MILESTONES

Submitted By – CHENNAI KING Team

K.N.JAKANTHAN II year – MBA

Contact: jagan_nathan94@yahoo.com cell: 9500049328
Department of Management studies
University of Madras
Chepauk Campus
Chennai – 5, TN
Introduction about UAE Exchange:

UAE Exchange Centre Limited Liability Company, an ISO 9001:2000

Company, is one of the leading exchange houses in the Middle East, primarily focusing
on money transfers and money exchange, with direct operations spreading across five
continents and 30 years (Appendix A) of successful business history and is part of the
NMC Group, one of the biggest and the most prestigious business conglomerates in the
UAE. It has pioneered new standards in fund transfer services since its establishment in
1980, ever staying ahead of competition with advanced and slick enhancements in the
technology, operations and customer service.

This steadfast grounding in value-laden business ethics and firm focus on

customer satisfaction has given us the acclaim “World’s Trusted Money Transferrer”.
Service is at the core of this business. A strong loyal customer base, who valued services
provided by UAE Exchange, was a key reason for their success.

Now a day, to migration of labours from nearby countries is more. These

laborers account for the majority of the customers of UAE Exchange and the company
has made sure that it provides good level of service to them. Though this was a welcome
change, it has various problems like increased queue lengths at counters and long waiting
time for customers.

General Demographic Trend:

The following trends feature mainly in UAE Exchange Customers.

• Labours (who do not get a chance to visit their homes much)
• Foreign Travelers (Who are in need to convert their money or Cheque)
• General Customers (High income people, who want to transfer money to other
country)

Product and Services:

• Remittance and Funds Transfer

• Foreign Exchange
• Allied Service
• Bill Payment
• Pay-Roll service
• Wealth management
• Travel Service
These are service given in UAE exchange and different products are there for different
issues in the service. The products are given in (Appendix B).
Extra Features:

• Gold cards to all customers

• Swift partnership
• Pre-funding model
• Discounts in other Business sectors of parent group – NMC
• Discount according to amount of remittance.
• SMS notification
• Centralized Treasury
• Worldwide remittances through Correspondent Banks network

Operations:

UAE operations into 6areas: Dubai I, Dubai II, Abu Dhabi I, Abu Dhabi II, Sharjah
and Northern Emirates. Each area consists of 10-15 branches and is headed by an Area
Manager. There are 3 types of UAE exchange branches according to Demographic trend
of customers,
• Street Branches - General customers
• Mall Branches - Foreign Tourists Regarding the location of
customers
• Labor Campus Branches – labor Customers
For these branches the type of customers are different, their need of transaction
also differs. We have to change the working operations, regarding their need.

Timings of Customers:

• General Customers - Can come to branch at any time in day

• Foreign Tourists - Can’t predict their approach, because they come when they
need money
• Labours - Come o remit money to their family, they come only in free
hours

Efficiency of the UAE Exchange:

According to the Statistics given in Exhibit (5) and Exhibit (6) in the case, from
2005 only number of branches started to increase. In 2008, Jan – 55 branches was there
and the average transaction is 20289, and at the end, Dec – 68 branches but the customers
increased to 30292.
According to calculation (Appendix C) there should be 82 branches to attend the
30292 customers, certainly it is efficient work by the UAE Exchange. From this I come
to the conclusion that UAE Exchange can do work efficiently but at the same time there
might be crowd in the Exchange house. To reduce that crowd and to retain that customer,
I suggest the following suggestions that can work with low number of branches.

Suggestions:
Labour Customers Crowd:

In branches near Labour campus surely there will be much rush on salary day, all
labors working in different companies get salary on that day evening and try to send the
amount on the same day to their families who are in different countries. That makes
heavy crowd and long queue leading to thinking of hassle to pay money.

To avoid over crowding and long queue following suggestions are tabled:

If the companies give the salary to the their labours in different days, like
company A on 28th and company B on 30th and company C on 2nd, it will be easy to
labours to send money with hassle free mood. This will make loyal to their company.

In this regard, UAE Exchange Area manger can request A, B, C companies to

give salary to their labours on different days, so as to send the money to their families
without hurdles. In this process companies can give the salary to their employees on
different day’s preferably first choice to labors and so on. This can be achieved only by
consensus among the UAE exchange, employees, and different companies.

This welfare will make the labours loyal to the company and it will keep that
customers attached with the UAE Exchange.

Most of these labours are with minimum level of education, thus they will
hesitate to use digital way of transaction by own. So their only preference is to go directly
to Exchange house and remit money and even they think that the same money paid by
him is get transferred to their family. Since in most of the family their salary is the only
source, they want to send the money as soon as they got the salary. On that salary days,
there will be more crowd in the exchange house, so the employees of the UAE Exchange
should be scheduled correctly and assign optimized customers on that peak days.

