Origins and Market Challenges
The Turkish financial sector is undergoing a massive transformation driven by technology and innovation. İşbank faces a vibrant and diverse fintech ecosystem that offers new and convenient ways to manage money. These fintechs appeal to millions of customers, especially the young and digitally native ones who expect simple, easy, and transparent banking solutions. Türkiye has over 600 fintechs with a record-breaking investment of $89 million last year. The competition is fierce, and regulatory restrictions on know-your-customer (KYC) processes and digital marketing activities pose challenges. However, Türkiye also has a large young and digitally savvy population with over 45 million people below 35 and a 70 percent smartphone penetration. There are over 85 million mobile bank accounts, with over ten million digital accounts created annually. Young customers want easy, simple, and user-friendly banking solutions.Vision and Goals
The team had a clear vision from the start – to lead the market, design the next-generation daily banking experience, become the biggest player, and acquire millions of customers. They shared this vision with the board, along with value propositions backed by customer tests and benchmarking. A new brand, Nays, and a new app for daily finance were created, focusing on simplicity, fun, and rewards. The team aimed to become the fastest-growing daily finance app in Türkiye, reach millions of new-generation customers, integrate with popular platforms, and achieve more than ten million downloads and four million active customers by 2027.Initial Challenges and Milestones
The launch of the first minimum viable product (MVP) in late 2021 was a challenging test period. The load on new systems was high, and new features were being developed for the official launch. Despite the challenges, they reached their year-end target of one million registered users in only three months during the pilot launch. This required confidence, courage, determination, and resilience. Demonstrating high standards of performance and problem-solving was crucial during this turbulent time.Key Features and Customer Attraction
The hassle-free onboarding process with no hidden fees or conditions was a major attraction. The user-friendly interface made it easy for users to manage their daily banking and shopping. The cash-benefit program with cashback and gamified incentives was very popular. Exclusive deals and discounts on digital platforms also added value. Extensive customer research showed that customers valued free money transfers, easy access to loans, gamification, and attractive campaigns.Marketing and Growth
Word-of-mouth and a referral campaign worked well to publicize Nays. Customers promoted the app on websites and created videos. The addition of the microcredit feature and advertising activities, including using a celebrity and television/radio campaigns, led to rapid growth. Nays became the fastest-growing finance app in Türkiye, with over four million downloads and three million registered users in 12 months. Twenty percent of users were new to banking and under 35, attracted by the unique experience.Future Plans
The future holds big plans for Nays. They aim to offer more features, benefits, and value, creating value beyond conventional financial practices. They want to deepen their presence in the ecosystem with easy payment and borrowing options using a digital prepaid card. Integrating loyalty programs of business partners is also on the agenda. Nays has strong growth and revenue potential, with a digital asset already valued ten times the investment. They plan to evaluate spin-off options soon.Attracting and Retaining Talent
Building Nays was a team effort involving technology and business partners. A culture of innovation and collaboration was fostered. Agile management practices were implemented, and teams were empowered to take ownership. Data-driven decisions were made to gain trust and support. The quality of execution, autonomy, and intense stakeholder management were the pillars of success.Leadership and Data-Driven Culture
Learning from the team and leaders along the way, Ceyda Yalçın emphasized the importance of being in touch with the team, having one-on-one conversations, and listening. Seeking different perspectives before making decisions was crucial. Dashboards were used, but the focus was on the culture. In problem-solving, facts and data were examined to ensure customer-centricity. While being data-driven, a balance was maintained as trusting gut feelings was also important in times of crisis.Unlock the Potential of Digital Twins in the Post-COVID Supply Chain
Digital Twins: The Key to a Resilient Supply Chain
Under these challenging circumstances, organizations that fail to recalibrate their supply chain operations risk being left behind. Digital twins offer a solution by helping with the necessary recalibration. Leading companies are already leveraging them to ensure their supply chains are flexible, agile, and responsive enough to overcome unexpected disruptions.Digital twins are virtual replicas that use real data to simulate potential situations and deliver analytical insights. They can be used to model the interaction between physical and digital processes throughout the supply chain, providing a clear picture of an optimal end-to-end process. When paired with predictive AI, they become both predictive and prescriptive, leading to a self-monitoring and self-healing supply chain.For example, a retailer uses digital twins to set dynamic SKU-level safety stock targets for each fulfillment center, adapting to localized and seasonal demand patterns. This granular optimization extends to every part of the end-to-end supply chain, resulting in significant improvements such as a 20% improvement in fulfilling consumer promise, a 10% reduction in labor costs, and a 5% revenue uplift.Digital Twins and SCM Software: A Perfect Match
