Bosch EBAD
Achieving 75% automation and risk control for bank acceptance drafts by designing a digital tool
OVERVIEW
As Bosch Finance Team was facing challenges managing electronic bank acceptance drafts, the team planned to leverage digital tools to enhance operational efficiency while ensuring accuracy.
To better define the diverse user requirements and explore the feasibility of development through bank partner in order to support management decision-making, we figured out the situation of related stakeholders in the business process and outlined specific function requirements, and finally designed the information architecture and low-fidelity prototype for the platform.
Role
Lead Product Designer
User Researcher
Tools
Figma
Microsoft Powerpoint
Timeline
4 months +
DESIGN METHODOLOGY
The double diamond model is an excellent tool to find the right problem and to produce the right design solutions. Since the goal of this project is to have Deutsche Bank develop it, the design outcome will be in the wireframe stage.
UNDERSTANDING THE USERS
From conducted User Journey for understanding EBAD related activities to Top Findings.
Customer Journey
Firstly, we conducted interviews with 6 roles within BAD process: OBR accountants, OSP accountants, OBC accountants, financial managers, sales and purchasing.
We developed a comprehensive user journey to gain an overview of the BAD process and how different roles contribute to it. At the same time, we identified the key touchpoints encountered by users and highlighted the pain points they experienced.
At the same time, the customer journey was used to conduct a visual before-and-after validation of the results.
Top Findings
Top Finding 1
Manual work is inefficient and frustrating.
Top Finding 3
Data doesn't speak for itself.
Top Finding 2
Cross-business information lacks timely transparency.
Top Finding 4
System flexibility must match diverse entity needs.
IDEATION WORKSHOP
Ideation workshop started from HMW
Stakeholders were writing down their ideas.
As the host of the ideation workshop, I had to design and manage the workshop process and to write down the key ideas.
A group discussion regarding a wide variety of touchpoints they had to encounter during the BAD process.
DESIGN CONCEPT
Stronger, Faster, Together, Higher
Risk Control
BAD Processing
Information Sync
Value-added Service
HIGHLIGHT FEATURE 1
Automated quality check for receiving BAD (Faster)
Before
• 3 roles involved
• 0.5-5min per entity for manual checking
• 22 operation steps at least
After
• 1 role (Sales) only
• 0sec for automated quality checking
• 2 operation steps needed
Before
• ~30min to calculate and match BAD and 3x10-20min for others to check
• 3 screens (SAP/ DB/ Email) to cross-check
HIGHLIGHT FEATURE 3
Real-time BAD database for various users (Faster, Together)
Before
• No access to latest BAD status except for directly contacting OBR team
• By monthly Sales and PUR get report on BAD status
HIGHLIGHT FEATURE 2
Endorse amount calculation & Auto-recommendation (Stronger, Faster)
After
• Target endorse amount pre-calculated upon input from SAP
• 1 button to generate system recommended BAD list
• 1 screen and single platform for all users to check
After
• Up-to-date BAD status and statistics for Sales and PUR to check at any time
• 1 screen for important matrix and reports to support management tracking
Purchasing
Sales
HIGHLIGHT FEATURE 4
Auto posting and reconciliation for direct link with SAP (Stronger, Faster)
Before
• Semi-automation with RPA enabled posting and clearing
• ~10min per entity for reconciliation without error
After
• Fully automated posting and clearing for BAD receive, endorse & cash-in
• Auto reconciliation report generated for OBR to check and meet audit regulation
FINAL RESULTS
Since this is a digitization project, the final outcome is mainly valued in terms of automation percentage and labor cost. Currently the project is still pending for stakeholder to have further communication regarding development topic with Deutsche Bank.
>75%
Automation of entire process
<5%
Operational tasks for each role
FTE
37
Manually maintained sheets been replaced
0.624
BAD role been saved
After the design delivery, I also prioritized the functionality to ensure the development goals and negotiation space would be clear in the upcoming negotiation with Deutsche Bank.