The next step is to reduce the queue; UAE Exchange can use the OPTI – QUEUE
(Teller Referral model kiosks) system, in that customer come to that OPTI – Q dashboard
and swap the gold card given to him(self Service Technology). Then it will show the
services of the UAE Exchange, they have to choose their preference like country to
transfer money and option goes on. They have to choose their preference and according
to their preference they will be assigned to the particular service officer.

Example: Swapping the Gold card  click Remittance service  Xpress Money
Transfer  Receiving country  Sending Amount  Slip

In that Slip, there should not be merely counter number; there should be name of
the service officer, who is assigned according to his preference.
Example: If a labour from Kerala wants to access Exchange, the officer assigned to him
should know Malayalam. If that slip shows these details, customer will get more attached
to the UAE Exchange. This increases the customer relationship.

This OPTI – Q operation will help the customer to get advanced knowledge and it
paves the way for internet accessing by the labours. Customer’s savings account can be
attached with UAE Exchange, and then it will easy to transfer money from their account
itself. Exchange house should educate the labour customers about digital sending of their
money and make them to use the Net Transfer.

Gold card is not only useful to get the customers detail easily, it also gives the
customer prioritize. They are prioritized more than non-gold card holder. If a customer
accesses the exchange house for more transaction with more margins of money, he will
become a VIP customer as such incentives and discounts will be given to them according
their transaction. This will make more attachment with UAE exchange.

Real Illustration:

My friend’s father worked as a driver in oil Refinery Company in Dubai. He did

his X-std only. He used UAE exchange to transfer money to his family. In initial time he
used to send money through Bank transfer draft – with a help of co-worker, but he had
problem of standing in queue, then he started to send money to their family once in three
months in bulk. This made budgeting problem to his family in India. And more he
hesitates to communicate with the service officer in the bank.

Then after continuous transaction, he learned to fill the challan, he used to go to

the counter where the service person can speak Tamil. Then he started to use Xpress
Cheques – directly to his family through SBI account in India and then he started to use
instant Xpress Money.
So from this, I come to the conclusion if UAE Exchange starts to give more
facility to customers and educate the customers according to that advancement like Net
Transfer, it will increase the loyalty of the customer and it will reduce the queue.

General Customers:

General customers are recommended to do their transaction through Net itself.

Since most of them are well educated and elite, they know the background of digital
transaction and also they have the knowledge handling the websites, Net transaction will
be much useful to them avoiding the time consuming and boring queue.

Net Transfer System:

For that Net Transfer system, UAE Exchange area manger has to take steps
regarding the safety transfer. Well developed technology should be used to transfer.
Exchange house has to give immediate response regarding the safe transfer of their
money by giving SMS through mobiles. This will increase the confidant level of the
customer that they worked out the transaction correctly and their money has been sent
correctly to their recipient.

Foreign Customers:

In both the products of the Foreign Exchange service, the customers should be
personally present in the exchange house. For them Quick transfer is the main service.
They may or may not be UAE Exchange subscriber. So they can’t access that OPTI-Q
dashboard. In mall Branches the main customers are Foreigners, So in Mall Branches
there is no need of these OPTI-Q dashboard.

Conclusion:
Mr. Pramod has to consider these points

• “Service is our Currency” .The customer and the service should be the two
Parallel railway lines of the UAE Exchange.
• UAE Exchange should focus on the demands of customers and do the service to
satisfy them rather than simply increasing the branches.
• Efforts should be taken to Implementing the system of Payment of salary on
different dates by the companies.
• UAE Exchange must increase the efficiency to attend the growing customers,
through sophisticated technology and munificent manner
• Going digital way, reduce the waiting time of the customers and also fast
transaction of money will make the customer fully satisfied.
• Both general and labour Customer can do that transaction within minutes.
• Educating the customers according to the advancement by UAE Exchange.
Appendix A)

Appendix B)
• Remittance and Funds Transfer

The Exchange Centre specializes in

· Issue of demand drafts
· Express Transfers
· Telex/SWIFT Transfers
· Direct Credit
· Inter-Emirate Funds Transfer
· Foreign Inward remittance into the UAE
· Xpress Money
· Western Union Money Transfer
· Issue and Encashment of Travelers Cheques
· Travelex Cash Passport Money Transfer
· Travelex Money Transfer

Appendix C)

Jan – 08 55 branches deals 20289 transactions in average

So, there is 20289/55 = 369 transactions in one branch

Dec – 08 There are 30292 transactions

So, we need – (30292 *1)/369 = 82 branches

But on Dec-08 we have only 68 branches managed to deal the 30292

transactions.