Today's supply chain management software has automated many parts of the supply chain. Digital twins can integrate with these existing tools, functioning as an innovation layer on top of the tech stack. They optimize data inputs into SCM tools, generating predictive analytics to address multiple potential scenarios.For instance, a global OEM created a digital twin to optimize its outbound logistics policies in the TMS platform, reducing costs for freight and damages by 8%. Digital twins help in several ways, such as providing end-to-end connections, enhancing resiliency in dynamic markets, optimizing across competing priorities, and testing for variability.An automotive OEM used digital twins to dynamically shape demand based on supply availability and operational complexity, reducing last-mile transportation costs by 5%. A consumer-packaged-goods company measured variable demand and labor in its warehouse and reduced total distribution center costs by 15% using digital twins.A Deep Dive into Digital Twins
Seeing digital twins in action is crucial to understanding their value in the supply chain. Let's explore some potential use cases:- **Forecasting and Demand Planning**: Two people analyzing various charts and graphs symbolize data analysis and strategic demand planning. Digital twins help predict demand accurately.- **Sourcing and Production Planning**: An isometric illustration shows a streamlined sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics process using digital twins.- **Optimizing Supply**: The distribution center network is illustrated with lines representing the flow of goods and inventory levels. Digital twins optimize supply throughout the network.- **Distribution Center Network**: Data streams between distribution centers show the efficiency of the network. Digital twins play a vital role in optimizing this network.- **Network Design**: The design aspect is emphasized, highlighting how digital twins contribute to an efficient supply chain network.- **Inventory Management and Positioning**: The importance of inventory management is shown, with digital twins optimizing inventory positioning.- **Warehouse Optimization**: The warehouse is optimized using digital twins, improving overall operations.- **End Customers**: The flow of packages and data between the warehouse and customers highlights the significance of digital twins in fulfilling customer orders.- **Fulfillment**: The fulfillment process is enhanced with digital twins, ensuring timely deliveries.- **Reverse Logistics**: The reverse logistics process is also optimized with digital twins, reducing costs and improving efficiency.Understanding the Benefits of Digital Twins
Supply chain organizations are leveraging digital twins to optimize both long-term strategies and everyday operations. The most common uses include inventory positioning and forecasting, managing the flow of goods within warehouses and factories, and aiding in production planning.Strategically, digital twins can derisk long-term planning by simulating potential outcomes. For example, a retailer used a granular digital twin to test the implications of a new distribution center design and found they could resize and relocate it on 50% less real estate without compromising functionality.Operationally, digital twins act as a "one model to rule them all," optimizing daily decision-making. The same retailer used its digital twin to optimize cross-dock footprint and daily inventory positioning decisions, resulting in a 10% improvement in regional distribution center utilization and a 5% reduction in fulfillment costs.Getting Started with Digital Twins
While supply chain organizations recognize the value of digital twins, few have implemented them at scale. Digital twins often require a customized build, which takes time and investment. Organizations need in-house data science and development teams or partner with outside vendors.To succeed, organizations should focus on five key tenets:- **North Star Road Map**: Determine the vision for the future supply chain and prioritize end-to-end use cases.- **Data Visibility**: Identify data inputs and outputs for each use case and build a data product road map.- **Technology Architecture**: Ensure the tech team has the flexibility to scale compute resources as needed.- **Talent**: Assess the skills needed and provide agile upskilling and training.- **Optimization and Simulation**: Identify the first use case and build optimization and simulation modules.End-to-end supply chain optimization requires a mindset shift at all levels. Internally, companies should eliminate silos and rely on data-driven decision-making. Externally, they should analyze their roles in the global supply chain. Digital twins can help predict potential disruptions and enable companies to react and adapt.Uncovering the Truth about Women's Progress in the Workplace
On the Horizon
Listeners, welcome! We're celebrating the 60th birthday of our flagship publication, the McKinsey Quarterly. It's live and available for free at McKinsey.com. This edition focuses on the wild ride of technology and its impact on society, business, and leadership. Just 60 years ago, touch-tone telephones were a novelty, and now we wear computers on our wrists. In 60 years, the banking industry might look very different with the advent of generative AI. Our Global Banking Annual Review is now live on our website.
