**7. Conclusions**

Within the current study, the DSR's artifact—being a formalized version of a reference EEM implementation process for multi-facility companies—was conceptualized, implemented, evaluated, and escalated from pilot works towards a country-wide project. The target EE improvement contract were spread over 400 petrol stations. Our research explored key process steps, sources of information (RQ1), reference telemetry, and data processing solutions (RQ2) as well as guidelines for framing EE improvement contracts between implementing organizations and contractors (RQ3). The study enabled us to identify areas for improving EE. It was confirmed that the involvement of customer-side staff in the implementation, verification, and continuous improvement of EEM measures was crucial. Close cooperation between the petroleum company that hosted the pilot works and the supplier of telemetric and analytical tools that fully committed itself to support EE improvement activities also contributed to the success of the project.

Nowadays, an effective EEM without mature IT is virtually impossible. A multitude of complex tariffs used by multiple power suppliers, analytical challenges, patterns, and projections that quickly lose relevance, as well as the relative diversity of implementation environments, all highlights the value of IT for EEM. Detailed knowledge regarding the volume of electric power consumption and its distribution over time ought to be adequately captured, up-to-date, and easy to access. Such serviceable knowledge enables matching appropriate energy tariffs perfectly and ordering power volumes that are technically and economically justified. Capable tools combined with know-how and efficiency of operations lead to achieving significant savings.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, B.G.; methodology, B.M.; validation, B.G.; formal analysis, B.M. and B.G.; investigation, B.M.; writing—original draft preparation, B.M.; writing—review and editing, B.G.; visualization, B.M.; supervision, B.M.; project administration, B.G.; funding acquisition, B.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This study was funded by the National Centre for Research and Development (PL)—competition for micro, small and medium enterprises that have received the Seal of Excellence in SME Instrument competitions, phase II (Horizon 2020). Grant number POIR.01.01.01-00-0003/19. The co-author of the article, B.G., is the author of the application, which obtained funding for research and development works.

**Acknowledgments:** We would hereby like to thank Piotr Soja for his constructive criticism regarding the initial version of the manuscript.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
