HomeResearch & Knowledgeback to HomeCustomer Centricityback to Research & KnowledgeDBS (A): “Damn bloody slow” to best digital bank in the worldback to Customer Centricity

Case Study

DBS (A): “Damn bloody slow” to best digital bank in the world

By Seán Meehan, Goutam Challagalla and Pallivathukkal Cherian Abraham

12 pages

December 2024

Order this case study

Reference: IMD-7-2633

Since becoming DBS Bank’s CEO in 2009, Piyush Gupta led its transformation to become a standard setter globally for digitalization and customer centricity in financial services. This transformation started with fixing the basics (2009-2014), in which DBS implemented consistent systems and processes across the bank and used five-day process improvement events to fix customer journeys. DBS then began benchmarking with tech leaders (2014 onwards), which led it to build a middleware layer on top of its core banking platform to allow it to develop and launch new products rapidly, implement straight-through processing so that most transactions could be completed digitally and instantly, and move data and applications to the cloud. The next phase of the transformation was two-in-a-box (2018 onwards). DBS reorganized its businesses and key functions into 33 platforms to become more agile. Platforms were organized based on key businesses or key shared or support functions. Each platform was co-led by a business lead and a technology lead who were empowered to do what was required to achieve the desired outcomes. As Gupta looked back in early 2021, he was pleased with the progress that DBS had made since 2009. At the same time, he knew there was no room for complacency. This was especially true in Singapore where its two major local competitors had upped their game, and the government had issued digital banking licenses to potentially formidable new competitors. The bank’s executive committee resolved to do whatever was necessary to further enhance the bank’s customer centricity. It considered the three classical avenues for doing so: organizing around customer segments, implementing new ways of working using agile teams and a horizontal organization and focusing on culture and principles. Making the right choice would be crucial to the bank’s continued success.

Learning Objective

To help participants grasp the complexity of customer centricity, appreciate the challenges in achieving that state and provide a platform for sharing best practices.
To help participants appreciate the challenges presented by an organization-wide transformation, and provide a platform for sharing best practices
To help participants understand the challenges of digital transformation and provide a platform for sharing best practices.

Keywords

Customer Centricity, Digital, Organizational Change, Organizational Design, Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning

Settings

South-Eastern Asia, Singapore
Development Bank of Singapore, Finance and Insurance, Banking
2009-2024

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note

IMD case studies are distributed through case clearing houses. In order to browse the collection and purchase copies please visit the links below.

The Case Centre

Cranfield University

Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]

Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]

IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

This case study is part of a series

DBS (A): “Damn bloody slow” to best digital bank in the world
DBS (B): Managing through customer journeys

This case study is part of a series

DBS (A): “Damn bloody slow” to best digital bank in the world
DBS (B): Managing through customer journeys

DBS (A): “Damn bloody slow” to best digital bank in the world

By Seán Meehan Goutam Challagalla and Pallivathukkal Cherian Abraham
Case reference: IMD-7-2633 ©2024

Summary

Since becoming DBS Bank’s CEO in 2009, Piyush Gupta led its transformation to become a standard setter globally for digitalization and customer cen...

Reference IMD-7-2633

Organization Development Bank of Singapore

Industry Finance and Insurance, Banking

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Customer Centricity

Digital

Organizational Change

Organizational Design

Browse all topics

DBS (B): Managing through customer journeys

By Seán Meehan Goutam Challagalla and Pallivathukkal Cherian Abraham
Case reference: IMD-7-2634 ©2024

Summary

To stay ahead of competitors, DBS knew it needed to continue to innovate and improve customer centricity. To do so, it decided to move to a horizon...

Reference IMD-7-2634

Organization Development Bank of Singapore

Industry Finance and Insurance, Banking

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Customer Centricity

Digital

Organizational Change

Organizational Design

Browse all topics

Keep reading

Case Study

FIBA eSports: The value capture challenge

Value Creation Digital Strategy

1st place in the 2026 John Molson MBA Case Writing Competition

By Amit M. Joshi, Ivy Buche and Aundria Elahe Mirabrishami

Article

How "radical collaboration" can unlock trapped value in industrial data

Caspar Herzberg, the CEO of AVEVA, explains to Michael Wade why breaking down data silos between companies, not just within them, could transform industrial efficiency. But rivals must first learn to trust each other.

Artificial Intelligence Digital Supply Chain

By Michael R. Wade

in I by IMD Magazine

December 2025, no. 20, pp. 54–55

Article

Apple looks for a new leader as it plays catch-up on AI

The good news is that the tech giant is planning a handover while the business remains strong. After more than a decade at the helm, Mr Tim Cook's time as Apple's chief executive is, reportedly, nearing its end. The iPhone maker's board has steppe...

