Published on 05 July 2007

Already users of ALFA, HCBF launched Project Omega to streamline the division with a focus on developing more efficient new business processes. New proposals are now captured instantly on-system using ALFA Quick Proposal Input, front-end functionality designed specifically for their rapid entry and onward processing. As a result, 50% of staff on the new business team became available to boost the other teams coping with increasing business volumes.

Nathan Pratt, Head of Operations at Hitachi Capital Business Finance, said, “The use of ALFA has greatly improved our customer service levels. For instance, customers now benefit from the fact that their deals are processed more quickly and accurately than ever before, with the dispatch of final documentation a much swifter procedure. The new ALFA functionality also allows the team to load up deals very early on in the process which, in turn, enables us to approve customer credit requests in less than half the usual time.

“The reporting of our own operational function has also seen an improvement as we can now track deal flow and manage quality much more effectively. Key users in various departments have already commented favourably on the advantages of using a single system, and the automation of many formerly manual processes - especially those that now have simple interfaces with external systems such as HPI, BACS (Automated Return of Unpaid Direct Debits), and QuickAddress.”

The seven-month project was rolled out to over 100 ALFA users in December 2006 and, by the end of the first quarter of 2007, all new broker-introduced proposals were being managed through ALFA workflow. In the same period, the number of data and admin errors was reduced by half and the time spent processing a proposal was reduced by 30%. These figures are set to improve even further. Following Project Omega’s successful completion, HCBF was able to send out welcome packs and other documentation simultaneously with supplier payouts. By synchronising and automating these activities, HCBF was able to increase customer satisfaction and better manage supplier relationships.

The improvements made to HCBF’s process workflow and customer care are complemented by an improved product offering, increased Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and, in the longer term, profitable systems development and cost avoidance. HCBF will follow this successful project with further customer service-directed enhancements, including a sophisticated web-based origination portal and the introduction of other products designed to add value to introducers and customers.

HCBF and CHP Consulting have maintained a healthy relationship since August 2004 when HCBF took over Industrial Equipment Finance Ltd. (IEF). Before this, IEF had been working with CHP running ALFA in a small deployment since 1998.