May 7, 2024

Written by: Nica Lourens

Copperleaf Hosts First AIP Forum in the Netherlands 

After successful events in Rome, London and Abu Dhabi, we recently hosted our first AIP (Asset Investment Planning) Forum in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Delegates from the natural gas, water, electricity and transport sectors gathered at the Enexis Innovation Center to share best practices, discuss industry challenges, and network with peers. 

Our hosts at Enexis kicked off the event by diving into their asset investment planning journey with Copperleaf®. Ben Smit, Business Product Owner at Enexis, and Tim Grim, AIP Expert at Enexis, outlined some of the challenges facing their organisation and other energy utilities—including rising costs, climate change and the energy transition—and how they’ve used the Copperleaf solution to overcome these challenges and achieve strategic goals. The Copperleaf solution provides Enexis with a central system that can quickly and easily analyse and optimise investment portfolios and calculate scenarios based on developments in the energy market, changing performance requirements, and/or limitations in available resources. 

Delegates were invited to the inspiring Enexis Innovation Center in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

A significant step forward for our AIP Community in the Netherlands! It was an enlightening day with a well-structured programme, during which many new connections were made. These connections will enable us to continue exchanging knowledge and experiences with our peers in the AIP space.” 

Ben Smit 
Business Product Owner 
Enexis

Alliander, one of the newest members of the Copperleaf Community, shared the network group’s key drivers for change, and what they expect to gain from a more strategic, optimised approach to portfolio planning. Matthijs Danes, AIP Product Owner at Alliander, highlighted the importance of having a consistent and transparent approach to asset investment planning in order to make the highest value decisions in the face of a changing energy landscape. 

Jason Enti, Solution Advisor at SAP, explained how Copperleaf Portfolio™ – SAP Edition enables direct integration between Copperleaf’s industry-leading Asset Investment Planning solution and SAP’s Intelligent Asset Management and Digital Supply Chain solutions. Jason demonstrated how an end-to-end solution enables companies to:  

  • Easily adjust to shifting budgets, resource availability, and business priorities 
  • Use asset data in SAP to enhance decision-making regarding asset sustainability 
  • Evaluate and communicate project risks and benefits on a common economic scale 
  • Optimise investment portfolios to maximise capital efficiency and achieve strategic goals 
  • Establish a continuous feedback loop between asset investment planning and project execution. 

In our final client case study for the day, Carsten Kessler, Client Success Manager at Copperleaf, shared Copenhagen Metro’s story, originally delivered by Jakob Keinicke Sørensen,  Head of Assets and Renewals, at the 2023 IAM Global Conference. Carsten explained how ageing assets, limited planning capabilities, and ambitious KPIs led the 24-hour metro service to implement the Copperleaf solution. With Copperleaf, the organisation is streamlining the portfolio planning process to develop the highest-value investment strategies aligned with the company’s goals around service availability, customer satisfaction, safety, capacity, and climate footprint. 

The event provided a great opportunity for delegates to network, share and learn

We ended the event with an engaging panel discussion between Justin van der Bruggen, Senior Manager at Accenture, Rutger Krijnen, Project Manager at Gasunie, Matthijs Danes, Ben Smit and Tim Grim. The panel delved into the importance of establishing a continuous planning process, and being able to re-optimise to meet the needs of an evolving landscape.  

The AIP Forum offered delegates a valuable opportunity to network with other portfolio and asset managers, discuss shared challenges, and learn how to get started with asset investment planning. We would like to extend our thanks to all our speakers, delegates and organisers for contributing to the success of this event—we look forward to seeing you at the next one! 

 Missed this Forum? Don’t worry, we have more exciting events coming up this year including: 

  • Copperleaf Summit – Whistler, Canada | 21-23 May 2024 
  • Copperleaf Summit – Brussels, Belgium | 4-5 June 2024 

Visit our events page or contact the team to register.