Today, while Ngern Tid Lor is recognized as an innovative leader in the vehicle title loan business, due to ten years of continued investment in technology, we are also known for our technological expertise and innovations as we design and develop new, never-seen-before products and services to captivate customers and set new standards for the industry.
However, not many know that Ngern Tid Lor started from a small beginning and how we evolved to become a leader in the industry. Mr. Bernard Tso, SVP Marketing and Business Development and Information Technology, Ngern Tid Lor Public Company Limited, shared us the story behind how Ngern Tid Lor transformed into a Tech Leader while enhancing customer experience and developing organization.
“We started with a small team of seven members. Today, our IT team has more than 300 people, who are behind the innovations responsible for enhancing and elevating customer services. Because of our one-of-a-kind business model, no software packages best suit our unique operations. That is why we have built a large in-house IT team to develop and customize program and applications for a wide range of purposes. Our IT team staff needs to be proficient and adept in various areas of technology, including Mobile Applications, Cloud Technologies, Microservices, API Architecture, Robotics, Data Analytics, and Data Lakes as well as many other skills including Midrange Computers in order to support the development of cash card products with banks and ATM operators.”
“Anyone with sufficient funding can invest in a large IT team, hardware and software. But what makes our team well-rounded is because we attach great importance to investment in people development as well.”
With this philosophy, our IT staff in different levels and related-team members have been given opportunities to learn advanced technologies and upskill in many countries, such as USA, UK, China, Australia, Hong Kong, and Dubai. For example, we sent 30 IT staff members to study Agile development process in Singapore. After they returned, they started a Scrum team. Although they stumbled and set off at a slow pace in the early stage, they soon were able to gain their footing and became highly proficient. Today, the IT team can complete new projects in a matter of weeks instead of months. At present, there are 29 Scrum teams in our IT Department.
“Discipline and a strong culture of teamwork are just as important as professional development. At Ngern Tid Lor, we believe that we do not always need a brilliant idea to develop a successful product. Rather, the culture that encourages exploration without fear of failure will drive the organization towards continuous growth. Ngern Tid Lor has, therefore, provided the IT Department with adequate budget and freedom to experiment with different technologies and encouraged cross-functional collaboration through the BX (Branch Experience), CX (Customer Experience), A&D (Analysis & Development), and Risk Technology teams. Consequently, many ideas generated by the team were developed further into new innovations or used to further improve customer experience.”
Bernard further described future-proofing preparations carried out at Ngern Tid Lor in order to keep up with a rapidly growing digital landscape.
“Nowadays, we offer an array of products and services that make life more convenient for customers, such as the TIDLOR card and Ngern Tid Lor app. Tablets were brought in to support in-store customer services. We have also adopted various back-office technologies that not only enhance service experience for customers but also enable us to provide more extensive customer services.”
He also shared his ideas of future innovation development at Ngern Tid Lor that:
“We have consistently emphasized sustainable design and plan to further develop the design of sustainable systems, products and services in 2022. Through modification and extension of existing technologies, we are able to launch new innovations faster and keep up with the ever-changing technology trends. Moreover, we will continue to invest in personnel development and technical excellence in order to further innovate; Our BTF (Build the Future) team with members from various business units and IT teams will continue to work together to strengthen our digital and technological prowess over the long term.”
And this is the story of Ngern Tid Lor’s journey and how our strong growth enabled us to become today’s Tech Leader and commit to deliver the best experience to customers as well as our organization.