Now, let's hear about the recently published Women in the Workplace report with senior partners Alexis Krivkovich and Lareina Yee.
Battling Change Fatigue
My origin story is very personal. After becoming an elected partner at McKinsey, I attended my first global partner meeting and was shocked to see the low representation of women. I had two young daughters and was about to have a third, and I didn't want them to face the same situation in 25 years. Lareina's story was similar. She noticed the imbalance when walking into client meetings and decided to use McKinsey analytics to solve the lack of women at the top. This year, McKinsey interviewed 15,000 employees, and one Black woman manager shared her perspective. She said the biggest barrier is will. Companies need to recommit to change to scale and accelerate women's gains.
What's causing companies to deprioritize these initiatives? On the surface, it's the complexity of the market. But underneath, we may be facing fatigue before making enough progress. We need to reframe this as a non-zero-sum game and help all talent access the coaching and development they need.
What's Better for Women at Work
Women are often described as less apt to put themselves forward for promotion, but that doesn't mean they're less ambitious. The issue is the system and the hurdles they face. Over the past ten years, the biggest gains have been at the C-suite level, from 17% to 29%. However, there's fragility in this progress. Companies added seats at the C-suite but often in staff roles that don't lead to the CEO position. They also looked outside their organization to fill diverse talent seats instead of promoting from within.
Many things in corporate America have improved for women. Parental leave, bereavement leave, and elderly care are more common. Recruiting processes have also become more diverse, and flexibility has evolved. But we're still a long way from equal experience.
What's Slow to Change
Women tend to be the primary caretakers of children and aging parents. When companies talk about returning to the office, it raises concerns for working mothers. Returning to the office has benefits, but it may not fit everyone. The key is to architect your career with flexibility when needed. In society, we still haven't solved for the responsibilities beyond the workplace. Women are more likely to hold household and childcare responsibilities at home.
Reaching the C-suite is still hard for women. At the entry and managerial levels, there are structural barriers and a lack of diverse talent. For example, Latinas face the most challenging broken rung. They make up a small percentage of the entry pipe and the C-suite. The criteria for evaluating potential is often biased against women of color.
What's Worse
At the start, we don't see our fair share of diverse talent in the corporate pipeline. Women have graduated with more than 50% of college degrees but only make up 48% of the entry pipe. For Latinas, the numbers are even more challenging. They face the least equity in advancing to manager seats. The day-to-day experience for women, especially women of color, is different. They are challenged on their competency and don't get the same support as men.
What Can Be Done
Companies have made efforts to formalize hiring and advancement processes and look for bias. Technology can help identify and disrupt bias and even the playing field. Generative AI gives us new capabilities to debias and improve recruiting. Access to capital and entrepreneurship are also areas of optimism.
Practical suggestions for allyship include helping in the day-to-day experience, defending a woman colleague's work, and asking about professional ambitions. Leaders can also grade themselves on the diversity of their sponsored and mentored list.
To help women advance more quickly, we need discontinuous thinking. We need to think differently about entrepreneurship, technical skills, and the manager layer. We also need to collaborate with public sector entities to find solutions to childcare and other challenges.
We've seen progress, but we need to keep going. It will take rigor and persistence to root out bias and encourage change.