Among other projects, Shriram Capital completely transformed the 2-wheeler loan origination system, reveals the company’s Chief Digital Officer Ajay Thomas:
Smriti Pandey: Since when are you a Chief Digital Officer?
Ajay Thomas: I took on the role of Chief Digital Officer at Shriram Capital in November 2021, with the mission of leading digital transformation initiatives across the Shriram Group. With over 20 years of expertise in digital transformation, product and process management, and business development, I focus on creating digital assets that leverage data to enhance consumer experiences. This includes optimizing our websites and Super App, as well as driving innovations in sectors such as lending, insurance, investments, and payments.
Briefly describe your first major project as CDO?
The first significant project I undertook was the ‘Shriram One Super App.’ Upon joining as Chief Digital Officer, my primary focus was on the digital transformation of Shriram Finance’s services, which included the development and implementation of this all-in-one Super App.
During the fiscal year 2023-24, we launched the Shriram One app, fundamentally changing how users manage their financial activities. Designed as a comprehensive solution for our customers’ financial needs, the app consolidates services such as loans, payments, investments, insurance, and credit score checks. This integration minimizes the necessity for multiple app downloads, aiming to centralize everything – from social networking to shopping and banking services – into one platform. The Shriram One App was recognized as the best product, receiving numerous accolades, including the ‘Best Mobile App’ award from Banking Frontiers and the ‘Best Digital Transformation Initiative’ award from BFSI in 2024.
Briefly describe one experimental/innovative project that you have recently completed or are in the process of completing, that is associated with a new technology or new financial products. What is its expected impact?
In Apr-May-Jun 2024, we successfully completed the 2-Wheeler Loan Transformation Project within our Loan Origination System (LOS), now known as ZiVA 2.0. This upgrade completely overhauled the 2-wheeler loan origination process, focusing on several key areas: (i) enhancing the sales onboarding flow, (ii) reimagining the dealer portal, (iii) improving the underwriting module, and (iv) implementing a risk-based internal rate of return (IRR) for pricing. While in the previous version, ZiVA 1.0, was developed using JavaScript, the revamped ZiVA 2.0 utilizes the more user-friendly Flutter platform, a configurable product of Novac Technology solutions. This new application has streamlined the process by reducing manual entry fields from over 100 to just over 70, achieving a 30% increase in automation. Furthermore, API automation has decreased the number of fields by 53%, simplifying the KYC process and allowing users to complete applications in just 5 minutes. The entire sales journey has been optimized for efficiency, featuring instant soft approvals and a paperless onboarding experience. Overall, this transformation has created a more streamlined 2-wheeler loan journey, facilitating smoother loan processing with fewer submission fields and reduced effort required from users.
While digital transformation engages the digital natives effortlessly, is there any project that you have worked on that has made a significant impact on the digital non-natives? If yes, please describe the project and its impact.
Digital transformation primarily engages digital natives, but we have also developed tailored initiatives to support digital non-natives, such as senior citizens. For example, in SFL fixed deposit (FD) product revamp, we fully digitalized the offering while prioritizing immediate call center assistance for senior citizens. We integrated a comprehensive FAQ section to address common inquiries instantly, while more complex issues were escalated to our call center and service center, ensuring a seamless experience.
To enhance the customer journey, we implemented smart nudges and simplified the UI/UX, making it more accessible for senior citizens. The platform features a Straight Through Processing (STP) journey that requires no manual intervention, allowing existing customers to complete the process in one simple step by merely selecting their scheme.
We also launched a WhatsApp-based platform specifically designed for senior citizens and those less familiar with digital tools. Additionally, our service center serves as an immediate solution hub for any challenges, ensuring that every customer receives support.
To raise awareness and onboard customers, we initiated targeted campaigns that resulted in a 40% increase in engagement among older users. This initiative underscores that digital transformation is about inclusivity, simplicity, and adapting technology to meet the needs of diverse audiences. As a result of these efforts, we have observed a 32% growth among the digital non-native demographic within our FD product.
In Shriram General Insurance, the customer journeys have been redesigned and simplified, enabling instant insurance purchases in under 5 minutes through just 5 straightforward steps. This enhancement caters to both digital natives and those less familiar with digital platforms, facilitating a smoother transition to online services.
The strategy at many financial organizations is shifting towards platform adoption. Briefly describe 2 upsides and 2 downsides associated with platforms that you have experienced in the recent past?
Many financial organizations are increasingly adopting platform-based strategies. The primary advantages of adopting digital platforms include improved process efficiency and enhanced customer experience. Further, these platforms enable financial institutions to boost operational efficiency and reduce data inconsistencies. By leveraging advanced technologies such as AI and data analytics, companies can automate processes, leading to quicker decision-making and better resource optimization. Digital platforms also facilitate a seamless omni channel experience, allowing customers to interact with financial services across various channels without disruption. This integration helps maintain customer preferences and purchase history, resulting in increased satisfaction and loyalty. For instance, the Shriram One App provides a unified interface for accessing multiple financial products, significantly enhancing user engagement and convenience.
However, one major downside is the implementation cost, which involves substantial investments in technology and infrastructure. Organizations often face challenges related to high costs and complexity when upgrading from legacy systems. Nevertheless, the efficiency gains from digital platforms can indeed outweigh these implementation costs, yielding long-term savings and fostering increased agility and innovation. The agility of these platforms not only enhances customer engagement but also reduces time-to-market for new products and services, potentially leading to increased revenue. The ability to quickly adapt and innovate serves as a crucial competitive advantage that can justify the initial investment.
