Japan’s JCB Co. Adopts SAS Enterprise BI Server

With 34 million cardholders, more than 200 services and 600 types of cards, JCB Co. Ltd. is the largest credit card issuer in Japan. The company has already quadrupled the rate of customer response to direct-mail solicitations and launched a successful campaign to retain current cardholders using SAS (see related story).

Now, the company is adopting SAS® Enterprise BI Server for its new credit management system – and expecting a 5 percent year-on-year increase in revenue as a result.

The new server will make it easier for JCB to conduct regular tracking and perform flexible adjustments to the company’s credit model and strategy, thus closely connecting its credit management and management strategy while allowing executives to plan and act based on long-term profitability on a portfolio level.

Saving time, saving money
Thanks to a reduction in time it takes to perform tasks ranging from analysis (model development) to system implementation, JCB is meeting strategic goals sooner.

The new credit management system incorporating SAS Enterprise BI Server will dramatically shorten JCB’s credit optimization process cycle. With the new system, JCB will cut in half the time it takes the company to complete phases from analysis to strategy development and implementation. That process, which now requires six months, will take only three months using SAS.

Under the new system, analysis and reporting features will be separated from other features into an environment independent from the operating environment. This will allow unrestricted regular tracking of credit performance and development of the existing model, thus subsequently strengthening the effect of JCB’s credit management strategy.

Increased information access
The new system will be available to strategists and company managers, allowing them access to necessary information when they need it. They will be able to use the system as an important tool to inform decision making.

JCB plans to fully adopt the newly enhanced system with SAS Enterprise BI Server by January 2006. In an effort to transform itself from a credit card company to a payment solution provider, JCB will continue to optimize its credit management, while developing credit management systems that provide new solution services for various financial companies.