Leadership Artificial Intelligence Organizational Change

By Howard H. Yu

in The Straits Times

2 December 2025

Case Study

Lemonade: Is its "AI everywhere" strategy a competitive advantage?

The case examines how a New York-based 10-year-old start-up, Lemonade Inc., successfully disrupted the insurance industry. Powered by artificial intelligence, Lemonade's mobile app replaced brokers and bureaucracy with bots and machine learning. T...

Customer Centricity Artificial Intelligence Disruption Start-up

By Goutam Challagalla and Ivy Buche

Case Study

The seven elements of adaptive advantage

This technical note presents a comprehensive framework for achieving adaptive advantage, which is the ability to consistently evolve at a speed that surpasses environmental and competitive change. In today's rapidly changing business environment, ...

Organizational Change Organizational Design Leadership

By Michael D. Watkins

Article

6 things your inner child can do for you

Discover how reconnecting with your inner child can boost creativity, resilience, and courage, turning curiosity into professional strengths.

Organizational Design

By Francesca Giulia Mereu

in I by IMD Brain Circuits

11 November 2025

Case Study

Building an IT ecosystem at Intertech

In April 2021, Sava oban, the newly appointed EVP of Intertech, faces a perfect storm of Turkey's economic crisis and the global scramble for tech talent. This forces him to confront an operational meltdown at Intertech, the IT subsidiary of Deniz...

Strategy Innovation Digital Talent Management

By Murat Tarakci

Report

IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2025: Reconfiguring digital strategies amid trade fragmentation

Switzerland leads 69 nations in digital competitiveness – but its position is threatened by trade fragmentation. Today’s trade fragmentation means countries and regions are in a race against time to find new strategic advantages in the digital sph...

Competitiveness Technology Management Digital

By Arturo Bris, William Milner, José Caballero, Fabian Grimm, Chinar Sharma and Alice Tozer

IMD World Competitiveness Center Report, November 2025

Case Study

DNB Bank: Embracing startups as a growth strategy

The case examines how DNB Bank, Norway's largest financial services company, reshaped its growth strategy by focusing on startups and SMEs, a segment traditionally considered unprofitable. In 2013, DNB launched a bold SME strategy, deliberately ch...

Strategy Customer Centricity Business to Business

By Goutam Challagalla, Francis D. Kim and Philip Charles Zerrillo

Case Study

MedTech Diagnostics' transformation crossroads

The case study examines the organizational transformation challenges faced by MedTech Diagnostics, an $850 million medical diagnostics company attempting to balance innovation speed with regulatory compliance and quality standards. CEO Patricia Ch...

Organizational Change Agility Business Transformation Leadership

By Michael D. Watkins

FIBA eSports: The value capture challenge

By Amit M. Joshi Ivy Buche and Aundria Elahe Mirabrishami
Case reference: IMD-2705 ©2025

Summary

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) had long recognized that the game of basketball was evolving beyond physical participation. That shift became impossible to ignore in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down live events and left fans stuck at home. With no traditional products to deliver, FIBA saw esports as a timely strategic extension to complement traditional basketball with a digital-first discipline that could engage younger audiences. Governed under FIBA's statutes and structured as a national team competition, eFIBA was created to establish a new basketball discipline – enhancing the sport and advancing FIBA's vision to unite the global basketball community. Between mid-2020 and the end of 2021, the eFIBA team launched three fully virtual tournaments – FIBA Esports Open I, II and III – with the objective to "learn by doing." This set the foundation to deliver more ambitious eFIBA Seasons 1, 2 and 3. A key evolution in the tournament format from Season 2 onwards was that the World Finals were held in person in a host country. This created an X factor for the tournament. Each successive season witnessed increasing engagement from National Federations, dedicated eBasketball players, enthusiastic fans, sponsors, content creators and influencers. However, a key partner pulled out after Season 2 in early 2024 and eFIBA had to deliver Season 3 and future seasons with diminished resources. This marked a turning point for eFIBA. In 2025, as the eFIBA team set out to develop a five-year strategy to 2029, several questions came to the fore: What value had eFIBA created for different stakeholders to allow it to stand on its own as a brand? What different B2B and/or B2C business models could eFIBA explore to capture higher value? How should eFIBA go about developing a three-year roadmap to enhance value creation for different stakeholders and sustain value capture going forward?

1st place in the 2026 John Molson MBA Case Writing Competition

Reference IMD-2705

Organization International Basketball Federation

Industry Travel and Leisure, Sports

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Value Creation

Digital

Strategy

Browse all topics