Another significant downside is the challenge of data hygiene. As organizations increasingly rely on digital platforms for data management and customer interactions, maintaining clean and accurate data becomes essential. With the exponential growth of data generated by connected devices and digital interactions, ensuring data accuracy and integrity becomes increasingly difficult. It is estimated that by 2025, the total volume of data worldwide will reach 79.4 zettabytes, complicating efforts to keep data accurate and up-to-date.
To address these challenges, organizations must implement robust data management practices that ensure their data remains clean, accurate, and compliant with regulations, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of their digital initiatives. At Shriram Finance, we have established a dedicated Data and Innovation Center focused on managing vast amounts of multi-variant data with greater velocity and veracity. This hub primarily handles data engineering tasks related to cleaning and validating data from both internal and external sources while maintaining data quality and integrity through rigorous governance practices for validation and cleaning.
Customer loyalty is diminishing in the digital ecosystem. There were many non-product drivers of loyalty in the physical world, such as branch location, friendly and helpful staff, personal rapport with customers, branch decoration during festivals, home visits, etc. What do you see as the key non-product drivers of customer loyalty in the digital ecosystem. Give 1-2 examples of what you are driving at your organization.
Customer loyalty is profoundly influenced by non-product drivers within the digital ecosystem, creating a holistic experience that transcends the products themselves. Several key non-product drivers significantly impact customer loyalty in a financial services organization, such as Transparency and Trust, Personalization and Omni channel experience.
Transparency regarding data usage, pricing, and product quality, coupled with regular communication- such as follow-up emails thanking customers and addressing their concerns – is essential for establishing a trustworthy relationship in a digital ecosystem. Cultivating trust is vital for nurturing customer loyalty; brands that openly share their practices and values are more likely to inspire lasting loyalty among their customers.
Personalization is crucial for delivering a memorable customer experience. By leveraging data analytics and AI, businesses can tailor interactions to align with individual preferences. For instance, in the Shriram One App, we developed a Gen AI-based customer support system to enhance support for the Super App while efficiently managing a large volume of customer feedback. This innovative system integrates advanced natural language processing (NLP) and Generative AI, allowing us to analyze customer sentiments and craft personalized responses – going beyond traditional sentiment analysis. This integration enables real-time interactions and significantly reduces manual workload.
Seamless Omni channel experience allows customers to interact with a brand across various channels without disruption. By integrating online and offline experiences, customers can easily switch platforms while retaining their preferences and purchase history. At Shriram, as a trusted financial organization that has served millions of Indians over the past five decades, we aim to provide users with a unified platform to explore and access all our products under one roof. Our goal is to create a financial super app that embodies simplicity and modernity, appealing to everyone while being powerful and feature-rich. In the recent overhaul of the Shriram Life Insurance website, a comprehensive redesign was implemented to enhance user engagement through online product journeys. This revamp included the development of customized digital campaigns tailored to specific regions, along with the introduction of vernacular messaging to improve overall customer experience. Additionally, the call-center CRM team underwent a redesign aimed at boosting calling efficiency and productivity. These strategic changes resulted in a significant improvement in customer satisfaction, evidenced by a threefold increase in conversion rates.
Enhanced User Experience is being brought out in the Shriram One Super App, incorporating modern features designed to delight customers. We integrated UPI payments into the app and enabled BBPS bill utility payments across over 20 categories. In addition to our core services, we offer value-added features such as digital gold investment options and credit health reports. To further enrich the customer experience, popular games have also been integrated into the Shriram One App. By focusing on these non-product drivers, we strive to foster deeper connections with our customers and enhance their overall experience with our brand.
An AI system can be designed to maximize intellectual capabilities and also to have a balanced humane perspective. What has been your experience in setting both these goals for AI/ML systems and training them? Briefly describe some lessons learnt.
In the financial industry, designing AI & ML systems that effectively balance intellectual capabilities with humane perspectives is essential for addressing complex business needs while upholding ethical standards. My experience with AI/ML systems at Shriram Group, particularly in customer profiling and fraud detection, has reinforced the idea that these systems must be not only accurate and efficient but also fair, transparent, and aligned with customer welfare.
One key lesson learned is the importance of integrating domain expertise with machine learning. Given the sensitivity of financial data, models must adhere to regulatory standards. For instance, when developing spam detection models for customer communications, we employed techniques such as TF-IDF (Term Frequency – Inverse Document Frequency) and BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers), ensuring that legitimate customer queries were not misclassified as spam. This approach maintains a crucial balance between accuracy and quality of customer service.
Another critical insight pertains to data privacy and bias. It is vital to ensure that AI systems do not inadvertently discriminate against certain groups within financial services. For example, while constructing customer credit scoring models, we prioritized fairness by embedding explainability into our algorithms. This practice ensured that decisions regarding loan approvals were based on justifiable factors rather than hidden biases, thereby fostering trust with customers.
Finally, I recognized the significance of establishing a feedback loop involving both internal teams and customers. AI systems must be adaptable to real-world behaviors, necessitating continuous monitoring for any drift or unfair outcomes. The combination of advanced intellectual capabilities with a humane perspective enables these systems to evolve in alignment with technological advancements and ethical considerations in the financial sector.
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