Strategic Assessments

Trade Banking is undergoing a wave of dramatic changes with sweeping implications. The traditional trade finance business is losing its alignment with the needs of importers and exporters, who themselves are trying to adjust to the rapid evolution of global trade. Traditional trade finance is now the spring board into new business models, re-aligned operations, and supporting technologies.

Is your bank ready to be among those leading the evolution of trade banking?

TradeEvolution’s Trade Banking Assessment Service may be the next step. Its  primary focus is to help banks successfully navigate the industry-wide transformation resulting in new business models and new roles for trade banks. The assessment provides a clear gap analysis between the bank's strategic objectives, current execution, and ability to execute.

Services

The Trade Banking Assessment is comprised of three components which are tailored to your needs:

4 Business Assessment

4 Operations Assessment

4 Technology Assessment

Business Assessment

The business assessment focuses on the overall direction of your trade finance business.  

• Strategy Analysis – The first step is to understand the current strategy and the thinking behind it.
  • Validate strategic assumptions through customer and marketplace research.
  • Evaluate strategy in light of competitors stated strategies and actions.
  • Determine how well the strategy aligns with the trends and forces in the industry – today, tomorrow?
  • Identify the industry role that the bank is playing and will play given the current strategy.
  • Determine if the current market segmentation properly identifies customer groups with their actual needs. 
• Strategy Alignment – based on the results of the strategy analysis, determine if revisions are desired:
  • Confirm the role that the bank wants to play in the broader context of Trade Banking. (Vision)
  • Identify impact of limiting factors, such as, credit appetite, off-shore exposure appetite, investment funds, etc.
  • Identify products and services adjustments to align with targeted market segments (moving off LC, traditional LC, existing OA, structured finance, geographies, etc.)
  • Formulate/review the initiatives required to execute the strategy.
    • Marketing and Product Management
    • Sales
    • Operations
    • Technology

 Operations Assessment

 Operations are assessed in two dimensions: 

• Alignment with Strategy – Does the operational model support the objectives of the strategy. Can services be delivered with the quality, timeliness, and cost that are required by the strategy?  How will new services and products (e.g. insourcing) be incorporated into existing operations?
• Efficiency of the Processes – Identify opportunities for improvement in the front and back office processes and procedures, as compared to industry best practices. In the context of industry benchmarking, identify the dynamics of the bank's operating cost structure and alternatives for improvement.

 Technology Assessment

 There are two main aspects to the technology assessment: 

• Existing Technology – Evaluate the application systems that support trade banking front office, back office and customer portal. Does it:
  • Support the Objectives of the Strategy – can it handle the new products and services that are called for in the strategy?
  • General Functionality – how well does it handle the current products and services – flexibility, quality of generated documents, degree of automation, products and services supported, ability to integrate to external systems, etc.
  • Support and Maintenance: Evaluate the stability, quality, and cost of support and maintenance for the applications used.
  • Hardware and Systems Software: Evaluate the applicability, performance, cost and risks.
  • Infrastructure: Is your existing infrastructure secure? Does it have the ability to scale adequately to meet growth targets?
• New Technology – Evaluate the systems options available for the evolution of your trade business.
  • Product Selection – Insourcing, Document Preparation, Open Account, Various Supply Chain solutions to name a few. Which solutions provide can provide the best ROI?
  • Vendor Review – What products and solutions exist on the market which can bring  business benefits quickly? Who are the real players to consider? Are ASPs an option – what are the risks?
  • Integration Planning – How can these solutions fit into your existing infrastructure? What tactical solutions exist to bring business to market quickly? How much will it really cost to launch these new products to market?