F&I and Showroom, December 2015

Technology 20 F I and Showroom December 2015 Reed Weve never had information online around products he told attendees But I think its where we have to go Dealerships like Davis Gainesville Fla Kia are already going there In a session called New Strategies for Online Retail That Keep You in Control Mike Burgiss founder and general manager of MakeMyDeal explained how the companys self penciling tool allows customers to calculate monthly payments with F I products included on the dealerships website the F I portion of the tool called F I Connect Its a self penciling tool because the dealer controls the parameters Burgiss noted adding that aftermarket product pricing is determined by four factors the customers credit tier the dealers rates and terms on financing the vehicle the vehicle itself and the dealers markup on the product F I Express digital platform also works behind the scenes by providing F I product ratings But putting F I product pricing online has been a point of contention among dealers according to Protectives Profaizer In addition to compliance concerns the executive said some dealers believe having a set price online could cut into their profit I think theres this fear of loss of control if that number is out there she explained Compliance Concerns Maxim on the other hand didnt believe that posting product pricing online was the main issue Instead he urged dealers to set reasonable margins for profit on F I products and use technology to enforce those margins The issue I think really is standardization of margins around the products that you are selling in the F I department he told attendees Maxims reasoning was tied to another issue that emerged at the conference the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CFPB s rumored focus on aftermarket product pricing During his keynote address on Sept 10 the NADAs Andy Koblenz acknowledged that the CFPB is beginning to navigate the uncharted waters of regulating product pricing There isnt a Fair Pricing or Fair Product Opportunity Act that has 40 years of decided cases to tell us where the boundaries are the NADAs vice president of legal and regulatory affairs and general counsel said In June the CFPB added language to its Supervision and Examination Manual about ancillary products establishing that GAP coverage vehicle service contracts and other add ons are subject to review by its examiners although pricing discrepancies were not among the listed risks Koblenz urged dealers in the audience to adopt a compliance tool like the NADAs Fair Credit Compliance Program which requires finance managers to document why they have deviated from their dealerships established rate markup He said the same logic could apply to product pricing But during Digitizing the F I Experience panelists said some of the technology now available to dealers has the same benefits You can define what markup rules you want and you can build them into the technology whether that is in the dealership or online tools RouteOnes Mason said The consumer is given a fair deal every single time based on the automated rules that are part of our online solutions Implementing those rules now could save time and money down the line panelists agreed The last thing we want as an industry is imposed pricing or margin control on the products Maxim said I think thats the worst thing that could happen to us If we get out in front and create the standardization of how we apply markups I think thats the important part Connection Commerce Another study from MakeMyDeal conducted in conjunction with F I Express also had panelists hailing the benefits of dealership technology According to the Digital F I Experience Study just having a digital element in the F I office resulted in 49 of customers being completely satisfied with the process compared to 34 of customers who didnt have a digital based experience Yet as much excitement as there is to go to some type of online menu at the store or on the website only 10 of the customers said they had an experience of an online menu presentation Reed said It really shocked me that its still that low But panelists were skeptical that just having an electronic menu or an online presence for the F I office was enough to win over a customer Anyone who believes their technology is selling products to customers is drinking their own Kool Aid said the Impact Groups Thorpe Because in the end it really comes down to the F I manager and that interaction Coxs MakeMyDeal is the latest technology firm aiming to move the F I office into the Digital Age Pictured here is the companys new F I Connect tool which the firm began rolling out in November through select F I product providers