Client Overview

The Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM) is the largest professional body for the credit management sector, providing services and support to thousands of members worldwide. CICM’s membership system is central to their operations, managing member data, subscriptions and communications. However, their legacy system required extensive manual data extraction, leading to inefficiencies and taking up significant staff time each day. To streamline operations and reduce manual workloads, CICM engaged PSP to modernise their system without needing a full replacement.

Challenge

Before partnering with PSP, CICM staff faced the cumbersome task of manually extracting and compiling data from their outdated membership system. This process took up to three hours daily, equating to nearly 15 hours of admin time each week. The inefficiency not only diverted staff from more strategic activities but also risked errors due to the manual handling of large data sets. CICM needed a solution that would automate these processes, reduce the administrative burden and present data in a format that was easy to interpret and act upon, all without the high costs associated with replacing their entire legacy system.

Solution

PSP began by analysing the existing system to understand its data structure and the specific reporting needs of CICM’s staff. Instead of recommending a costly system overhaul, our solution focused on enhancing the value of the current system through automation and modernisation. We designed and built a custom data warehouse that consolidated data from the membership system into a central repository. This data warehouse served as the foundation for generating automated reports, ensuring that all relevant information was collected, processed and organised efficiently.

We set up a series of automated reports to run overnight, extracting and processing data during off-peak hours. These reports were then fed into a modern, user-friendly dashboard, which provided CICM staff with real-time insights and key metrics at the start of each day. This approach completely eliminated the need for manual data extraction, allowing staff to focus on analysing the information rather than spending hours compiling it. By morning, staff had immediate access to accurate, up-to-date data presented in an easy-to-read format, facilitating quicker and better-informed decision-making.

Results

The implementation of the data warehouse and automated reporting system has saved CICM up to 15 hours per week in administrative time. What previously required three hours of manual effort each day is now delivered automatically, giving staff instant access to critical information as soon as they start their day. In addition, by modernising rather than replacing the legacy system, PSP helped CICM avoid the significant costs of a complete system migration, saving thousands of pounds. The new solution has not only streamlined their reporting process but also improved data accuracy and usability, empowering the team to work more efficiently and effectively.

Conclusion

PSP’s modernisation of CICM’s legacy membership system transformed a time-consuming manual process into a streamlined, automated solution. By building a centralised data warehouse and creating automated overnight reporting, we enabled CICM to significantly reduce their administrative burden and optimise their daily operations. This project illustrates PSP’s ability to deliver innovative, cost-effective solutions that extend the life of legacy systems while enhancing functionality. With ongoing support from PSP, CICM continues to benefit from a reliable and modernised system, allowing them to focus on providing high-quality services to their members.