We think like a start-up
P ROJ E C T PA RT N E R S
We think like a start-up WRITTEN BY A n d rew Wo o d s PRODUCED BY K i ro n C h avd a
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W E S P O K E TO ACC ’ S I T D I V I S I O N H E A D , DA N I E L G U N AWA N S O E S I LO, TO D I S C U S S T H E CO M PA N Y ’ S J O U R N E Y TO D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
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stra Credit Companies (ACC) is one of Indonesia’s largest car and heavy equipment
financing companies with a growing reputation for using digital innovation as a business enabler in a location with a reputation for being somewhat cautious with regards to technological adoption both at business and customer levels. However, this rather traditional landscape will not last forever, and ACC has bold ambitions to transform its business through technology. Indeed, ACC is now two years into a massive digital transformation of both its internal and customer-facing operations, as it strives to better its current standing as Indonesia’s second biggest financier. ACC has made great strides in focusing on innovation in order to scale up and survive in the largest and fastest-growing country in Southeast Asia, which also boasts the largest internet 4
ACC
user database. ACC’s quest to become the market leader prompted a massive decision in 2017, when, after an initial round of consultancy with Gartner, ACC decided to partner with OutSystems in the digitisation of its operations. We caught up with ACC’s IT Division Head, Daniel Gunawan Soesilo, to discuss the company’s journey through digital transformation. Based in ACC’s headquarters in Jakarta, Daniel is keen not to take all the credit for the incredible changes afoot at the financiers. “This work is being carried out by the whole team, not just me,” he says. “I cannot stress that enough. It is a team effort. Everybody plays their part.” w w w.a cc .co.id
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Ranked as one of the world’s lead-
development, in particular, drew
so the business can grow and
ing cloud employers and trusted
the attention of Astra Credit Co.
flourish further, all while shorten-
by thousands of customers world-
(ACC). “ACC is trying to build an
ing cycles for the ACC sales team.”
wide, OutSystems is a software
entire ecosystem to support its
company that provides a low-code
customer and partner networks,”
Enabling this business growth can
platform for rapid application de-
says Mark. “ACC has a distinct dig-
only truly be achieved through true
velopment,
companies
ital transformation roadmap that
collaboration. ACC and OutSystems
to embark on a digital transforma-
in order to have that full ecosys-
regularly touch base to ensure
tion journey. “With our platform,
tem, it has multiple delivery teams
that the road ahead remains col-
our customers are able to embark
trying to deliver on OutSystems.”
laborative at every turn. “We use
on
their
enabling
digital
iterative discussion. They share
transformation
journey in a much shorter time,”
OutSystems also provides rel-
their challenges, their business
explains Mark Weaser, Vice Pres-
evance to the market through
needs, and sometimes they even
ident, Asia Pacific, OutSystems.
analytic features involved in a
share senior-level expectations,”
“We offer a very flexible platform
lot of research and the compa-
explains Mark. “And we will always
that allows customers to build ap-
ny also encompasses a number
advise them of what is available
plications for web, mobile, or both,
of AI components as well. This
in the market or what we see as
quickly and easily. There’s a lot of
made the partnership between
possible. We guide them along the
built-in and off the shelf features
OutSystems and ACC something
way to try to achieve their goals.”
that can help our customers quick-
of a no brainer, as ACC is very
ly integrate with applications and
interested and early adopters
ACC recently launched the first-ev-
core business systems as well.”
of
er digital signature recognized by
advanced
technology.
the Indonesia central bank, in one What brings customers to OutSys-
ACC is currently undertaking a
of the applications that integrates
tems is the speed of delivery.
major digital transformation of its
with external education, internet
“The OutSystems platform has
internal and customer-facing op-
education, and internal education
a
environ-
erations, as it strives to improve its
for an end to end customer expe-
ment for dragging and dropping
current standing as one of Indone-
rience. “This is a very significant
application
logic
sia’s biggest financier. The objec-
milestone for ACC, because we
components. Because there’s no
tive is to use digital experiences
helped them with the technology
hand-coding, it’s much quicker
and applications to improve cus-
part,” explains Mark. But we also
than traditional application devel-
tomer relationships and after-sales
worked closely with them to get
opment,” explains Mark. “The re-
services through, while also gener-
the approval from the central bank
lease cycle becomes shorter and
ating new business opportunities.
to launch that particular feature.”
with one-click deployment,
and
This is where OutSystems came
changing the apps is just as fast.”
into the equation. “Quite simply,
As with any digital transformation,
they want to simplify their end-to-
it is a journey of evolution. Mark
Naturally, application development
end business processes, ” explains
recognises this. “We are looking
speed is a very important factor for
Mark. “The idea they have in mind
forward to creating more suc-
OutSystems customers. Speed of
is to integrate independent sytems
cess stories with them,” he says.
