- fine-tuning the machine -
Automating processes and creating efficiencies
To sustainably scale their businesses, SMEs need to automate labor-intensive processes as soon as possible, allowing business leadership to focus on higher value tasks related to growth.
Gretta’s business is flourishing, orders are coming in fast, and she has a warehouse and 25 employees.
Perfect Stitch Business Profile
Trading: 7 years Revenue: $5M Full-time employees: 25 Assets: A warehouse, offices, stock, and website
Still, she spends much of her day on administrative and monotonous tasks rather than focusing on strategic growth.
Gretta needs to know the best way to reduce the repetitive tasks in her day-to-day without aspects of the business slipping. She didn’t go into business to spend her time in the weeds of numbers and logistics. In an effort to get back in touch with her true purpose as a business owner, Gretta will be seeking outside help with the tasks that are monotonous and draining — from payroll, supply chain management, and data analytics to risk assessment and savings management.
"Right now, I have to get into a lot of day-to-day operational stuff. It is hard to constantly be out to do that strategic, long-term thinking, as much as I would like to be doing. I spend probably 80–90% of my time actually just doing day-to-day routine stuff."
—CIPD, "Hands-On or Hands-Off: Effective Leadership and Management in SMEs"
RPA can shave 40-80% off the time it takes to manually process rules-based processes across systems, including websites, email, and databases.
—CB Insights
What the bank can do:
Banks need to be a source of operational support for SMEs, automating tedious tasks and enhancing financial predictability. Banks can give SMEs the right tools to gain greater control over their finances with investment advice that prevents over-indexing in one area of their business while neglecting another. Success would ultimately mean more time for SME owners to return to their favorite parts of running their businesses.
A bank can offer Gretta:
Guidance on ways to automate daily administrative processes so she can focus her time elsewhere
- “If this, then that” analysis (e.g., if Gretta’s profits meet a certain threshold each month, a minimum amount is moved over to her business savings account
Real-time alerts for opportunities or risks that need Gretta’s immediate attention to help her prioritize valuable actions
"Our four different data systems do not gel well. It is a pain to gather data points from all these systems."
—Operations and Marketing Specialist
"If I say I want these payments in my bank account completed, I should just press a button and it happens."
—Founder, FinTech Scaleup, Netherlands, Temenos SME Think Space Innovation Series 2020
“Whichever direction that we take, we know that Temenos will provide the solutions, expertise, and implementation support to ensure our success. It is a great partnership, and we look forward to the next stage of the journey.”
—Ajith Nayak, Head of Operations, Al Ain Finance PJSC
Success Story:
Al Ain Finance PJSC
A New Standard of Digital Service for SMEs
Al Ain Finance PJSC wanted to make banking better for SMEs, which represent 94% of all companies operating in the United Arab Emirates. Despite their pivotal role in the economy, these companies have historically faced complicated, paperwork-heavy processes that make raising loans incredibly difficult and time consuming. To enhance lending, deposits, payments, and digital services for small businesses, Al Ain Finance PJSC turned to Temenos Infinity to replace their legacy in-house system and achieve end-to-end digital transformation. Not only would this greatly benefit SMEs, but it would also sharpen the banks’ competitive edge, appeal to more clients, and win greater market share. In two months, the new core and digital platforms were live, despite challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Al Ain Finance PJSC was able to provide SMEs with much needed access to liquidity, with additional access to consolidated customer information for the bank. They achieved their goal of broadening their service portfolio and winning more business among SME clients, going on to offer a comprehensive suite of lending, deposits, and payment products. Furthermore, they now support clients with digitally managed accounts, providing greater flexibility and convenience.., And the bank is continuing to launch new features that position them as a leading innovator in the SME market.