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Securing the Data Flow

Published in LeasingLife - May 2003

Business today demands constant access to vast pools of data. Instant access to data is very much taken for granted - email and the Internet have revolutionised our working and private lives with almost instantaneous communication and information.

Best practice in asset finance is data keyed once but available for access whenever and by whomever for as long as it remains relevant, probably for the entire life of the asset.

Today’s telecommunications technology and the emergence of the Internet and XML interfaces, make system connectivity a matter of definition and implementation rather than innovation and re-engineering. This is e-commerce and it’s all about utilising and enabling a Secure Data Flow, achieved primarily by use of Electronic Data Interchange.

The following example data flow uses a vehicle as the asset:
the vehicle is manufactured overseas for UK import and the inception of data is loaded at order time and resides in the manufacturer’s ordering system in country of manufacture, not necessarily the UK. The import to the UK will typically feed a UK based distributor system and this in turn is fed to compounds and logistical companies to manage the storage and movement. A parallel thread has now begun with the import data being passed to DVLA and SMMT and on to the three UK finance registers.

We already have at least nine data repositories which have been populated and the vehicle hasn’t reached the dealer yet – all of this data is potentially required throughout the vehicle’s life – but how often is this vehicle information re-captured via manual processes throughout its life?

The delivery of the vehicle to the dealership and the registration of the vehicle via AFRL begin a new thread of data transfer back to the DVLA record as the vehicle begins its registered life.

The vehicle may go, for example, on contract hire and when returned for remarketing it needs to be valued and certainly should be checked for clear finance. Data relating to the current condition of the vehicle along with full service history details may be added for the onward sale. Following dealer purchase Re-keying into the Dealer Management System is prevalent at this stage.

On retail sale the vehicle data from the wholesale system could populate the retail proposal along with customer data from the dealer management system.
The dealer submits the proposal which is subject to credit scoring validation and his terms, conditions and commission rates. On FH acceptance of the proposal the customer data can be fed back to the DMS for CRM purposes; and automatic appropriation from wholesale and the netting of funds will minimise the occurrence of dual interests.

And, of course the original data is still valid when the vehicle is returned or Part Exchanged. In this instance it may be used to populate a stock locator for a search by region, manufacturer, model and derivative. Vehicle details will be displayed with the option of additional data, such as a condition report and service history details.

It’s the smooth, effective data transfer to the applications that provides the significant advantage in the processing of these vehicles or any other asset. Re-keying of data is too often accepted as a necessary evil of computer system use. It doesn’t have to be this way. Automation of the data flow will ensure consistently accurate, reliable information. Clean data will lead to confidence in clear title being taken to the asset. Improved processes and the elimination of re-keying saves time, and a finance company’s reputation can be enhanced by the presentation of accurate, error free data. The competitive advantages that streamlining the data flow can give are clear to see.

Continued investment in IT cannot be considered to be another area where the cost cutting axe can be swung – only by a continual review of IT procedures can one be sure of making best use of the technology. The initial set-up needs to be followed through by constant review and investment.

Taken from Securing the Data Flow, presented by Tony Allen, APAK Senior Business Manager, at Risk and Reward in the Automotive Industry – Grove, April 2003.

Published in Leasing Life - May 2003