Record levels of supplier switching are increasing the pressure on effective customer retention. More switching means winback must work reliably. At E‑world 2026, Paperfly shows how utilities can manage cancellation cases as an automated, channel-agnostic winback workflow: with delivery logic, response windows and defined fallbacks.
Utilities are facing high customer willingness to switch. For 2024, Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) reported new record levels of supplier switching: around 7.1 million electricity customers and 2.2 million gas customers changed provider. This increases operational pressure not just to administer cancellations, but to organise winback in a way that is actually effective within short time windows.
In practice, winback often fails less because of the offer and more because of execution. Messages don’t reach customers, exceptions end up in the wrong processing loops, and case statuses are inconsistent. Paperfly therefore implements winback as an end-to-end workflow: from the “cancellation” trigger through to a documented return confirmation.
The sequence is easy to follow:
- Trigger: A cancellation starts the winback workflow either immediately (real-time trigger) or in a bundled batch: for example when cancellations are collected and imported as a list once per week.
- Segmentation & start: The case is segmented based on rules; then a suitable “value-first” journey is initiated and an initial contact is delivered via the primary channel.
- Response window: If there is no response within a defined time window, the workflow controls the next step—for example a reminder via the same channel.
- Fallbacks: If there is still no response or delivery is not possible, the workflow switches to alternative channels based on rules (e.g., SMS); as a final fallback, a letter with a QR code can be used.
- Closure: The case ends with a documented status: return confirmation, termination, or handover into a defined clarification step: so the case does not remain “open”.
The cancellation has been prevented automatically, the contract remains active, the process is complete and the winback is won.
The winback workflow segments cancellation cases based on rules and plays out matching “value-first” journeys in which customers choose a clear option and confirm directly within the same flow. This turns winback into a controllable process: delivery, response, fallbacks, deadlines and closure logic work together within one integrated sequence.
The workflow’s success depends heavily on delivery as process logic. Reachability is not treated as a simple “campaign assumption” but as a case status: delivered, opened, responded or no response within a defined deadline. If a response is missing or a contact path is not deliverable, defined fallbacks and stop rules apply instead of cases quietly expiring.
Content-based retention is also operationalised as decision logic. Cancellation cases can be segmented by rules so that messaging and the journey match the reason for cancellation: for example, price reasons are handled differently than service or frustration reasons. The winback journey reduces complexity to a clear selection so customers can make a decision and confirm within the same flow.
Another lever is timing. Operationally, winback often comes too late if customers have already signed a new supply contract at the moment they decide to cancel. In that scenario, the workflow can (after explicit customer authorisation) trigger the cancellation of the new contract (withdrawal) with the new provider and, in parallel, initiate the withdrawal of the cancellation in the incumbent system. Confirmations and feedback are tracked as statuses within the case so the withdrawal is not only sent, but processed end-to-end through to confirmation in a traceable way.
At E‑world energy & water 2026, Paperfly demonstrates how this winback workflow can be embedded into existing utility system landscapes so that retention works as an executable process: channel-agnostic, traceable and easy to close.
About Paperfly
Paperfly is a Customer & Document Experience Platform. The SaaS platform enables fully digital, media-break-free workflows along the customer journey: from document submission and review to signature, identity verification and payment processing. Paper-based processes are replaced, cycle times are reduced and customer interactions are improved sustainably.
Press contact
Paperfly
Dirk Metzmacher
Nevinghoff 14–18, 48147 Münster, Germany
E-Mail: hello@paperfly.io
Web: paperfly.io
Phone: +49 251 322009 10
Feel free to visit us in Hall 4, Stand 4B119.