UniCredit Streamlines Pitchbook Creation with UpSlide
Team
Financing and Advisory
5+
years with UpSlide
Industry
Investment Banking
UpSlide has resulted in shorter working hours, or at least more productive ones.
Our teams are happier when they’re being productive, doing high-value work and learning, instead of formatting and copy-pasting.
Muge Mentes,
Head of CEEMEA Debt Origination
UniCredit
Most Used Features
Objectives
Digitalize and streamline daily operations, specifically around pitching.
Ensure teams have access to best-practice, up-to-date templates within Microsoft 365.
Free up front-line bankers to focus on higher-value, more rewarding work.
Context
UniCredit’s Financing and Advisory division provides simple access to capital raising, financing and advisory services for international clients.
Their teams spent a lot of time creating pitch decks, and management became concerned about the inefficiencies of this heavily manual work.
Challenges
Inefficient Workflows
Too much time was spent on manual, repetitive work such as sourcing relevant content, updating data and formatting. Work was often duplicated unnecessarily.
Potential for Human Error
These constant manual updates introduced the potential for human error, especially in such a fast-paced environment.
Low Employee Satisfaction
Too long spent on these lower-value tasks meant less energy and time for more creative, challenging work, which not only adds value to clients but is more fulfilling for bankers.
UpSlide User
Peter Dieler, Associate Director, DCM. An administrator user of UpSlide, responsible for managing content which is added to UpSlide Library for colleagues to use.
What Benefits Have You Seen from Implementing UpSlide?
-
Time Saved:
“Before UpSlide, we had no way to link data in our Excel models to PowerPoint, and relied solely on copy-pasting. If the bond price changed, for example, we had to update that in several places manually. Now we can update all that data at once thanks to the Excel to PowerPoint Link.” -
Improved Accuracy:
“Through the automated updates, UpSlide has enabled us to increase speed to the customer while at the same time reducing the potential for human error.” -
Better Collaboration:
“Previously, if you needed a photo or a credential for a pitch, this would involve a long email chain with colleagues to locate them. Having the centralised Content Library cuts out this unnecessary frustration, and we can save emailing for more important topics.”
Project Highlight
“UpSlide frees up time to concentrate on the real pitching activity. It eliminates the time spent organising the pitch, checking and proofing – you can rest assured that part is done correctly and instead concentrate on idea generation and adding value.”
Peter Dieler
Associate Director, DCM
UniCredit
Favorite Features
Project Sponsor
Muge Mentes, Head of CEEMEA Debt Origination. Designated person in Debt Capital Markets to investigate different tools which could bring digitalisation and streamlining to day to day operations.
How Did You Find Working with UpSlide?
“The UpSlide team were able to understand the needs and priorities of each team, which meant everything they presented was very relevant.
The team were also very available, and the bank felt fully supported throughout. Sometimes complex projects like this can take some time, but the team maintained the same momentum and energy throughout.”
Project Highlight
“We ran an exhaustive analysis for possible solutions in the market and UpSlide came out as best-in-class. It’s going to be a real game-changer for us.”
Muge Mentes
Head of CEEMEA Debt Origination
UniCredit
How is UpSlide Helping?
Increased Efficiency
“Our workflows are much more streamlined; for example, teams can now link their Bloomberg data from Excel to PowerPoint pitchbooks, then update it automatically. Before, too much time was spent on things like proofing and formatting; UpSlide will eliminate that.”
Centralized Content
“Aside from making it easier and faster for teams to find slides, tombstones and images, the Content Library enables us to maximise our best content by making it widely available to more teams across the business.”
Improved Quality
“We can now make sure that teams have access to impactful and accurate content, from both a content and visual perspective. This also helps ensure consistency across pitches.”
IT Manager
Marcin Stefański, Application Analyst. Responsible for leading the application through a rigorous security approval process to ensure it didn’t pose a threat, application-wise, network-wise, or for user data.
What Are the Strengths of The UpSlide Tool?
