Fintech, one of South Africa's largest independent financiers for technology used in business, sought to realise a competitive edge by driving efficiency gains, speed of execution and overall quality across its core operational processes.
Fintech was formed in 1981, and has capital financed under administration of more than R1.5 billion with offices in all major centres.
Fintech has transformed its business several times to stay in touch with market demands. Most recent initiatives have focused on driving significant change to the sales, sales administration, advances and finance areas of the business, stretching into creating closer links with key customers.
This required the optimisation of turnaround times, developing closer links with key customers, better utilisation of existing technologies, and creation of greater visibility at operational and executive levels.
Volition Consulting Services is a leading independent supply chain consulting firm in SA, specialising in implementing sustainable and proven change, assisting leading companies to achieve supply chain integration, technology enablement and continuous management improvement.
Together with Volition, a classic supply chain approach was followed in analysing issues facing the business. This analysis focused on work-in-progress bottlenecks, efficient utilisation of resources, quality enforcement, collaboration and process integration, process-system alignment, activity measurement and the ongoing challenge of change management.
Process improvement initiatives included the systematic removal of physical paper, a move to system-driven processes and electronic document handling. Duplication was eliminated, as were functional barriers, specifically at key changeover points. Greater collaborative alignment was sought with key customers, and quality and visibility were enhanced across all process steps.
Staff and management were empowered through the increased availability of information, ensuring correct timing, format and content. Change management was implemented as a common thread through most initiatives. Enhancements to Fintech's existing technology foundation were a major part of the improvement drive.
Focus was given to the alignment and integration of systems across different supply chain partners. An online self-service ordering portal was developed that included online deal enquiry and tracking facilities. A consumer scoring system was adopted to speed up the credit approval process.
Electronic document loading and management capabilities were built into existing systems, while built-in workflow functionality was harnessed to better automate the execution of key processes. Finally, improved process visibility was implemented to drive better performance measurement and ensured data integrity.
The business has drawn sustainable benefit from this initiative. There has been a clear improvement in up-front quality. Deal processing times are a fraction of what they were a year ago, showing a great increase in process efficiency. Process integration across the organisation is taking shape resulting in the virtual elimination of bottlenecks.
Finally, while overall business volumes have almost doubled over the past two years, there has been no need to increase manpower capacities. Top management support was key in making this initiative a success. This exercise proved that supply chain improvement concepts can be applied to service-oriented supply chain processes with considerable success. Active and continued change management, coupled with sustainable process visibility, creates a sound recipe for success. Simpler technology solutions often make a bigger impact.
Improvement initiatives are continuing within Fintech. Further integration and collaboration is being sought, including expanded integration to broader customer channels. Improvements in business measurement are being applied to drive further insight. The business is under continuous review to improve agility across core processes and service offerings.
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