visual
development and
business
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According to Daniel, the aims of the digital transformation were to help the company become more agile in its operations. Some of the top line aims handed to OutSystems included increased processing of loan applications, reconfiguration of price awards to achieve the best possible price and increased capacity for offline new and used car selling. ACC also wanted to improve customer relationships and after-sales services through digitisation while also opening up new business opportunities. However, improving the agility of the systems and operations is not an easy task, and so how does one home in on the right solutions? “We wanted to get a fast and comprehensive partner with the tools that can help us,” Daniel explains. “That’s why we chose a partner. And that’s why we chose OutSystems, and Gartner, one of our consultants.” ACC kickstarted the process with its partners by mapping various pain points within its business, and the wider landscape of the market and its competitors, locating processes in need of improvement to arrive at a blueprint plan. “After that we needed a roadmap to address our priorities,” Daniel explains. ACC’s motto is: “Think 8
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“ A CC ’ S M OT TO I S : ‘ T H I N K B I G, S TA R T S M A L L A N D S C A L E FA S T ’. I T ’ S A M A N T R A T H AT ACC A D H E R E D S T R I C T LY TO D U R I N G I T S D I G I TA L JOURNEY” — DA N I E L G U N AWA N SO E S I LO IT DIVISION HEAD, ACC
big, start small and scale fast” and it’s a mantra ACC adhered strictly to during its digital journey. “We deliver piece by piece and bit by bit,” he says. OutSystems was determined to help ACC stand out through diversification of products and services through its digital transformation as it aimed to keep one step ahead of its competition in an ever-evolving technological landscape. The first step in establishing a strategic framework for this transformation involved the creation of a digital ecosystem to enable digital business optimisation and digital business transformation. w w w.the i nte r fa ce .n et
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This aimed to increase internal efficiency in daily operational processes while providing customers with a seamless and personalised experience in financing products and services. ACC also wanted to retain existing customers with improved after-sales services and recycled loans to new products and services while increasing internal employee and customer satisfaction. The transformation also aimed at expanding and unlocking new customer segments and boosting product life cycle increments. Of course, the bottom line to all this change was to increase the overall profitability of the company. To this end, Daniel insisted that his team, and the business in general, started to think and behave like a start-up: to be agile. ACC not only wanted to transform the product itself, but the process too. “So, point one is the product, end-toend, that’s the customer’s need. And because we know the first component is the customer, it follows that B2C without the B2E component would be messy inside,” says Daniel, “So, we initially focused on the B2C and the internal process. And so, the second phase was the process end-to-end, that the customer also needs.” The 10
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ACC
third segment of the plan addressed the end-to-end process for employees or the ‘ecosystem’. “We moved onto B2B because we have many partners in the business that we must help in order to transform the process and the partners in resetting the B2C, B2E and B2B; our ecosystem. Gartner helped to gain a good digital transformation perspective on that. The fourth wave of change focused on the process end-to-end that our B2B also needs: the tech-office engine. So, we divided the landscape and initiative into four parts to deliver that piece by piece. These were the four items we wanted to transform, protect and process.” ACC established two main business strategies. To realise the Digital Business Optimisation, ACC built ACCME (Mobile Enterprise) as an internal process enabler. “It helped us to transform our process end-to-end from the
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acquisition, credit scoring and contract signing. We are the first mover to implement the e-signature capability in the multi-finance industry.” That’s also one of the products embedded into ACC. ONE; part of the second business strategy: Digital Business Transformation. ACC.ONE is an integrator for all ACC business capabilities and ACC digital initiatives that provides convenience for customers, existing and new, in obtaining financial services. ACC also built exclusive apps to facilitate specific needs such as ACC.BID (online auction marketplace) and ACC.MART (online car marketplace), built to accelerate the sales of ACC inventory as well as ACCTRADE (used car trade and credit purchases) and ACCRENT (operating leases). Soon ACC.ONE will be enriched with cross-selling products and credit funding for priority customers. The biggest challenge facing ACC was time, which is why it needed to be agile on the approach. “The process had to be agile,” Daniel explains. “The methodology must be small like a start-up. We just followed the start-up way to deliver the different methods. We wanted to test our process, our thinking, and our people to embrace the start-up way. That’s the culture that 14
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“ T H E P R O C E S S H A D TO B E AG I L E , ” DA N I E L EXPLAINS. “THE METHOD O LO GY M U S T B E S M A L L L I K E A S TA R T - U P. W E J U S T F O L LO W E D T H E S TA R T - U P WAY TO D E L I V E R T H E DIFFERENT METHODS” — DA N I E L G U N AWA N SO E S I LO IT DIVISION HEAD, ACC
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aided our transformation. After all, we
The success of the ongoing digi-
were the first company in Indonesia
tal transformation at ACC is visible for
to have an end-to-end solution.” ACC
all to see. The delivery time for ACC.
also needed the right people involved
ONE was an incredible two weeks and
at a time when a global tech skills gap
in early 2019, it became the #1 trending
was proving to be a problem for many
app in Google Play Store, downloaded by
enterprises. “Talent is quite difficult
more than 5,000 users and rated 4.98
because everybody is searching for
stars. “That’s why we are very, very
talent right now. Every start-up, every
happy with our situation, our progress,
big company, has the same objective –
our condition, our achievements,”
digital transformation – and that’s why
Daniel enthuses. One of ACC’s recent
talent is so difficult to find.”
successes was to receive the Mobile
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ACC
YEAR FOUNDED
1982
REGION HQ
Jakarta, IN Excellence Award from OutSystems.
However, Daniel refuses to get carried
“The OutSystems Innovation Awards
away with ACC’s digital progression.
recognise, honour, and celebrate the
“The digital transformation is a journey.
organisations and people that are using
We must follow it continuously because
OutSystems to make IT dramatically
the customer changes, the market
more proactive, productive, and essen-
changes, the partner changes and the
tial to creating business value and driv-
internal process also changes. So that’s
ing innovation,” says OutSystems. “This
why we deliver piece by piece. Every day
year’s winners distinguished themselves
we can improve something.”
in their respective categories, displaying unmatched innovation using the OutSystems platform.” w w w.a cc .co.id
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www.acc.co.id