CGI helps a major financial player acquire a loan insurance application and a competitive edge
“CGI knows the Laurentian Bank, our business, our people and our expectations. We therefore have no hesitation in voicing our satisfaction and applauding the excellent work accomplished by the project team.”
Anne Thivierge, Senior Director – Projects, Laurentian Bank of Canada
The Client
The seventh largest Canadian bank in terms of assets (more than $18 billion), the Laurentian Bank of Canada (LBC) employs more than 3,700 professionals and serves over a million clients, in part through its 214 branches and 315 ATMs. The Bank meets the entire banking and financial needs of individuals and businesses with top-notch, personalized service and highly competitive products distributed directly through its own network or via independent financial experts.
The Challenge
Over the past decade, the financial products and service industry has witnessed a period of profound change, with globalization and technological progress bringing new competitors and exciting business opportunities. Among the key innovations that LBC was seeking to rapidly implement when CGI became its IT outsourcing partner in 2001 was a Web-based application known as Prêt marchand, which would allow merchants to request loans for certain customers through LBC, on line and virtually in real time.
Imagine, for example, that a customer arrives at a swimming pool dealer's showroom hoping to buy the pool he's always dreamed of providing he can obtain a loan to finance his purchase. The Web application would allow the merchant to fill in the necessary forms, submit them to LBC on the spot for approval, and just seconds later obtain the response. The entire process would be automated, and in most cases all that would remain would be for the customer to sign the financing agreement and in doing so finalize his purchase. Everyone involved would benefit: the client would experience true one-stop shopping; the merchant would be able to conclude the sale quickly and obtain a commission, and LBC would be able to systematically obtain loan applications from merchant partners, thus assuring itself of new financing revenues.
At the time this application was being implemented, between August 2001 and April 2002, another significant challenge was presented to CGI: the integration of a function to allow customers to take out an insurance policy at the time they applied for a loan, which would see their repayment reduced to just a third of the loan amount in case of death or an act of God.
“We – and our merchant partners – were facing the risk of losing market share if we could not respond to this urgent need,” explained Anne Thivierge, Senior Director – Projects with the Laurentian Bank. “Not only was time running short, but we were also dealing with numerous commercial imperatives that were not necessarily compatible with our IT requirements. For example, for two years we had been in a somewhat turbulent implementation mode for new applications, which is why we could not afford further upheaval with the introduction of the insurance function.”
The Strategy
“Fortunately,” continued Ms. Thivierge, “CGI already had extensive knowledge of our needs and environment. The CGI team also showed us that they were very conscious of the issues and the need for this new project to succeed fully, right from the start. This is what ultimately allowed us to work within an exceptional spirit of collaboration. There were no gray areas.”
Another key success factor was the discreet but focused work performed by CGI's applications maintenance team to correct the existing anomalies stemming from previous IT innovations that had been carried out.
The Technology
- Databases: Oracle, DB2 and IMS
- Operating systems: Unix and NT
- Languages and tools: Java, PLSQL, HTML, IMS, COBOL and C++
- Web application development tools: OAD, Jbuilder and Visual Studio
The Results
In the spring of 2003, CGI implemented the integrated insurance function linked to the Prêt marchand application for LBC. “The insurance solution was implemented virtually without problems,” confirmed Ms. hivierge. “That's why our satisfaction rate associated with this phase of the project was as high as 96%. It's also why we awarded the CGI team full marks for the quality of results, adherence to schedule and attention to their client.”
She added that the Prêt marchand application has greatly streamlined back office processes. In addition to the loan or insurance approvals, there are many other steps required in completing the transaction. Automating these steps has allowed LBC to handle all financing and insurance requests rapidly, even during peak hours. It is imperative in this business that merchants and customers not be made to wait. “CGI has helped LBC make the most of new business opportunities and in doing so increase our revenues and strengthen our strategic market position,” stated Ms. Thivierge.
Within a spirit of partnership, client orientation and proactive change management, the LBC/CGI team is now focusing on making the Prêt marchand application even more simple and user-friendly for the merchants who use it. For there's no question that the transition from a paper process to an automated practice constitutes a change in people's habits, which in itself is a factor in the effectiveness of the application. “Because of our outsourcing agreement, CGI knows the Laurentian Bank, our business, our people and our expectations,” concluded Ms. Thivierge. “During work on the Prêt marchand application, we felt a sense of true collaboration between our outsourcer and ourselves . We therefore have no hesitation in voicing our satisfaction and applauding the excellent work accomplished by the project team.” |