-
Ability to Self-Host the Application:
“It was great to have the app run on PC and not some network or cloud service; this sped up the process of getting approval and understanding what the app does. Being able to store library content on our own SharePoint servers is a huge plus.” -
Reliability and Ease of Maintenance:
“The UpSlide application is very reliable. It sets a high bar for other applications.” -
Alignment With Microsoft Roadmap:
“This meant most of the components were already on the machines. When we package the application, there can be issues with dependencies; in this case, we only had to worry if the user had MS Office, and most did.”
Project Highlight
“This was the fastest and smoothest onboarding of an application that I’ve seen. This project really stands out; the team were tremendous.”
Marcin Stefański
Application Team
UniCredit
How Did the UpSlide Team Make Your Job Easier?
Excellent Project Management
and Communication
“UpSlide really took care of the structure of the project, leaving us to focus on our core tasks. The communication was perfect throughout; I loved working with the UpSlide team – I don’t think I ever left a call without a smile on my face!”
Responsive and Effective
Solutions
“Every solution or workaround came quickly and almost always worked the first time; that doesn’t happen a lot. The team went the extra mile to help.”
Thorough Support Throughout the Security Process
“This is the best experience I’ve had with a vendor so far. The UpSlide team were extremely helpful; the info we needed was readily available, and they gave fast, detailed explanations where necessary.”
Project Manager
Daniela Asam, F&A Business Development. Responsible for ensuring that the UpSlide tool was rolled out smoothly to the business teams.
How Did the UpSlide Team Make Your Job Easier?
-
Professional Project Management:
“Our weekly meetings were very structured and productive, and you really got the sense that the team were very well aligned – each person always knew exactly what the other was doing.” -
Agile, Problem-Solving Mindset
“As often happens with projects like this, some hurdles arose along the way. One example: realising we had an old version of SharePoint. The team were very solution-focused and responded quickly with a viable workaround which kept the project on track.” -
Impactful User Training Sessions
“The UpSlide team ran several sessions for both users and admins based across Europe. They were very well structured, tailored to the teams’ needs and very practical; the users were very happy and were able to get to grips with their new tool quickly as a result.”
Project Highlight
“It’s been a pleasure to work with UpSlide. Their expertise, professionalism and excellent communication throughout have really helped the project run smoothly.”
Daniela Asam,
F&A Business Development
UniCredit
The UpSlide Project:
An Enterprise Rollout
The UpSlide project team worked closely with UniCredit to ensure the tool was fully customized to the needs of their teams.
“The software itself was great, but the biggest positive was that UpSlide spoke our language. They were able to interpret what users needed, even if the users didn’t articulate it explicitly; they really understood what we needed to automate,” according to Tanu Tuli, Digital Transformation CDIO CIB.
They also worked closely with UniCredit’s IT team to ensure their strict security criteria were met and with Central Marketing to ensure the compliance of branded templates.
“Often, people want to talk, but UpSlide wanted to listen. They were able to really understand our use cases from early on and were committed, proactive and solution-focused from the outset.”
Muge Mentes,
Head of CEEMEA Debt Origination
UniCredit
Impact
Enhanced Productivity
“UpSlide streamlines our processes to generate efficiencies, not just within teams, but across them.
As more teams get access, the value-add will become huge. Now teams have easy access to content via the Library, and receive materials from colleagues in a consistent format, it will eliminate unnecessary email chains and the duplication of work.”
Guaranteed Quality
“Firstly, UpSlide improves the accuracy of our deliverables by automating manual updates to reduce errors.
But more importantly, the time saved can be spent on idea generation and adding more value for our clients.
We’re in the 21st century; things should work like they do with UpSlide. It’s a great tool; I’m really glad we’re using it.”
Increased Employee Satisfaction
“These efficiency gains will not only benefit our clients, but they will also unlock energy and potential within our teams for creative thinking.
This is much more fulfilling for our bankers, especially juniors, who feel like they are developing new skills and being more productive with their time.”
