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Agile strategies and a digital-first approach will continue to reshape the asset finance industry long after the COVID-19 crisis has subsided, according to industry experts.

During an online seminar organised by the International Asset Finance Network, business leaders revealed how processes have been fundamentally change by the pandemic, with little chance of a return to historic business structures.
Digitalisation has driven positive change in several ways, including reduced administration, quicker response times and improved customer service.

Alan Donnelly, head of financial services at Salesforce, said: “Customers have pivoted some of their digital programmes and brought them forwards. A lot of companies are now doubling down on giving relationship managers the right tools to easily interact and we have a lot of meetings with boards and C-suites and technology businesses looking at how they can reprioritise what they had planned to do to accelerate change.”

The event, sponsored by global asset finance software solutions company Q2, heard that digitalisation is delivering a new level of customer-centricity, making two-way communication much easier and quicker.

Asset finance companies are also streamlining their customer strategies, to “cut out the waffle” and reduce the barriers customers might face when trying to use products and services.

Stuart Doignie, head of fintech strategy and commercialisation at Shawbrook Bank, said: “When you’re trying to bring in technology, certain people will feel threatened by that. Some may think their job will go. But often, it is just a case of really sitting with the teams and demonstrating how technology can help make them more efficient.

“Most of the banks and lenders out there want to grow their business. I think when you adopt technology, it is usually to do more of the same, rather than shrinking or taking away people.”

The benefits of digitalisation have been proven during the pandemic as automated systems allowed asset finance companies to cope with the volume of enquiries made by customers in a short space of time, while also understanding the impact on business operations in the short-term and long-term.

Ian Nelson, sales director, asset finance, for Q2 (pictured above), warned there was more disruption ahead, adding: “Digitalisation and modern systems bring the data pool together, allowing us to understand risks. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to recognise the tsunami that is probably likely to be coming over the hill in relation to bad debt and the management of bad debt. I think that will be the next test of people’s operational readiness, using digitalisation and data analysis to understand what bad debt is going to mean to them over the next year to 18 months.”

You can read more of the IAFN Online debate, sponsored by global asset finance software solutions company Q2, by completing the download form below.

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