Dynamics 365 CRM Success Story – KSA
A leading investment bank in KSA redefines Digital Excellence with Dynamics 365 CRM – Overcoming Capacity Challenges
Challenge
The bank faced critical capacity bottlenecks in scaling its CRM capabilities to match agile market demands. Legacy systems and under-resourced
teams hindered rapid innovation, slowing time-to-market for digital services. Partnering with FiNASAL,the bank adopted a hybrid onsite – offshore delivery model, combining a lean, high-impact Dynamics 365 team onsite with a scalable CRM Center of Excellence (CoE) offshore. This strategy not only resolved capacity constraints but also positioned the bank as a digital frontrunner, driving transformation through speed,
scalability, and cross-functional collaboration.
Capacity Gaps and Market Pressures
The bank struggled to scale its CRM development amid surging demand for personalized digital services. Key pain points included:
• Overburdened in-house teams unable to meet project timelines for CRM customization and integration.
• Limited technical expertise to align Dynamics 365 with evolving customer expectations and regulatory needs.
• Slow innovation cycles, risking loss of market share to digitally mature competitors.
The bank needed a partner to deliver scalable talent, accelerate development, and embed CRM as the cornerstone of its digital ecosystem.
Solution
Onsite-Offshore Synergy for Scalability
Finasal designed a unique operating model to address capacity gaps while fostering innovation:
Right-Sized Onsite Dynamics 365 Team
Deployed an elite team in Riyadh, including CRM architects, developers, and business analysts, to ensure:
- Agile decision-making and alignment with the bank’s priorities.
- Seamless collaboration with internal stakeholders and core banking teams.
Offshore CRM Center of Excellence (CoE):
Established a 25-member cross-functional CoE offshore, housing specialized talent across:
CRM Development & Customization: Rapid deployment of workflows, KYC automation, Loan origination, and omnichannel integration with CRM
CRM production support: Unified customer data from 12+ sources into Dynamics 365, enabling real-time insights.
Business Analysis & QA: A thorough business analysis with latest BABOK best practices, automated testing and CI/CD pipelines improved the quality by 40%
- Modular CRM development, allowing the bank to prioritize high-impact features (e.g., loan automation) while maintaining flexibility for future upgrades.
- Cross-functional squads to accelerate end-to-end delivery of customer journeys.
Results
Capacity Unleashed, Market Leadership Secured
Within 10 months, the hybrid model delivered transformative outcomes:
Key Drivers of Success:
- Onsite Governance: Ensured alignment with the bank’s risk, compliance, and strategic goals.
- Offshore Scalability: Enabled 24/7 development cycles and access to niche skills
- Talent Scalability: On-demand access to 100+ pre-vetted Dynamics 365 experts. Head of CRM Development highlighted:
“FiNASAL’s onsite-offshore model was a game-changer. Their onsite team became an extension of our IT leadership, while the offshore dev center ensured CRM delivery at scale.”
The Leading Saudi Bank (KSA): Loan Origination System
Challenge
Bank’s existing loan processes with semi-automated/manual processes faced inefficiencies and longer time to market:
- Workflows: Loan approvals took significant additional time for refinancing/buyouts due to disjointed validations and paperwork
- Channels: Branches, telesales, and online portals operated independently, causing inconsistent customer experiences.
- STP rates: Only 20% of loans were automated, leading to high operational costs.
Leading Saudi Bank needed a scalable, omnichannel solution to accelerate lending, reduce costs, and align with Saudi Arabia’s digital finance vision.
- Product TTM: Time to market for any new campaign as taking longer than
expected, Leading Saudi bank needed scalable model to ensure meeting delivery
capacity issues seamlessly
Solution
The Dynamics 365 CRM system unified multi-channel intake, automated decisioning, and ensured compliance:
- Omnichannel Initiation
- Branch Agents: CRM interface with auto-validation of Saudi ID/Absher data via on-premises middleware.
- Internet Banking: Real-time API integration for seamless loan applications
- Telesales: CRM-integrated telephony system to log calls, capture data, and trigger workflows.
- End-to-End Automation Rule-Based Validation: Auto-verified documents (e.g., salary certificates, property deeds).
- Rule-Based Validation: Auto-verified documents (e.g., salary certificates, property deeds).
- Credit Decisioning Engine:
- Integrated SIMAH data and Qarar scoring for instant risk assessment.
- Automated approval/rejection notifications via SMS/email.
- Mortgage Automation:
- End-to-end processing for self-construction, off-plan, and REDF-integrated mortgages.
- Property valuation workflows with REDF integration.
- STP Processing: Real-time disbursement for eligible cases (80% STP rate).
- Implemented Modules
- Murabaha Personal Finance (PF): New, Additional, Refinance, Buyout.
- Murabaha Mortgages: REDF, Self-Construction, Off-Plan.
Results
Capacity Unleashed, Market Leadership Secured
Within 10 months, the hybrid model delivered transformative outcomes:
The Leading Saudi Bank: Corporate Banking Automation
Challenge
Leading Saudi Bank corporate banking division faced inefficiencies due to fragmented systems and manual processes:
- Cumbersome onboarding: Corporate client onboarding took 7+ days due to manual KYC checks and disjointed validations (e.g., Absher, Wathiq, Saudi Post).
- Siloed data: Lack of a unified CRM led to inconsistent customer profiles, delaying credit decisions and service requests.
- Slow trade finance processing: Manual entry for Letters of Credit (LCs) and Guarantees (LGs) caused bottlenecks.
- Compliance risks: FATCA/CRS reporting relied on error-prone spreadsheets. Leading Saudi Bank needed a scalable, integrated CRM solution to streamline operations, ensure compliance, and compete with digital-first rivals.
Solution
A complete corporate automation program on Dynamics 365 CRM, integrating middleware, core banking, and trade finance systems:
- Automated Customer Onboarding: Integrated Absher, Wathiq, and Saudi Post APIs for instant corporate ID – validation, slashing onboarding from days to hours. Embedded FATCA/CRS compliance workflows to ensure error-free tax reporting. Created a 360-degree customer profile by unifying data from core banking, trade finance, and external registries.
- Efficient Customer Maintenance: Enabled self-service KYC updates via AI-driven document validation. Automated signatory, party, and address updates with real-time sync to Saudi Business Registry.
- Trade Finance Digitization: Automated end-to-end Letter of Credit/Guarantee workflows, reducing processing time by 65% via digital validations and core banking integration.
- SME POS Financing:Integrated SIMAH credit scoring to auto-approve loans based on POS sales data, with instant disbursement to core banking.
Results
Anticipated KPIs, post deployment: Q1-2025