The recent metaphor “Data is the new oil” very well reflects the reality faced by the business world in the digital age that “data” has now become the most valuable resource, similar to oil a century ago. However, a stockpile of data is useless to business; only once it is refined and analyzed does it create value.
Today, we talk to North - Theewin Jidsathaporn, our Head of Analytics & Development Department about what he and his team do with the enormous amounts of data collected by the company to transform Ngern Tid Lor into a leading financial service provider and insurance broker in Thailand.
“We believe that data will help us make informed decisions, reduce biases, and change prior beliefs that prevent us from seeing things from a clear perspective. It’s not that we don’t trust what our staff tell us; we just use data to verify if their statements are accurate or not.”
To ensure that the Analytics & Development Department can meet the company’s business needs in all areas, the department is divided into seven teams.
LAMDA team collects customer data systematically
“Seven years ago, we developed a lead management system to store customer data. It replaced traditional record keeping, which often resulted in incomplete, lost, or missing information. This system was the key to the development of subsequent systems, such as the motorcycle title loan system which can approve loans for customers within 10 minutes.” Today, the Leanovation or LAMDA team is responsible for developing and improving these systems and processes with the use of new technologies and methods such as Lean Startup, Design Thinking, Lean UX, and Google Sprint.
BETA team analyzes and visualizes data in formats that are easy to understand
“Systematic customer data collection and continuous improvement of systems allow us to process and analyze those data and present them in visual formats that are easy to understand, helping us to understand our customers better. Data analysis and visualization also enable us to estimate loans for approval, analyze the cause of slow service, and design and develop products to meet customer needs.” Today, we call the team responsible for customer data analysis the Business Intelligence or BETA team.
GAMMA team uses data to choose the right location
The Geo Data Analytics or GAMMA team is tasked with finding locations for branches that are accessible for customers. It analyzes GIS data not only to understand surrounding factors affecting the number of customers per branch, but also to determine the service area of each branch and provide adequate staffing. It even uses data to calculate small expenses such as vehicle gas costs per branch.
SIGMA team streamlines processes through data-informed decision-making
The Lean Six Sigma or SIGMA team supports the streamlining of processes and activities. As such, it is heavily reliant on data analytics within the DMAIC framework to identify root causes, remove defects from a process, reduce loss, and improve work efficiency in a sustainable manner. From our past projects, we found that we oftentimes do not have to rely on technology; only accurate data is all we need to make an informed-decision on how to improve process efficiency.
XI team manages big data
In response to the growing needs for data analytics in today’s fast paced business environment, the company has invested in building a server for data analysis and established the Data Engineer or XI team to collect and manage data from multiple sources for further analysis and development. The team has also built a cloud-based big data platform to accommodate fast-growing data from new projects for analyzing customer behavior in the future.
ALPHA team uses data to deal with business disruption
As businesses around the world have begun to adopt new technologies to tackle digital disruption and fintech companies, Ngern Tid Lor has also set up the Advanced Analytics (Data Scientist) or ALPHA team to use machine learning to improve the company’s productivity and efficiency and help business grow.
DELTA team uses data to support operations within the organization
In addition to using data for business purposes, Ngern Tid Lor also collects data for social network analysis (SNA) to promote corporate values and build a bond among employees through an online gamification platform “
Who Knows Who.” This game is a collaboration between the Project Management or DELTA team and Culture Gangster, aiming to collect relationship data of employees in the company to improve internal communication and activities.
At Ngern Tid Lor, data and data analysis are an important mechanism that supports all areas of operations, not just for sales and marketing purposes.
“Not only can we analyze data to identify bottlenecks or root causes to sustainably develop policies, systems, processes, and personnel, but we can also use available data to increase efficiency and discover new business opportunities.”