Transforming Managed Services and Finding Cost Savings for a Global FinTech Leader
- Banking
- Sourcing & Services Optimization
A global FinTech leader engaged Wavestone to support a comprehensive services transformation, aimed at achieving best-in class industry, customer-focused productivity performance while reducing costs and increasing operational quality and efficiency.
The Impact of Operational Enhancement
The client faced challenges in delivering cost-effective, consistent, high-quality services to their customers, prompting a focus on streamlining operations, enhancing decision-making speed, and improving time-to-market. Through a structured, collaborative approach, Wavestone facilitated the transformation process, resulting in over $285M in cost savings and long-term benefits in responsiveness.
Client Background
The client is a leading global provider of financial services and products with a strong presence in the banking and capital markets segments. With a workforce of 65,000 employees and annual revenue of $10 billion, the company serves millions of customers worldwide. The organization was seeking to enhance its operational effectiveness in response to growing competition and market demands.
Wavestone designed a comprehensive approach to address the client’s needs, which included:
- Opportunity Assessment: An in-depth financial and operational analysis to benchmark current performance, identifying opportunities for improvement across various business units.
- Interactive Workshops for Solution Development: An in-depth financial and operational analysis to benchmark current performance, identifying opportunities for improvement across various business units.
- Competitive Sourcing Strategy: Wavestone ran simultaneous competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) processes, evaluating multiple service providers for distinct operational scopes. This positioned the client to confidently select the most appropriate partners to support their transformation.
- Negotiation and Contracting: Through diligent negotiations, Wavestone secured favorable commercial terms for the client, ensuring clear performance expectations and shared savings agreements. As one of the program leads Scott Schindler explained, “We are predisposed as an organization to rigorous productivity and exceeding client needs. In this instance, when we solicited responses from the potential service providers, we included mandatory commitments to where the specific improvement would come from—which worked incredibly well and allowed us to deliver value ahead of schedule.
The Pursuit of a Transformative Solution
It combined process automation, data-driven decision-making, and outsourcing optimization. Key aspects included:
Wavestone emphasized not only cost reduction but also quality improvements and service delivery enhancements. “A lot of outsourcing is oversimplified to — ‘just do it cheaper.’ But we weren’t only looking to capture cost savings. We were looking for improvements in outcomes, maintaining customer satisfaction, headcount reduction, real productivity improvements, and optimizing locations from where services could be delivered based on compliance with strict regulations,” said Schindler.
Wavestone accelerated the service provider selection significantly, completing the process in just 16 weeks—far quicker than the industry norm of 24 weeks. “We completed this phase rapidly without sacrificing quality. Once a decision was made and we went to contract, it typically takes months to re-badge. We achieved significant client savings starting in week 7,” he added.
The solution included tools and dashboards to give the client real-time visibility into performance, helping to uncover previously unrecognized inefficiencies and guide continuous optimization of processes.
We included mandatory commitments to where the specific improvement would come from—which worked incredibly well and allowed us to deliver value ahead of schedule.
The Transformation Delivered Remarkable Results
- Cost Savings: $200M in contact center savings and $85M in back-office savings were achieved, primarily through outsourcing, AI/automation, and process improvements over five years.
- Service Provider Integration: Four top-tier service providers were seamlessly integrated into the client’s operations, contributing to improved service delivery and cost efficiency.
- Headcount Reduction & Efficiency Gains: The solution reduced headcount redundancies while enhancing efficiency, with service providers demonstrating tangible improvements in output. “Our process gave the client the ability to go to their leadership and say— this process allowed us to improve efficiency and reduce headcount earlier than expected,” said Schindler.
Main Takeaways
- Shared Success through Contractual Innovation: The unique contractual model ensured that service providers were invested in the client’s success, obtaining service provider savings beyond expected commitments.
- Speed and Flexibility in Execution: The ability to execute quickly while adapting to evolving business needs was critical. Formal structures were balanced with flexible solutions to meet emerging demands without extending timelines.
- Industry Expertise Drives Rapid Results: Leveraging deep industry knowledge allowed Wavestone to identify and implement best practices from the outset, significantly accelerating time to value.
A Successful Client Story
Wavestone’s strategic leadership, bias for action and delivery expertise spurred rapid value in reaching the client’s transformation objectives. We were instrumental in driving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing customer service delivery. The success of this program led the client to explore additional programs, with Wavestone’s support, cementing a long-term partnership. This success exemplifies how strategic outsourcing, coupled with robust financial and operational oversight, can deliver both short-term gains and long-term competitive advantage.