Ever
to co n tri tm te to
the information
we have on
a cliënt 9
Neil Read:
COVER STORY CLIENT COVERAGE MODEL
Neil Read
Rabobank International's new dient coverage model begins and ends
with the cliënt. The bank aims to combine alt its global knowledge -
of markets, Food and Agribusiness (F&A) sectors and products -
to meet all its clients' financial needs, wherever they are and for at
least five years down the line. This new global approach to clients
is quite different from the regional approach Rabobank has taken
in the past, and change takes time, especially if you want to get it
right. After all, says Gilles Boumeester, Head of F&A Coverage, this
is a complex model, involving a lot of people who have to get used
to working a different way.
The key to the new dient coverage model - and thought leader
ship - is involving the right people in the right transaction at
the right time. And then making it happen. This has improved
enormously over the past year, says Neil Read, Global Head of
the Loan Products Group (LPG), but it is most defïnitely a work
in progress. Even getting the right systems in place, such as an
improved customer relationship management (CRM) system,
is incredibly time-consuming. "After all, we're moving from a local
structure to a global structure. And CRM is very much a two-way
street. Everybody has to contribute to the information we have on
a cliënt, and that takes an additional level of discipline," Read says.
Coordination and cooperation will be key to the successful shift
from being primarily a lender to a strategie partner for clients.
Thankfully, Rabobank's existing lending
relationships provide an excellent base for a
more proactive approach to clients. "We have
the sector focus and market knowledge - and
the products - but we really need to share our
knowledge more effectively if we want to get
closer to our clients' strategie agendas," Read
says.
Rabobank is, in effect, a huge pool of knowledge,
but divided across markets, product groups and
relationship managers. To get the new cliënt
coverage model to work effectively, the bank
has to bring all of that knowledge to bear in a
coordinated effort to serve each and every cliënt,
no matter where they are or what they need.
"We have to translate all our knowledge into
something useful for our clients. That is what will
enable us to be proactive and set the strategie
agenda with our clients. Of course, we cannot
know more about a client's own local market
than they do, but we do know more about
what's happening in their sector globally and
developments that will impact their business,
10 issue 26 ia RI WORLD
