With Lodestar’s expert assistance, USALLIANCE spends less time “supposing” and more time getting the right answers to their analytical questions.
With four mergers in the past three years, USALLIANCE saw a specific need to put proper resources in place to help make those sometimes cumbersome and complex business moves run smoothly. They have wisely put in place all the right pieces to successfully transition their recent business mergers – among its many other technology implementations. This strategy has ensured the credit union continues its positive growth while serving its members with progressive services.
One of those primary pieces has been USALLIANCE’s technology partner in data warehousing and business intelligence analytics, Lodestar. Lodestar has helped with the Credit Union’s various projects over the years, serving as an expert technology resource that provides both tech advice and tech implementations.
“They’ve been an extension of our technology group,” says USALLIANCE SVP/CIO Kevin Randall. “It’s been great to have them in our corner over the years – kind of like an independent advisor for our data integration and analytics needs.”
On the analytics side, the credit union used to have a “hodge podge” of reports that didn’t provide any detailed insight – particularly on fee or transaction trends. Today, using Lodestar’s business intelligence solution, Randall says he and his team can quickly answer specific questions. For example, if traffic is down in a certain branch, he can look at the data and find out why.
“It makes us much more agile in our analysis and decision making process,” he says. “We now spend less time ‘supposing’ and more time getting the right answer.”
He adds that Lodestar’s knowledge allows the credit union to develop the right perspective and deal with any issues that arise – not getting caught up in one detail over a long period of time. “It’s definitely a confidence boost for us having Lodestar in our back pocket as a resource,” he says. “They have really helped us make smart decisions that ultimately benefits our members.”
Over the years, the vendor/credit union relationship has evolved, Randall says. As a whole they have learned a lot and are not asking the same questions anymore.
Lodestar’s business intelligence system allows USALLIANCE to automate its reporting, which makes a big difference in how it serves its members. For example, the Credit Union now monitors dashboards that pull information from both the origination and servicing platforms. This enables agile decision making to support speed, accuracy, and service in the loan and account opening processes.
“We’re a very performance and goal oriented organization,” Randall says. “We are constantly looking at specific metrics such as new loans, new members, and many others.”
Lodestar’s business intelligence system automatically generates these reports to analyze, which everybody in the Credit Union monitors daily – the CEO and member service staff alike.
“Culturally, it has had a huge impact on our performance,” says AVP of Business Systems, Regina Farley. “We now have knowledge which helps us grow and make educated decisions. They have empowered us with this knowledge to act more effectively and efficiently.”
