Toyota Financial Services Italia uses SAS Viya to better understand customers, tailor communications and customize financing options for buying or leasing Toyota vehicles

When every customer interaction holds the potential to strengthen loyalty or erode trust, how do you ensure your decisions are informed and impactful? Toyota Financial Services Italy addressed this challenge by embarking on a bold digital transformation journey to place data-driven strategies at the heart of its customer interactions. The key to this endeavor? Running its business on the SAS Viya 4 platform. Leading this effort is Carla Sanarica, IT CRM and Data Analytics Manager, and the Digital Transformation Department.

Turning data into strategic decisions

Headquartered in Rome, Toyota Financial Services Italia provides financing, leasing and insurance services to Toyota customers and dealerships throughout Italy.

Carla and the Digital Transformation Department are laser-focused on transforming raw data into insights the company can act on.

“Our mission goes beyond developing technical solutions,” Carla says. “We’re building a true data culture, where every decision is backed by precise information and advanced analysis. SAS Viya has been essential in our digital transformation, a true pillar for our data-driven strategies.”

With SAS Viya, the team centralized fragmented customer data into a secure, unified repository. This single-customer view allows Toyota Financial Services Italia to see customers more clearly than ever before.

“It’s more than just better data,” Carla explains. “It’s about translating analysis into tangible value – improving the customer experience and making faster, more effective business decisions.”

Predicting the future

Armed with the advanced machine learning capabilities in SAS Viya, the IT Data Analytics Department launched predictive models to uncover patterns in customer behavior.

“These predictive models allow us to anticipate key behaviors, such as the likelihood of customer renewal or churn, helping us design targeted retention strategies,” Carla says.

And that’s just the beginning. “We’re planning to extend SAS’ capabilities to other critical areas, such as risk management,” Carla adds. “This will allow us to implement advanced models for risk forecasting and capital allocation, and it will help ensure compliance with evolving regulations.”

SAS Premium Support Services facilitates a smooth transformation journey

Carla is quick to credit her department’s collaboration with SAS Premium Support Services for much of their success. “They are more than just a service provider,” she emphasizes. “The team’s proactivity and commitment to understanding our needs made them an integral part of our journey.”

From resolving complex technical challenges to providing targeted training, SAS Premium Support Services consistently exceeded expectations.

“One aspect that we particularly appreciated was their commitment to improving the adoption of the Viya platform within our company,” Carla says. “When they noticed that certain features were being used less than expected, they worked with us to identify the causes and propose concrete solutions, such as relaunch sessions and targeted support for users. SAS’ willingness to go beyond simple technical support and contribute to optimizing the use of the platform has had a tremendous impact, allowing us to maximize our investment in SAS Viya 4 and create real value for users.”

Carla said if she had to describe the SAS Premium Support Services team in three words, they would be availability, concreteness and collaboration.

“The team’s availability was evident from the very beginning – they were always ready to address our needs and questions, regardless of the complexity of the issue or the urgency of the request. It was reassuring to know we could rely on a single point of contact, our Technical Support Account Manager, who was always responsive and prompt in their support.

“For concreteness, I’m referring to the team’s ability to provide practical and applicable solutions to our problems,” Carla continues. “Every service they offered was never abstract or theoretical – it was always focused on finding effective, immediately usable solutions to improve our daily operations. The SAS Premium Support Services team doesn’t just address the immediate issue – they work with us to build strategies and tools that can have a lasting impact.

“Finally, collaboration is perhaps the quality that best describes our relationship with the SAS Premium Support Services team,” Carla says. “Thanks to our collaboration, we have been able to overcome the greatest challenges, going beyond a simple customer-supplier relationship, creating a true team spirit in achieving measurable results.”

Words of advice

For organizations aspiring to similar transformations, Carla has three key recommendations:

Structured and dedicated support: “Do not underestimate the importance of structured and dedicated support, especially in the early stages of a complex project,” she says. “Having a reliable and readily available technical partner is crucial to keep the project on the right track.”

Training: “Training our internal team at Toyota Financial Services Italia has not only improved our autonomy but also strengthened the confidence of internal resources in knowing how to use the Viya platform effectively,” Carla says. “Investing in training is essential to reduce external dependency and ensure you can make the most of the platform’s features.”

A synergistic relationship: “Find a technical partner who is invested in a synergistic relationship where both sides are focused on continuous improvement,” Carla advises. “A partnership should not be limited to solving technical problems.”

Organizations ready to embrace digital transformation can succeed by aligning their strategies and culture to keep pace with their customers’ changing needs, and teaming up with the right partner surpasses trying to tackle the journey alone.

“Ultimately, having a reliable partner helps you reach your goals faster and fosters a more integrated work environment that is open to digital transformation,” Carla says.

Finally, she advocates the importance of celebrating success and building upon it.

“Celebrating achievements is not just a moment of satisfaction, but an opportunity to reflect on what was built together,” Carla says. “Every recognized success represents a building block that fuels enthusiasm, drives the desire to take on new challenges, stimulates the ambition to improve, and reinforces the lasting value hard work brings to both a company and its customers.”