marine Services is a manufacturing business running from multiple sites, each with its own water supply. The water itself was never the problem. The paperwork around it was.
They came to us wanting to move retailer, but not to a different version of the same situation. The brief was a supplier with a real track record on multi site billing accuracy, and a clean-up of the account problems that had built up along the way.
The challenge
Bills that didn’t match consumption. Invoices from the incumbent retailer kept arriving wrong, and the finance team had developed a monthly “is this right?” routine that shouldn’t need to exist.
Queries that went nowhere. When the bills were questioned, responses were slow and resolutions patchy. Once that pattern starts with a supplier, it tends not to fix itself.
Legacy problems stacking up. Three billing inaccuracies sat unresolved on the old account, and every month they stayed open they got harder to untangle.
How we approached it
For a customer who has already been burned on service, the cheapest unit rate isn’t the right answer. We treated service as a filter before price came into it, and we treated the switch itself as the opportunity to resolve the old account issues rather than leaving them behind.
What we did, step by step
Shortlisted retailers on service, not just price. The shortlist was filtered down to retailers with a strong record on multi site billing accuracy and account management, before rates were compared.
Consolidated the sites onto one account. Every supply point moved onto a single account with the new retailer. One contact, one set of invoices, one renewal date instead of several spread across the year.
Cleaned up the historic billing issues during the switch. The three outstanding inaccuracies on the old account were tracked through to resolution as part of the move, rather than left to deal with later.
What changed
Bills that actually match the supplies. The new retailer’s billing reconciles cleanly to each site’s consumption. The recurring accuracy check has dropped out of the finance team’s month.
Service that responds. Rope and Marine rate the new supplier’s service five stars. Faster responses on queries, and fewer queries to begin with.
One contract instead of several. Renewal management is now one date, one project, one conversation.
“We were frustrated with poor service and incorrect billing from our previous provider. The team made the switch effortless — consolidating our sites and moving us to a supplier that actually delivers on service and accuracy. We’re really pleased with the outcome.”
Managing Director, Rope and Marine Services
Key insight
Price gets the attention, but service is where water contracts go wrong. The deregulated market opened in 2017 and some retailers built proper multi site B2B service infrastructure from day one. Others didn’t. The difference only shows up when something goes wrong on an account, which is exactly when it matters.
The other lesson is timing. Historic billing problems are easier to resolve as part of a switch than after one, because the leverage of the move is still on the table.
Does this look like your business?
If you run across multiple sites with a retailer whose billing or service isn’t holding up, a market review will usually surface options. We’d start with what you’re currently paying and what other retailers would offer for the same setup, with service records weighed alongside the rates.
Industry terms used on this page
- Retailer and wholesaler
- In the business water market the wholesaler owns the pipes and treats the water, while the retailer handles billing and customer service. Switching retailer changes who bills you, not the water or the pipework.
- Billing reconciliation
- Checking that what a bill charges matches what the site actually used. When a retailer’s billing reconciles cleanly, this stops being a manual monthly job.
- Site consolidation
- Bringing multiple supply points onto a single account with one retailer, one invoice cycle and one renewal date.
- Deregulated water market
- Since 2017, businesses in England have been able to choose their water retailer rather than being tied to the regional supplier. Scotland’s market opened earlier.
- Incumbent retailer
- The retailer a business is currently with. Incumbents keep accounts by default, which is why persistent service problems are worth acting on rather than tolerating.
Common questions
Does switching business water retailer disrupt supply?
No. The wholesaler and the pipework don’t change when you switch retailer. Water keeps coming. The only thing that moves is who you pay and who handles your billing.
Can outstanding billing problems with an old retailer be resolved during a switch?
Yes, and it’s often easier to resolve them as part of a switch than after one. We track historic issues to closure as part of the migration to the new account.
Why does service quality vary so much between water retailers?
The deregulated business water market opened in 2017, and some retailers built service infrastructure for multi site B2B customers from day one. Others didn’t. The variance shows up most clearly when something actually goes wrong on an account.
Is consolidating multiple sites onto one supplier worth it on its own?
Usually yes. Even without a unit rate saving, one account, one invoice cycle and one renewal date saves real time on the finance side and makes querying anything significantly faster.
Could a similar switch work for our multi site business?
If you’re running across multiple sites with a retailer whose billing or service isn’t holding up, a market review will usually surface options. We’d start by looking at what you’re currently paying.
Published with permission
This case study is published with the consent of Rope and Marine Services. Want your business featured? Get in touch
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