Finance sales technology company Codeweavers aims to help phase out traditional stand-alone point-of-sale systems that have been at the heart of dealer operations for decades.
Traditionally, point-of-sale technology has been unique to finance companies and has not typically integrated with other systems used by dealers.
In response, Codeweavers has launched a range of API’s (Application Processing Interfaces) that allow any customer relationship management (CRM) system or dealer management system (DMS) provider to create their own point-of-sale finance solution using its services.
A single, open system means dealers won’t have to manage multiple platforms in their finance activities.
Sales director Shaun Harris said: “This is a bold step, but one that is overdue and necessary. By offering this service, we hope to make the stand-alone unintegrated finance point-of-sale system redundant.
“Finance point-of-sale systems that do not integrate seamlessly with CRM and DMS systems are part of the problem that we want to take away.”
Codeweavers says it has already gained the support of a number of ‘early adopters’, with major CRM and DMS providers keen to integrate with the new service.
The new service will enable all Codeweavers web leads from its calculator range to drop into linked CRM systems.
In turn, this will automatically generate finance quotes for these customers. From there, the customer can access a proposal form which has been pre-populated with any information held by the CRM system; finally, the proposal is linked to the chosen lender via Codeweavers technology.
Harris said: “For many years, people have discussed the need for the nirvana of a single system process in automotive retail; a system that would eradicate re-work and the potential errors associated with data replication, remove the additional data protection burden and improve both efficiency and customer experiences.
“If every retailer in the UK saved two hours per week in administration time, then the saving for the industry is £25 million per annum. In reality, our research informs us that the savings could be much greater; our most recent project with one retailer identified two hours per week per sales person.”
Harris predicted that lenders would welcome the initiative as customers would receive finance quotes in a controlled and accurate format.
He said: “It can only aid finance penetration rates in the retailer market. Going further, finance companies will benefit from improved data accuracy, which will aid acceptance levels and avoid re-work; finally, they will save time and money in supporting their own technology.”
Codeweavers plans further enhancements to services for its CRM and DMS partners during the year.
