How To Select The Best SACCO Tech Vendor
Technology has become a need in terms of SACCOs processes and success. Any SACCO that is looking for growth in terms of memberships, revenues, and better service delivery to members should embrace the current technology. With that in mind, you need to have a technology partner who can help you achieve those goals using reliable technologies.
I know how hard it is to select one considering there are hundreds or even thousands of tech vendors looking forward to serving you. Not all of them will make a great fit for you, therefore, I have written this blog specifically for you to be able to select the best technology vendor for your SACCO.
Factors To Look Into When Selecting A SACCO Tech Vendor
Experience of the vendor in the SACCO sector
There are many companies with experience in the ICT space but that isn’t enough. SACCOs have their own processes and unique challenges and objectives compared to other industries.
A vendor who has worked with SACCOs even for 5 years is better off than one with over 30 years of experience in other industries like insurance and only 2 years in the SACCO space. This is because the one who actually understands the SACCO processes can easily customize a system say an ERP software to fit the needs of your SACCO and even customize it further to fit your internal operations.
For instance, a vendor with experience with customizing Microsoft Dynamics Nav to fit the needs of a SACCO is the best vendor to upgrade your SACCO to Dynamics 365 Business Central for better experience, growth, and security.
Success stories from other SACCOs the vendor has worked with
It is obvious that you have to do your due diligence before awarding the deal to any SACCO tech vendor. Look at other SACCOs they have worked with and what those SACCOs say about the vendor’s services, support, and solutions.
Look at the case studies and testimonials from the other SACCOs, go deeper, and request a benchmarking to deeply understand how the solution has helped the other SACCOs and how it can be beneficial to your SACCO.
Select the SACCOs that resemble yours in terms of the memberships, users, core operations, and other factors that you have in common. You may not have exact similarities, buts at least have a few that you can relate with. This is because you will get the same solution as the other SACCO, therefor these details are important when selecting a SACCO tech vendor.
Product Portfolio of the vendor
It’s good to work with a vendor who has a good range of products that can serve your SACCO as it grows over the years. This builds a good relationship and even gives you bargaining power, consider when you procure more than one product from the vendor, the cost will be lower compared to when you buy from separate vendors.
Get a vendor who has a full suite of solutions that helps SACCOs grow and overcome emerging challenges and grasp opportunities as the SACCO grows.
I’m talking about a vendor with SACCO ERP software (core banking), mobile banking system, agency banking system, internet banking system, CRM software, document management system, business intelligence system, etc. As your SACCO grows, these are the solutions that you will need in the long run.
For instance, you are a SACCO based in a single location, let’s say Meru town, as you grow some of your members will relocate to other towns and you will attract more members from other towns. At the same time, the members in Meru town are getting busy and they can’t always commute to your branches to transact. Therefore, you will need to get alternative channels such as mobile banking platforms, agency banking, or Internet banking platform to allow your members to transact and access your services from wherever they are at their convenience.
This is just one of the many reasons why you need to work with a tech vendor who has a pool of reliable solutions to help your SACCO grow.
Integration options
As you automate, you will realize that you will need a separate system to accomplish specific tasks. That is why you need to work with a vendor whose systems can be easily integrated into other systems.
For instance, if you have procured SACCO ERP software from a specific vendor, you will need them to integrate their system into a credit bureau system in order to help you award and praise loans to members based on their credit scores. This will help you avoid situations whereby you start recording bad loans.
System customizations
You need to work with a tech vendor whose systems can be customized to fit your needs.
Therese are several SACCO tech vendors in Kenya and Africa at large, but very few of them can customize their systems to meet your needs.
It’s not obvious that you will want a plug-and-play SACCO management system, sometimes you will want a system that is customized to fully meet your internal needs.
SACCOs depend on reports for decision-making and day-to-day operations. Therefore, you will need a SACCO management system that can help you customize your reports to meet your daily operations. This is the point to note that not all SACCOs operate the same way, you definitely have your own special internal operations, and therefore, you need a tech vendor who can fulfill that need.
Support services of the vendor
Support is a crucial matter whenever you are planning to procure any software solutions. Always consider the quality of support services offered by the vendor.
Aspects to look into in support services includes the size of the team dedicated to offering support services to you as a client. As a matter of fact, the vendor should have a whole department ready to support you whenever you face any technical issues and not just a single person who receives and answers your phone calls or emails.
The support team should include call center agents (the people responsible to receive your support requests), functional consultants (professionals who deeply understand your process and are able to give the way forward), and software developers (the people responsible to twerk the system by coding to meet your needs).
Also, the vendor should have a support management system where you will be able to submit your requests for documentation and tracking purpose.
So, with all said, we can agree that the quality of support is something you need to consider when looking for your ideal SACCO tech vendor.
System Security
Cybersecurity is a key aspect in the financial service industry and SACCOs are not an exception. You need a vendor who can safeguard your data and the investments of your members 24/7.
Keep in mind that there is no system that is 100% secured and no vendor should ever give you that assurance. Security issues will always come and most vendors if not all have been affected by cyberattacks. Hence, you need to look at the measures the vendor has taken to avoid any other incidences.
Make sure the vendor has partnered with a reputable cybersecurity firm that provides a secure environment for the system and it should be monitored 24/7.
SACCO tech vendors are not cybersecurity specialists, therefore partnering with an expert in that industry is a requirement. Make sure the vendors present you with an official document that proves their partnership with a reputable cybersecurity firm.
Vendors’ ability to be innovative
Tech is a fast-paced industry and new challenges come up in the SACCO sector every now and then.
Work with a tech partner who is innovative and can help you overcome the challenges as you grow. For instance, since COVID, your SACCO members have normalized to access your services whenever they are and prospective members don’t want to visit your branches to register as your members. A good vendor should be able to give you a solution that enables new members to fully conduct self-registration and be able to start saving and investing with you.
SACCOs are in the business of loans and digital lenders have brought stiff competition in the financial service sector. Many SACCOs have lost active membership because they can’t sort out members in terms of emergencies. Whenever members need cash instantly, they prefer taking loans from digital lenders because they get quick services despite the high-interest rates and short payment durations. In this case, your tech vendor should offer you a mobile banking system that comes with instant loan capabilities. This will help you curb the competition, serve members better and retain your active memberships.
Regardless of your situation, you need to work with a vendor who is able to come up with innovative solutions to help you grow and tap new opportunities.
Implementation Process
Implementing a SACCO management system comes with many challenges, especially in a situation whereby a lot of customization and integrations are required.
It’s not always the case that a plug-and-play system will work for you. Most of the time, SACCOs want a system can is fully customized based on functionalities and reports to fit their internal operations.
The vendor need needs to give you a clear roadmap and a work plan that will give you visibility on what’s happening and can also help you in planning yourself.
The plan should clearly indicate the roles of each individual timelines and aspects of quality assurance just to make sure that everything works as planned and you will get value for your money.
In short, a good SACCO tech vendor should have a simple and transparent implementation process.
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Conclusion
In the process of automation, you will meet very many SACCO tech vendors who are looking forward to working with you. Some are qualified and some are not. The above pointers will help you easily identify the best tech partner for your SACCO.
But! Why go far when you are already on our website? We check all the boxes and are very willing to work with you, grow your SACCO, and give members a better experience. Check out our product portfolio and get in touch.
