The Client

A JSE-listed retailer with over 250 stores in southern Africa. The retailer offers high-value credit to qualifying business customers.

The Problem

The retailer’s turnaround for their credit application process was generally the same as their competitors — 10 days, with one competitor turning applications around in 7 days. Because of this, the competition was fierce — the first to provide the credit wins the business.

The Solution

The retailer asked Solutioneers for advice on potentially automating their process and improving the customer experience.

We began by mapping out the customer journey. This meant mapping all the touchpoints from the first time the customer connected with the company through to the point when they received a decision on the credit application. We discovered that the process involved a lot of manual entry and that paper documents had to be submitted by the applicants in store. Overall, there were many touchpoints filled with friction.

We then identified the touchpoints that could be automated through the use of technology, digitising data capture, and a coordinated digital strategy. The Solutioneers looked at what systems and partners were already within the business and recommended the leveraging of existing partner technologies to reduce the cost of implementation.

We also wanted to see how we could elevate the overall customer experience at this retailer, so that customers would prefer it over the competition. So we conducted some competitor analysis. When we presented our findings to the management team, they were astounded at how much the current process was costing them and the efficiencies that could be gained with our recommended improvements.

The Result

The result was that the process could be accelerated significantly — from a turnaround of 10 days to just 3 days.

This efficiency gain was a major competitive advantage for the company, because it could now offer the quickest turnaround time for a credit application in the market. It would be able to sell to the customers on credit first, at a reduced cost to the business.

It also bears noting that this digital transformation was beneficial for the employees too. The suggested process would make processing credit applications easier, with less rework, and reduced errors. The risk of financing bad debt was reduced to the company through a series of automated checks performed on the applicant’s documentation before the application proceeded through the approval process. The employees were able to do more meaningful work and felt happier to come to work each day. A win-win-win!

• Are you looking to get a competitive advantage in your market by leveraging automation technology?
• Are your employees experiencing low morale or burnout because of flawed processes that often lead to error and crisis?
• Is your company losing customers to the competition?

The Solutioneers team can help. Book a call with us to explore whether working together could give your company the competitive advantage it needs.