The Wholesale (Dealer Finance) BenchMark Program

Bi-annually, a select group of banks and captive finance organizations participate in BenchMark's Wholesale BenchMark Program. These studies are conducted separately in major European countries. The purpose is to garner as much information about how your operation compares to your competitors, as well as uncover any trends in the industry and help you learn from other's mistakes and successes.

Areas We BenchMark
As we analyze the following areas (core processes), you'll see how you're alike and different from your peers with respect to: workflows, technology utilization, department structuring, and operating policies.

Business Acquisition: Selling wholesale finance products to existing dealers, whom have only used retail or other finance products in the past, and to new dealers, as well as increasing the volume of existing credit agreements.

Proposal Processing: Receiving of new credit proposals, proposals for enlargement of agreements, and preparation of credit decision. This includes documentation in the system and gathering of all necessary information.

Credit Decision: Reviewing and analyzing of credit proposals (new proposals, enlargements, prolongations) and the respective information, decision, and communication of the decision.

Set-Up Credit Agreement: Setting up of credit agreements in the system and/or in paper files. All activities connected with the administration of accounts for the dealer. This includes the balancing of the account, offset of receivables in favor of the dealer with payments due to the manufacturer, and posting of all incoming or outgoing payments. Activities necessary to answer customer questions during the regular term of a credit agreement.

Administration of securities (especially related to vehicles, such as vehicle titles), including receipt, review, filing, and retrieval of these documents.

Booking of Individual Contracts: All activities connected to the financing of individual vehicles; whether new (vehicles in stock, demonstration vehicles, showroom vehicles) or used; whether own or other brands (captives). This includes the receipt of the request, the evaluation of the value of the vehicle, the decision about the financing, the booking of the contract, and the payment to the dealer.

Incoming Payments: Receipt of regular payments (interest, repayment of capital, fees) and allocation to the respective contracts.

Inventory Checks: Check of the vehicles in the inventory of a dealer and comparison with the list of financed vehicles as protection against fraud and check of the value of the financed vehicles.

Termination of Contracts: All activities connected with the termination of an individual contract, like receipt and posting of outstanding finance amount, settlement, and termination of the respective account and release of securities.

Collection: Intensive administration of customers with a high credit risk and past due accounts in order to avoid or minimize any losses for the bank.

Realization of Securities: Retrieval and/or repossession of securities, sale of assets, and posting of payments to the account.

Recovery: All activities connected to terminated credit agreements, including cooperation with internal or external specialists (lawyers, recovery agents).

For more information contact us at info@benchmarkinternational.com.

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Wholesale Services

In most instances, BenchMark utilizes a three-phase approach beginning with an assessment of the current situation that identifies the potential value associated with change. The second phase involves a client & BenchMark partnership to design a new target business environment. In the final phase BenchMark implements the determined changes in order to realize the desired client goal(s). Typical BenchMark engagements include the following:

Operational Performance Improvement

Operational support areas are critical to the financial success of every financial services company. Whether it's check processing, loan operations, call center, or collections, operations provide every organization the ability to deliver products and services to their customers. In most cases, these products and services are intended to differentiate their organization from their competition. Operational support areas are often characterized by the following: large numbers of regionalized or centralized staff, multi-shift operations, large fixed and variable expenses, and work environments driven by inconsistent volume on a daily, weekly, monthly, and / or quarterly basis. These characteristics often present significant challenges when presented with management's objective to do their jobs "better, faster, cheaper!"

BenchMark is uniquely qualified to successfully address the client's critical objective of delivering products and services in the most efficient manner possible. Our assessment methodology ensures we understand how, why, when, where and who performs all operational functions because our design recommendations will be unique to your organization. We know there is no one best way of doing any process when you consider organizations' strategies, cultures, policies, technology, geography, and other factors.

Using BenchMark's proprietary database of operational performance metrics, we are able to objectively quantify and support process improvements that will directly impact an organization's overall efficiency and effectiveness. Each design is tailored to support our client's overall strategy and corporate culture, as well as work within potential policy, technology and geographic limitations, yet still realize desired operational productivity (efficiency and effectiveness) improvements. Attaining these desired outcomes will have a positive impact on the cost to deliver specific products and services.

Service Level Improvement

Meeting or exceeding customers' (internal or external) expectations requires constant supervision, analysis, and development. With the ever-changing needs of the market, you cannot afford to overlook this critical management area. Providing excellent customer service is not free; however, knowing your customer, understanding their needs and expectations, and providing the products and services in an efficient and effective operational unit will ensure you provide cost-effective customer service.

BenchMark defines customer as "any entity a specific department or organization views as the recipient of that department or organization's product or service." For example, an underwriter's customer may be a branch employee (internal) or mortgage broker (external) and a branch manager's customer may be a new homeowner in his neighborhood (external). In either case, the organization's staff is charged with meeting or exceeding their customers' expectations.

Using critical information attained during the assessment phase of an engagement, we are able to understand what and why current service levels are being attained. By relying on information from our proprietary database and the experience or our consultants, to objectively recommend cost-effective service level improvement opportunities.

It is a fact that operating systems and procedures are only as good as you continue to make them. Our track record in this area alone has provided more than enough proof to our clients that we can help.

Technology Optimization

"It's a poor musician that blames his instrument!" BenchMark views technology as an enabler, not as the primary driver of an efficient operation. Following our assessment methodology ensures we understand how, why, when, where and who performs all operational functions. Upon completion of the assessment, we will have identified all significant non-value added steps in your process. We will have also identified many processes that are performed manually or potentially not being performed at all. We will then know how the current processes and technology utilization are impacting service levels and operational efficiency.

By reviewing your existing technologies through this in-depth analysis of your current workflows and business processes, we can effectively and objectively determine if you are using your technology to its fullest potential.

Quite often, technology is purchased to automate current processes whether current processes add value or not. Often, new problems are created because not enough is known about an organization's processes and procedures. BenchMark identifies these "value added" processes and then evaluates whether a client's current technology can automate and/or improve upon the current manual process. In other words, we identify how you can get the greatest benefit from current and / or new technology.

Operations Consolidation

Numerous mergers and acquisitions in the financial services sector, as well as routine cost-cutting exercises, have created a significant demand for operations consolidations in order to meet M&A and overall financial goals. Operations consolidations are complex, employee and customer-sensitive, high profile events. BenchMark is uniquely qualified to plan and successfully execute a consolidation plan because before we make a plan, we gather as much field information as we can and compare it against the best practices in the industry - all in order to create a consolidation plan that is best for you, and uniquely yours.

And when we've created that new central "core" environment, we conduct a post-consolidation review to ensure all goals are being met, and that your new centralized operation is operating to your satisfaction.

Project / Change Management

Virtually every organization has an example of a project that exceeded its budget and / or timeline or did not achieve its desired results. Projects typically do not fail because of lack of effort, but because of poor planning and not strictly adhering to a proven, effective project management methodology. BenchMark has earned an excellent reputation for planning and executing on projects due to talented management and a closely followed, standardized project management methodology. BenchMark understands that tireless planning, effective and timely communication, and assigning accountability are critical components of a successfully completed project.

Running successful assessment, design and implementation projects requires adherence to strict enforced project management methodology. For that reason, when BenchMark manages a project, even when client staff are represented on the project team, all team members are expected to follow the methodology and are held accountable for responsible tasks. This consistency in process leads to successful results.

BenchMark has had success training clients on effective project management skills and methodology. However, we have more frequently been engaged to use our staff and project management knowledge to successful implement critically important projects on time, within budget, and meeting all project success measurements.

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