Challenge
A UK merchant bank was facing a cost challenge: its operating costs were outpacing revenues as a result of growing customer demand, rising inflation and low operating leverage. The bank had endured a rapid and successful period of growth over the last decade, however the processes and systems that were originally put in place could not scale leading to high levels of inefficiency, particularly within the customer operations function.
In addition, consumer preferences in the industry had shifted rapidly with customers wanting a faster, more efficient service. The bank needed to find a way to serve its customers faster and at lower cost.
Approach
FWF were selected to help manage the banks’ operating costs, by delivering an enterprise-wide digitisation and automation programme. FWF, with our team of banking experts, together with our team of low code and automation experts helped to develop a backlog of digitisation opportunities that would deliver the most impact.
FWF implemented case management and automation solutions as part of an agile programme, infusing UX/UI design principles, and deployed backlog items in fortnightly sprints. Through our approach, the programme realised business benefits quickly, whilst creating a digital-first operations function that could scale more effectively.
Impact
The value delivered back to the bank during the first 9 months was £1.9m in efficiency savings, with a further £2.1m realised over the following 12 months. The bank also benefited from improved lead times for customers and reduced customer complaints. Due to the efficiency savings, the company was able to achieve an increase in operating profit and a subsequent increase in share price.
