When Vestforbrænding initiated Varmeplan 2030 in 2022, it wasn’t just the start of Denmark’s largest district heating project. It was also the beginning of a completely new way of doing business. Vestforbrænding was not used to handling customers at the scale the plan envisioned.
Heine Winding Lauenborg was appointed Commercial Director in March 2024 to prepare Vestforbrænding for this new reality. But time was already tight. Within a year, the number of customers would grow from around 500 to 5,000.
A Manual Customer Journey at Its Limit
At the time, the customer journey was not scalable and far from automated. Leads were managed in spreadsheets, connection fees were billed via email, ownership changes required phone chains, and service visits were scheduled in Excel. It was manual, but it had worked until then.
With the prospect of up to 40,000 new customers under Varmeplan 2030, it was clear that the manual process could not continue. Heine and the relevant departments knew the customer journey needed an overhaul – but where to start?
Vestforbrænding is Denmark’s largest waste and energy company. In collaboration with VENZO, the company has digitalized its customer journey and is ready to serve 40,000 new district heating customers by 2030.
Overview and Proposal to Management
This is where Sofie, an experienced program manager from VENZO, came in. Having faced similar challenges before, she knew the key wasn’t to do everything at once. Vestforbrænding needed to prioritize carefully while ensuring the organization was aligned throughout the process.
Sofie took on the role of project manager and daily responsibility for the deliverables and changes required. Together with Heine, she prepared a thorough and realistic proposal for management approval, emphasizing governance, change management, testing, and the potential impact on employee well-being and job satisfaction.
Initial Rejection and Surprising ROI
The initial proposal was rejected. Management wanted more concrete numbers. Fortunately, calculations showed a surprisingly fast ROI of just over two years. With a few adjustments, the proposal was approved, and work on automating the customer journey began in February 2025.
Prioritizing Processes
An analysis of Vestforbrænding’s customer journey identified 36 manual processes that could be optimized. Digitalizing all 36 at once was unrealistic.
The project was therefore not just about automation but also about rethinking the processes with fresh eyes. In close collaboration with departments in sales, customer service, operations, and other suppliers, Sofie and the steering group identified the 12 most critical processes—those with the highest commercial impact and greatest potential to improve the overall customer and employee experience.
"The project has given Vestforbrænding employees clear ownership of the new digital processes. They are now better anchored in the organization—which is a huge benefit for us. The project hasn’t solved everything, but we are much better equipped to handle more customers and have a more efficient workflow across the customer journey."
Heine Winding Lauenborg, Commercial Director, Vestforbrænding
In close collaboration and dialogue with the relevant departments, especially sales, customer service, and operations, as well as other suppliers, Sofie and the steering group reviewed and prioritized the processes. Together, they selected the 12 most important processes. Those that would have the greatest commercial impact for Vestforbrænding, while also providing the best overall experience for customers and improving the work environment for employees.
A Successful Project
After an intensive process, the team reached their goal: an automated customer journey that makes life easier for employees and significantly improves the experience for district heating customers.
As a small but meaningful example, errors in customer address registration no longer occur because addresses are now automatically validated against the Danish Address Register (DAR). When a new district heating solution is activated, it is now done through a digital form that automatically sends information to Vestforbrænding’s customer database, geographic information system, consumption measurement platform, and accounting system.
Ready for the Future
There is still potential to further improve the customer journey and operations.
Today, however, Vestforbrænding is better positioned to achieve its goals and provide district heating to more of its owner municipalities.
The optimized customer journey has not only reduced errors and shortened response times—it has also embedded Vestforbrænding’s ambitions throughout the organization.
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