Order management
What happens when a customer enrolls through the marketplace
When a customer selects one of your plans on Kinetic Grid, a structured enrollment pipeline handles the handoff from consumer intent to supplier decision. This guide walks through every step from the supplier's perspective.
Customer-facing enrollment steps
Before an enrollment reaches your team, the customer has completed a multi-step qualification flow on the marketplace. Understanding these steps helps you anticipate what information you'll receive and why the lead quality from marketplace enrollments tends to be high.
- ZIP code entry: The customer enters their service ZIP code, which determines state regulations, available utilities, and eligible suppliers.
- Utility identification:The platform identifies the customer's delivery utility based on their ZIP code and confirms their service territory. This step eliminates plans from suppliers who don't serve that utility.
- Plan comparison: The customer reviews available plans filtered to their specific utility, commodity type, and service class. Plans are displayed with standardized rate, term, and fee information.
- Enrollment submission: The customer provides their contact information, account details, and confirms the selected plan. This submission creates an enrollment request in the platform.
Order packaging and delivery
Once a customer submits an enrollment request, the platform packages the order with all relevant details and delivers it to your team. Kinetic Grid supports two delivery mechanisms depending on your integration level.
CSV export batches
For suppliers using the basic integration tier, enrollment requests are compiled into CSV batches and delivered via email at configurable intervals - typically every 2 hours during business hours. Each batch includes customer name, contact information, utility account number, service address, selected plan details, and submission timestamp.
Webhook delivery
API-integrated suppliers can receive enrollment requests in real time via webhook. Each enrollment fires an HTTPS POST to your configured endpoint with a structured JSON payload. Webhook delivery supports retry logic with exponential backoff - if your endpoint returns a non-200 response, the platform retries up to 5 times over a 24-hour period.
Supplier review and decision
After receiving an enrollment request, your team reviews the customer's information and makes a decision. The platform supports three decision outcomes:
- Approve: The customer meets all eligibility criteria. The enrollment proceeds to utility submission and the customer receives a confirmation notification.
- Pending deposit: The customer qualifies but requires a deposit before enrollment can proceed. The platform notifies the customer with deposit amount and payment instructions.
- Decline: The customer does not meet eligibility criteria. The platform notifies the customer and may suggest alternative plans from other suppliers.
Decisions can be submitted through the supplier portal, via email reply to the enrollment notification, or programmatically through the API. The platform accepts all three methods and updates the enrollment status immediately.
Inbound status parsing
Kinetic Grid can receive status updates from your team through multiple channels. For suppliers who process enrollments through their own systems, the platform parses inbound status updates to keep the customer informed automatically.
Email-based status updates
Reply to the enrollment notification email with a structured status line (e.g., "APPROVED", "DECLINED - credit check failed", or "PENDING DEPOSIT - $150"). The platform's email parser extracts the status and reason, updates the enrollment record, and triggers the appropriate customer notification.
Webhook-based status updates
API-integrated suppliers can push status updates via a dedicated webhook endpoint. The JSON payload includes the enrollment ID, new status, optional reason code, and any additional details (such as deposit amount or expected activation date).
Automated customer notifications
At every stage of the enrollment lifecycle, the platform sends automated notifications to the customer via email and SMS (if opted in). These notifications include:
- Enrollment confirmation with plan details and expected timeline
- Supplier decision notification (approved, pending deposit, or declined)
- Deposit instructions when applicable
- Utility switch confirmation when the enrollment is submitted to the utility
- Activation confirmation when the new plan takes effect
These notifications are sent under the Kinetic Grid brand. Suppliers can optionally request co-branded notifications that include their company name and logo alongside the platform branding.
SLA expectations and response time best practices
Kinetic Grid recommends that suppliers respond to enrollment requests within 4 business hours. The platform tracks response time as part of the supplier quality scorecard, and faster response times correlate with higher conversion rates and lower customer cancellation.
If your team cannot meet the 4-hour target consistently, consider enabling webhook delivery to reduce the delay between enrollment submission and team notification. Many suppliers find that switching from batch CSV delivery to real-time webhooks cuts their median response time by more than 60%.