Five in Five: Shahnawaz Ali’s Journey: Streamlining Trade Finance with Innovation and Client Engagement at Traydstream

five in five

1. Can you describe a typical day at Traydstream? What tasks do you handle regularly?

My role is to ensure speedy, seamless and smooth client and user adoption of Traydstream’s TraydCheck platform. During this process, client adoption can cut across several stages – POC, Pilots and Mandates. In the initial due diligence stage i.e. during POC/Pilot, we ensure the client understands the product and process and the advantages of the platform – with the proposed process and people changes necessitated at the clients end. In the mandate stage, the users usually have more operational questions, the “how to” and ‘what if’s’ where I need to step in, actively engage and ensure timely and comprehensive response to the queries. My role cuts across all these different stages to ensure the client is delighted  with the product and its outcome.

2. How does your role contribute to Traydstream’s goal of simplifying Trade Finance through innovation? Are there any specific challenges or opportunities that you often encounter?

Trade Finance, as we all know, has historically been a very ‘unstructured’ and ‘non standardised’ space. Consequently, our quintessential goal is to bring structure and standardisation to the process – Terms on LC’s vary by country, goods, beneficiaries etc. The same for the banks – they can structure LCs to vary quite widely compared to other banks in the industry. Traydstream is in a good place, with all the experience we have worldwide – in guiding our bank partners on ‘best in class’ practices. Overtime, we’ve build quite a wide understanding, having worked with a multitude of banks on their needs, their challenges, KPIs and implementation processes and have started to embed AI in our granular processes to eke out increased benefits for our clients.

3. Traydstream uses AI to automate trade processes. How do you ensure quality and accuracy in these processes, and what’s your role in maintaining and improving them?

Innovation for me is a journey and not a destination. One evolves with each innovation in constant and unending pursuit of excellence. In a similar comparison, I work very closely with all my clients to understand their current processes and constantly look at ways of automating and simplifying their business, either in terms of efficiencies or simply reducing transactional risk. Product and process KPI’s are monitored and tracked on a continuous basis to highlight areas where we are doing well and areas where we can improve. We then work together with the client to define the go-to model before executing the change.

5. What aspects of your role do you find most fulfilling or exciting, particularly in contributing to the innovative journey of Traydstream in trade finance?

My professional experience of over 25+ years cuts across Project Management, Change Management, Business Development, Operations and Strategy and I get to use all these skills incessantly in making my client engagement journeys seamless and delightful. It is exciting to adapt the implementation approach and manage the change management process based on each client’s individual needs. I specially love interacting with clients – across so many cultures and time zones. I draw great satisfaction in being able to solve their pains, show such radical benefits from the platform and see how it makes their lives so much better. Trade Finance processing has always been assumed to be painful and slow, but day by day I can see how we are making it automated and error free.

For more information about TraydCheck and Traydstream visit www.traydstream.com

Recent Posts

Embracing the Future: Putting It All Together!

Embracing the Future: Putting It All Together!

We have quickly covered many topics in the past 6 blogs.  I hope this has been helpful.   Let’s use this final blog in the series to summarize it all and be ready to keep moving forward in  2025 and beyond.   The next three years demand massive changes in the...