Bike Bazaar streamlines two-wheeler financing to serve the underbanked

Bike Bazaar is a comprehensive two-wheeler lifecycle company dedicated to offering accessible and affordable financing for new two-wheelers, electric two-wheelers, electric three-wheelers, and pre-owned two-wheelers. The company provides a range of cost-effective solutions tailored to every stage of vehicle ownership. Its core strengths lie in a deep understanding of the two-wheeler lifecycle, specialised expertise in rural and pre-owned market segments, and strong pan-India partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), channel partners, and lenders. Driven by the principle of Impact Funding, Bike Bazaar Finance focuses on empowering customers within the customer pyramid, where owning a two- or three-wheeler creates a transformative impact on their lives, extending far beyond convenience.

Need for a scalable and flexible LOS to serve diverse markets

Bike Bazaar wanted to upgrade its existing loan origination system (LOS) to one that could support its rapid growth and innovation. Serving a market that spans metro cities, Tier 2, 3, and 4 towns and villages, Bike Bazaar regularly launches new products and customisations to cater to its diverse customer needs. But the previous system struggled to accommodate these changes, and scale quickly.

Additionally, for the underbanked customers Bike Bazaar serves, two-wheeler financing is a big decision that requires personalised interactions with a trusted representative. Hence, the company sought a transparent, easy-to-use system that would help reps quickly win customer trust.

In Salesforce, the team found the much-needed scalability and flexibility, and also a platform to enable seamless journeys that simplified customer experience.

Optimised workflows and centralised data boost loan approval efficiency by 75%

Today, Salesforce is at the heart of Bike Bazaar’s loan origination process, and is seamlessly integrated with a custom mobile app at the front end. Field agents at dealerships use the mobile app to capture data and upload documentation to complete the customer journey.

Captured data flows into Salesforce, where third-party API integrations handle KYC verifications such as PAN, Aadhaar, and driving licence checks. Custom workflows and forms on Salesforce are integrated with a rules engine to route loan applications to appropriate queues for speedy action. 

If there are information gaps, the underwriting team can seamlessly route queries back to the field team, minimising additional customer interactions. 

With optimised workflows and centralised data, the team is managing 2x the number of cases they used to, and approving loans faster. Approvals that earlier took up to 20 minutes are now completed in five. 

"With consolidated data and streamlined workflows on Salesforce, we have minimised response times and touchpoints,” says Sumanth Gangula, General Manager and Head of Credit, Bike Bazaar. We now approve more loans faster, vastly enhancing customer experience." 

The streamlining of operations has also accelerated product development. With a robust and agile solution in play, simple feature updates go live within a day, and more complex product launches take only around a week‌ — ‌a sharp reduction from the previous six-week timeframe. 

Data-driven insights boost market agility and strategic decision-making

Bike Bazaar also uses the comprehensive customer data on Salesforce to power analytics and insights that help it respond swiftly to seasonal and market shifts. 

During a recent festival season, for instance, the company leveraged data-driven insights to craft tailored offers for specific dealers, products, and locations. This precise targeting allowed Bike Bazaar to maximise the impact of its promotions and engage effectively with key market segments.

Analytics also play a critical role in Bike Bazaar’s risk management strategies, allowing the team to assess risk across various locations, and implement necessary controls. And also take informed decisions on entering new territories or expanding Bike Bazaar’s presence in current markets.

“Salesforce is helping us boost our operational and strategic decision-making,” notes Satbir-Singh Saluja, Deputy General Manager, Marketing and Business Development at Bike Bazaar

Next: Improving customer service, and leveraging data and AI

Bike Bazaar is now exploring moving its customer service operations to Salesforce, and also evaluating Salesforce Data Cloud for building data and AI use cases that align with its broader plans.

With Salesforce enabling data consolidation and process automation, Bike Bazaar’s field and back-office teams are able to collaborate in real time, for faster, more efficient loan approvals.