Improving the Planning Process of Stock Trading

Challenge

• Ensure that the commercial effort is aligned with the strategy of the Bank;
• Clarifying for business managers their goals and enabling them to use tactical management to achieve the objectives in their client portfolio;
• Planning and fulfillment of objectives in aggregated form with the follow-up and control for the entire hierarchy, including drill-down information.

Situation

In a difficult economic climate, in which client management traditional models have to be renewed in the banking sector, Santander Totta felt the need to streamline communication and coordination with its commercial network of managers, improving its ability to set goals and to achieve them.

The main difficulties to be overcome were:

• Stakeholders throughout the entire country (branch network/commercial departments/central services);
• Short period of 1 week for the entire process (definition of objectives, customer classification, distribution by managers, planning, hierarchical validation and approval);
• Need for automatic integration with Bank systems (Manager’s Trade Agenda, Data Warehouse);
• Minimizing the need for human intervention, optimizing the time spent by the stakeholders in “non business” processes;
• Network planning platform with very good usability and efficiency, to ensure easy adhesion and manager time-saving.

Solution

The solution defined by ISBAN and Infosistema consisted in the implementation of automated processes with routines extracting customer information and objectives of each manager to a Web planning tool, accessible on the Intranet by commercial managers.

This Web tool then synchronizes management planning with the Data Warehouse (DW) and Trade Agenda. The dashboards needed to control processes and hierarchical validation are made available online.

Management information reports are extracted from the DW by batch processes, thereby allowing monitoring the activity of the manager.

The Web application known as “Caravela – Attracting Customers“, developed by Infosistema and already used by the network to build and manage new client portfolios was used, as the platform for the provision of new planning features.

The following Web application features were implemented by: Infosistema

• Importing targets and objectives from commercial managers to the Web application’s data model. Process performed by sequentially and periodically triggered processes by corporate tool Control-M of process control;
• Web Planner:
  • Speed of interaction and navigation in Planner is a critical requirement;
  • Portfolio manager screen, query and planning data entry;
  • Search filters and access to customer record in pop-up window;
  • Summary table of the overall objectives of the manager, updated online for immediate verification of deviations of the objectives by planning the timing in that quarter by the manager himself.
• Planning performed by managers sent to the Trade Agenda and to the Data Warehouose;
• Online Dashboards with planning summary of each manager, available in different profiles (managers, coordinating managers and commercial managers), grouping the information by hierarchical level and with the possibility of drill-down;
• Access delegation system from one manager to another user;
• Possibility to export the manager’s planning, as well as the dashboards, in Excel files for personal treatment.

Results

The results of the system reached all the objectives proposed, the new system, the management reports and the Planner were very well received by the entire Companies Network representing a significant advance in terms of planning (first and foremost), implementation and follow-up of the commercial activity of the commercial teams and consequent effectiveness in commercial objectives.

The implemented system enabled:

• Increase the intensity and effectiveness of commercial activity and respective follow-up of clients;
• Higher level of automation and independence of business areas in the management of objectives;
• A detailed follow-up of the performance of each manager throughout the quarter, through weekly reports of follow-up of their activity, of the business plan defined in the Planner;
• Timely identification of possible deviations from objectives, enabling faster resolution of corrective actions;
• Information gains through the integration of planning with other bank systems;
• Systematic business standardization creating unique reports and metrics for the entire commercial network of Companies.
• Reduction in errors and exceptions, with greater systematization and loyalty.

Testimonials

“Great flexibility and performance of a single team, and one, with excellence results recognized by the final customer ”

Nuno Antunes, Director IG&CRM, ISBAN-PT

“ This project had the success it had because we worked as a single team, always aiming towards the needs of the user and finding the best way to overcome the problems encountered. Flexibility was another strong point, it helped adjust concepts and situations that confronted with the reality and were not completely well defined. It was and is a successful team/project.”

Marisa Martins, Project Manager, ISBAN-PT

“ This project is framed in the new Companies Network systematic business defined within the FORCE Project. The great virtue of the project consisted in the standardization of commercial and systematic preparation/planning exercise of the quarter for the entire commercial network of companies as well as the possibility to carry out the follow-up of planning during each quarter. I give the project team full marks for the way it was created and for the design of the tool. The preliminary stage of architecture was decisive as well as the willingness demonstrated by the teams involved in terms of development to obtain the final product that is recognized by the Commercial network as a great commercial management tool.”

Luís Silva, Head of Business Network Support, Santander Totta

“ Another Project resulting from the cohesion between elements of a dynamic and flexible team, critical to the success of this type of projects and with these timings. Well Done!”

Elisabete Costa, Head of Management of Planning and Technical Implementation, Santander Totta

Fig.1 – Dashboard

Fig.2 – Delegation

Fig. 3 – Management

Fig. 4 – Planner