LGM Goes Digital for Auto OEM F&I Product Definition and Dealership Sales

A 2018 ICTA nomination

Toronto, ON (Jan. 9, 2018) – The LGM HUB is a custom designed single-page web platform that supports business processes for internal departments, more than 1,400 auto dealerships across Canada and LGM’s OEM brand network. By using the innovative HUB system, OEMs are able to offer branded F&I products to their dealers with ease and convenience. The application supports the lifecycle of a customizable product suite, including product definition and pricing, product sales, contract generation, dealership invoicing and payments, claims processing, cancellations and amendments, contract expiry and comprehensive reporting.

The multi-tenant, white-label application hosts both SecureDrive (LGM’s independent proprietary offering) and OEM-branded products. It supports full localization of all inputs, outputs and contractual documentation in English and French, as well as regional differences necessitated by varying tax structures and laws.

The HUB launched to all existing dealership customers on October 10, 2016, with nearly 20 years of historical data migrated into the database for reporting and analytics purposes. The external-facing features are available to all customers at no cost, in some cases replacing the need for other systems, providing a streamlined user experience and improving overall profitability.

Innovative revenue-generating features such as eMenu and promotions support an increase in the number of products sold per vehicle and an increase in product sales. The immediate roadmap includes robust integration with Dealer Management Systems (DMS), fully automated claims processing and enhanced features for dealership users such as Performance Monitoring.

The following are business-enhancing features of the HUB:

• Product Configurator – F&I product details including plans, coverage items, limits of liabilities, eligibility and other business rules can be defined, reviewed, approved and launched into market by internal product marketing staff. This feature has improved our “go-to-market” time and enhanced our ability to respond rapidly to changing markets and the needs of OEMs. With data-driven configuration, it allows for more flexibility than traditional hard coded product definitions. We implemented nearly 80 product launches (new and redesigned) in F2017,  compared to a prior year record of 25. We anticipateover 100 product launches in F2018, a fourfold increase due to the new technology.
• Pricing Configurator – LGM actuarial staff can define unique formulaic pricing for products. Each formula employs data elements defined in the Product Configurator to calculate pricing details such as retail price, dealer cost, reserves and fees. This feature is implemented using advanced Domain Specific Language (DSL) technology. It has dramatically improved pricing accuracy and flexibility as it allows for continuous/gradual pricing compared to traditional and industry-standard static rate cards that support only discreet pricing models. It has also empowered users to modify pricing formulas without additional software development resources.
• Quick Quote – A shopping cart experience for FSO users in dealerships. It offers the ability to quote, purchase and print policy documents for multiple products for a vehicle purchase through a single user interface. A complex DSL-based Rule Engine applies product configuration data including display templates and eligibility rules in real-time. A Pricing Evaluator Engine determines pricing based on each product’s pricing formula as users modify their selections. The Quick Quote requires fewer clicks and shorter “time to quote” compared to  competitor offerings. It also increases the accuracy of policies/contracts by systematically applying business rules such as vehicle eligibility and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) validation.
• eMenu – A menu-selling tool that allows Financial Services Managers (FSMs) to shape multiple quotes for a consumer on a vehicle and compare the packages in a convenient side-by-side view. Released in October 2017, this major enhancement to the application was in response to customer requests. The eMenu allows quoting for all F&I products, both OEM and non-OEM  branded. It replaces third party menu software products that often require significant data entry and menu maintenance by FSMs. The eMenu is free for all participating dealerships and has shown to generate more product sales.
• Self-Serve Policy/Contract Management – FSMs can view existing contract details and request amendments or cancellations of in-force contracts online. Many requests are assessed and auto-approved in real-time with no human intervention. This feature improves the customer experience, accelerates the processing time for contractmanagement, and reduces expenses.
• Claims – The HUB supports claims adjudication, settlement and payment for existing contracts. The LGM Claims department is the primary user, but this feature is also available to service managers in dealerships to submit online claims with product specific auto-authorization. This process lessens Claims department call volumes, reduces expenses through automation and  increases customer satisfaction.
• Business Intelligence – Comprehensive operational reports and decision-making dashboards are available for internal users, OEMs, underwriters and dealerships. Leveraging a custom-built reporting framework, users are empowered to create multiple versions of a single report (e.g. using different filters) and execute them on a regular basis. The dashboards provide analysis flexibility of performance measurements related to sales, claims and operational efficiencies.

Benefits

Since the HUB launch, LGM has benefited from the following business efficiencies:

• A minimum of a four times faster “go-to-market” time for products. The HUB Product Configurator, Rule Engine and Pricing Module has enabled LGM to launch nearly 80 products (new or updated) since launch. We project 110 product launches in the next year. This is four times faster than the capabilities of LGM’s predecessor system.
• With complete adoption, 100% online processing of contract amendments and cancellations using the HUB’s self-serve feature. All amendment and cancellation requests were previously submitted through phone calls, fax and emails.
• An 11% increase in online claims submission for eligible products by service managers at dealerships. The increase rate is projected to reach 25% in the next year, leading to savings in claims processing costs.
• A projected 2% increase in contract to VIN ratio over the coming year because of the new eMenu feature.
• Two OEMs conducted successful promotional campaigns earlier in 2017, enabled by HUB Product Configurator features that support fast-to-market promotions. Prior campaigns required greater time and resources to launch.

About LGM Financial Services

LGM Financial Services is in the business of creating and administering finance and insurance (F&I) products for the Canadian automotive industry. LGM works with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of automotive brands to develop branded products that are backed by the OEM and sold through the Financial Services Office (FSO) in automotive dealerships. LGM is the leading provider of branded F&I products in Canada and offers a variety of services, including a complete turn-key solution for OEMs.  For more information, visit www.lgm.ca.

SOURCE: LGM Financial Services