End-To-End Financial Services
The main objective of service financial management is to support the company s plans and programs for service support by ensuring the company s assets and investments are being utilized efficiently. Service financial management supports organizational decision-making and management by the board and management of the finance department. It focuses on maintaining proper cash flow and budgeting for services, products and investment products. Financial management also takes into consideration the return on investment for clients, vendors, and investors.
Service planning includes the identification and analysis of customers, key vendor contacts, key economic drivers, and other key considerations. Service financial planning includes identifying the end-to-end business process and analyzing its end result. A service portfolio will include a description of current and long-term financial needs. Identifying the customer's end-to-end business process can help in developing a sound service strategy that will be implemented.
Service planning identifies key considerations affecting the companies' end-to-end activities. The five key considerations are pricing, services, products, information and technology. Pricing includes defining customer needs, evaluating pricing models, developing and maintaining competitive advantage, and communicating pricing information to customers. Pricing impacts end-to-end business activities such as purchasing, inventory control, financial and operational reporting, and service support.
Services are any activities performed for the benefit of customers. Purchasing is the most common service function. Identifying the product offering and its market competition is an important part of services. Pricing is directly related to customer service. Developing a service portfolio helps to determine the financial requirements and quality of products and services.
A service portfolio is a description of a company's total financial activity. End-to-end financial activities include purchases, sales, rentals, disbursements, and financial services provided by employees. Financial service activities include accounts receivable, accounts payable, and loan or lease payments. Data used to develop a service portfolio include customer demographic and economic data, sales volume and average dollar value per customer, sales and average ticket prices, and service contracts.
A service portfolio is a summary of customer financial activities for every customer segment. The customer service function, when combined with customer insight, provides the information needed to develop an effective end-to-end service strategy. Service planning helps to ensure a company's activities are aligned with its strategic objectives, and supports the management's goal to consistently improve customer experience and satisfaction.
End-to-end financial processes include pricing, collections, billing, accounting, technical support, and service support. The process of developing an end-to-end customer experience begins with creating a customer profile. This profile provides information about the customer, including demographic, geographic, economic, and service factors. It also includes information about the company's process for creating, managing, and end-to-end delivery of products and services. This information allows financial services professionals to develop service strategies that maximize the customer's needs.
End-to-end financial services planning requires thorough analysis and knowledge of all key elements of an effective service financial portfolio. This analysis will be critically important in shaping the structure, management strategy, and operational objectives of an organization's financial services activities. In short, it is the bridge between service and financial processes.
Service planning involves taking stock of the company's end-to-end financial processes and aligning those processes with the organization's strategic objectives. The process involves defining appropriate service portfolio standards. Service standards include quality management systems, financial and technical tools, and certified process improvement techniques. These standards help to ensure a service company's products and services meet the expectations of its customers. They also ensure that financial responsibilities are aligned with organizational goals and objectives.
A company's service financial planning activities involve internal management functions as well as external review. Internal management functions include the preparation and periodic review of service financial plans. Internal management reviews management effectiveness of service delivery strategies. Internal reviews may be done periodically or on a continuous basis, such as when a new product line is introduced. External review is conducted when a financial institution faces a financial crisis, for example, when it receives a request for review from a government agency.
Service financial services companies usually hire third-party organizations to conduct periodic audits. These audits are designed to identify and correct weaknesses in the company's financial plan. The audits focus on areas where financial services companies fail to effectively manage their end-to-end activities. For example, financial services companies could improve their services by improving process improvement, identifying choke points, and developing systems that support customer requirements.
End-to-end financial services activities include credit card processing, bill payment processing, debit card transactions, and electronic fund transfer services. End-to-end services are the most visible part of a financial services firm. Customers usually focus only on the service aspects of a financial services firm. The service financial plan serves as an internal accounting structure and as an externally accountable document.