Trade and Supply Chain Finance Experts

Operations Review, built on TRACE

Not every improvement needs a transformation programme. Pressures like these trace back to five areas, and the TRACE framework finds the fix that counts.

Scope an Operations Review Take the Health Check

40+ implementation projects20+ countries7 trade finance systems12 years’ average experience

What we improve

Five things every trade operations head is measured on.

  1. Team & organisation

    Right roles, right capacity

    Is the team organised around the work, and who holds the know-how?

    • capacity vs volume
    • role design
    • key-person dependency
    • training coverage

  2. Risk & controls

    Lower risk exposure

    Which controls rely on people and email?

    • evidence completeness
    • screening timing
    • audit findings

  3. Automation & STP

    More straight-through

    What could run straight through, and what must be true before AI?

    • STP
    • re-keying
    • exceptions

  4. Client experience & growth

    Better client experience

    Why do corporates still send email and paper?

    • digital reach
    • fee capture
    • client turnaround

  5. Efficiency

    Lower unit cost

    Where does cost sit, and why does it rise with volume?

    • unit cost
    • touch time
    • rework

Every finding is filed under one of the five, so trade-offs sit in one place.

What you receive

Start with the facts. Leave with a plan you can defend.

You receive

  1. Baseline

    How the work actually moves today, agreed with your teams.

    Volumes, touch time, waiting points, rework and where the expertise sits, product by product.

  2. Findings

    By TRACE pillar, each rated for priority and effort.

    Team, risk, automation, client and efficiency: one finding, one TRACE pillar. Each lands on a lever below.

  3. Quick wins

    Separated from the strategic choices.

    Worth doing whatever the future operating model.

  4. Roadmap

    A target operating model, phased with decision gates.

    Choices on AI, STP, channels, team structure and skills, new platforms and technology upgrades, set out.

  5. Decisions

    The measures and calls needed to run it as a programme.

    Measures for each TRACE pillar, tracked from the baseline.

Where recommendations land

  • Platform optimisation

    More from the system you have: configuration, workflow and integration.

  • Process improvements

    Procedures, hand-offs and controls, independent of any system change.

  • People and organisation

    Roles, team structure, training and capacity planning, so expertise isn’t held by a few.

  • External solutions

    Gaps neither can close, framed for your own evaluation.

How the review works

  1. Questionnaires

    Processes, volumes, platform use and known issues, before we arrive.

  2. Live observation

    We trace live transactions desk by desk, beside makers, checkers and approvers.

  3. Focused sessions

    Credit, risk, financial crime and compliance, relationship management and sales, and operations leads on team structure, capacity and skills.

  4. Baseline, then recommendations

    Agreed with you before we recommend anything.

Across guarantees, import and export LCs, collections, clean payments and reimbursements, document checking and digital channels.

One workflow language

Every product mapped in the same three stages, so findings compare across the book.

Request intake Controls and decisions Execution and recording

Illustrative process map extract An import LC moving between front office, trade operations, compliance and systems, with waiting points marked between steps. Stages: Request intake (Application received, Capture); Controls and decisions (Limit check, Screening, Hit cleared, Examination); Execution and recording (MT700 sent). Front office Trade operations Compliance Systems Applicationreceived Capture Limit check Screening Hit cleared Examination MT700 sent
  1. Front office Application received
  2. Waiting point
  3. Trade operations Capture
  4. Systems Limit check
  5. Systems Screening
  6. Waiting point
  7. Compliance Hit cleared
  8. Waiting point
  9. Trade operations Examination
  10. Systems MT700 sent
  • Step
  • Waiting point
Illustrative extract of a baseline map for an import LC. Not client data.

Not a system audit. Not an assessment of individuals.

Trade Ops Health Check

Ten signs worth a closer look.

Tick what applies, or send it to whoever runs trade operations.

0 of 10 sound familiar.

Where your signs point, on the TRACE framework

An Operations Review traces each sign to its cause, shows where the gain is, and what to do first. Your results come with your enquiry.

Scope an Operations Review

Engagement

  • Scope

    The whole trade and SCF operation, end to end, across products, channels and control functions. Duration and fee are agreed with you.

  • From your side

    A sponsor, time with the people who run and govern the work, and access to live transactions.

  • Starts from your operation

    Recommendations follow from your baseline and your live transactions, not from a system.

Led by former bankers who ran trade operations and specialists who implemented the systems behind them. About the team

After the review: Vendor evaluation Implementation and migration

What clients say

“Their deep, hands-on experience with different operational models and global system implementations is unmatched. Unlike big-name consultants who lack real domain expertise, Venzo’s team knows the nuances of trade finance inside and out.”

Mohanakrishnan Kaimveetil, Ex Head of Trade Operations, Emirates NBD

Start with an agreed baseline.

Tell us the products in scope and what’s driving the question. A trade finance specialist will reply, not a sales team. We usually reply within 24 hours.

Scope an Operations Review Send this to a colleague
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