Bussan Auto Finance, racing ahead of its competition

Bussan Auto Finance (BAF) was established in 1997 and is currently one of the trusted financing companies for Yamaha motorcycles in Indonesia. It has 173 branches, over 168 points of service, and employs more than 9,000 people. To date, BAF has served more than 6 million customers and has assets totaling over US$900 million.

To take advantage of the vast amount of information available, BAF engaged CYBERTREND to deploy Tableau Software as a data analytics solution. BAF has since been able to identify market trends and gain insights into information like customers’ profiles, behavior and payment preferences from the data. With the information, it has improved on work processes for its field staff and streamlined overall operations.

Massive motorcycle market

BAF operates in a massive motorcycle market. In 2013, there were more than 7.7 million motorcycles sold in Indonesia according to the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF). This accounted for 70 percent of total commercial vehicle sales in ASEAN. In 2014, motorcycle sales in Indonesia is expected to grow by another 5 percent and total 8 million units sold.

To gain insights into market trends and to better understand customer preferences and behavior, companies in Indonesia are turning to business intelligence and data analytics tools. Financial services companies like BAF are also relying on data analytics to look into customer purchase and payment histories, preferred payment methods, loan servicing records, etc., to come up with products and services that better meet customer needs while minimizing risks.

A data analytics tool for everyone

To maintain a competitive advantage, BAF needed a data analytics tool that is fast, easy to use, and beneficial to the entire company. BAF also required a solution that could offer a common point of reference for all employees. This, the management believes, would help to keep everyone on the same page and better align the entire team to decision making processes.

“We wanted an analytical tool that can help us easily understand data, make informed decisions and take appropriate actions as a company,” said Andi Tirta, General Manager, Risk Management, BAF.

“When everyone on the team is able to understand the analysis, it makes it easier for us to make the right decisions and follow through with the decisions that have been made. This allows us to not only improve our working styles, but also become more cost efficient,” he added.

Benefiting from rapid-fire analytics

BAF turned to its technology partner PT CYBERTREND INTRABUANA for a data warehousing and business intelligence solution. PT CYBERTREND recommended Tableau, and business users at BAF were impressed by the software’s ability to process data from multiple sources and present the discoveries in easy-to-interpret visualizations after trying it. They also liked the fact that the Tableau comes with easy-to-use, drag-and-drop features.

The BAF team now taps on Tableau to drive business decisions, and the software has improved the quality of discussions and cut down tremendously on data crunching time. The number of Tableau users at BAF quickly grew from 40 to 240 within one year. They are mainly assistant managers and managers from departments like Marketing, Operations, Information Technology and Risk Management. Others are branch heads and data analysts. More than half of the senior management team also uses the software. Together, they analyze about five TB of data blended from several different sources each month.

Significant Improvements

Since adopting Tableau, BAF has improved its overall operational effectiveness and efficiency, leading to a reduction in operational losses of more than US$ 1 million in one year. Additionally, BAF is now able to gain invaluable insights from its data, and confidently plan expansions of its business portfolio.

“Speed is the biggest benefit that Tableau brings to the table. Data analysis is quick and report distribution becomes very efficient with Tableau, while process reviews are much easier and quicker. The visualizations that are produced by Tableau help us to make better-informed decisions, improve the quality of our discussions and reduce the time required to prepare the data. Overall, Tableau has helped us to cut analysis time from two days to one hour,” commented Andi.

Speaking the same language

Most importantly, Andi feels that the BAF staff now ‘speaks the same language’ when it comes to decision making and taking actions that are supported by data and information.

Andi said: “Our actions are now guided by insights gained from Tableau analysis. These reports and visualizations can be accessed anytime using the Internet. They allow for a common point of reference. Tableau has become an integral part of the way we make informed decisions as a company, as these decisions are based on the analysis done by different members of a team.”

Next on the agenda, BAF plans to introduce Tableau to its dealers and partners. The aim is for BAF and its partners to transition to Tableau together and construct a single view on performances. In turn, the alignment should streamline business processes, allowing for mutual sharing of data, and build synergy across the companies.