Our coverage of DMS integration continues with the following questions and answers from StoneEagle’s CEO Brent Allen. Brent shares an informative and candid perspective on this integral segment of the industry.

How do you describe your products to potential customers?

It’s difficult to apply a single description to our products. StoneEagle offers several products and they are quite diverse. Our Enterprise Admin Systems include a Credit Life system and SEcureARCH, our new Service Contract Admin system. SEcureARCH is a C#.Net all service oriented architecture that we believe is the future in administration systems. Our F&I sales and reporting application, SEcureMetrics, is one of the earliest reporting programs. It has been integrated to several DMS’s for over a decade and is used by thousands of dealers in the US and Canada. SEcureSalesTool is our Service Drive Sales system and can be integrated to include appointments and RO pull. It will sell multiple products, handle credit card or financing, has fully integrated e-contracting capabilities and remits sold business back to the product administrator. SEcureTransmit has been available to dealers and agents as long as our reporting tools and includes a user interface for generating a remittance register to allow any sold F&I product to be transmitted back to the administrator electronically. At NADA this year, we will be introducing Service reporting. This product will allow the dealer and servicing agent to monitor and develop very impressive income opportunities in the service department.

Traditionally, one of our most recognized services has been integration. StoneEagle has been providing integration services longer than most DMS providers have offered certified interfaces, and it is an essential part of almost all products.

When asked to describe our products, we find it just as important to describe our customer service. For the last 25 years we have made it our goal to provide the best service in the industry. We believe that the product is only as good as our ability to support it.

How did StoneEagle get into the integration business?

In the 90’s, one of our earliest business partners asked us if we could help them with administration of a product which they had been pulling from the DMS electronically. We eventually acquired their programing staff and technology as a byproduct of that initiative. Shortly thereafter, another client asked if we could produce F&I penetration reports in a timely manner by pulling data directly from the DMS. We found that creating effective F&I reports required much more effort than simply pulling data. Almost all dealers configure some part of their DMS differently. Each dealer requires “hands on” configuration for reliable results. This “hands on” knowledge eventually led to requests for properly configured data sets for many other areas of the industry. Ultimately our understanding of the inner workings of the dealership and their processes became our strongest asset for offering “best in class” service.

Which DMS providers do you work with, and what is your official status with each?

Today we offer some level of integration to the following DMS providers:

* – Dealer or DMS provider must send data to StoneEagle
** – Not currently supported, will require additional time and development charges to integrate
*** – May be possible but will require additional time and development charges
($) – Dealer may/will incur extra charges for setup, field switches or both

Considering the changes taking place in the industry today, this list is subject to change.

How do you push and pull data, and why would your solution be better than others?

Certainly we do consider the exact technology of how we push or pull data proprietary, but we do offer both functionalities to a limited number of DMS systems. Pushing data is a very tricky business. Very few companies will do it, and very few products take advantage of it. Improper pushing to the DMS can cause costly errors to the dealer. After a decade, StoneEagle has had no reported errors in our pushing process. We believe our success and longevity coupled with the innovative solutions we provide make us stand out above most other competitors.

There seems to be building controversy about DMS integration – How do you see the industry today, and where do you think it will be in the next five years?

In a previous question I pointed out that third party integration itself actually out dates the integration certification concept. Today, advancements in technology and security have caused a general movement among all DMS providers to create secure standard interface processes that require some sort of fee for access. From there, DMS providers of all sizes seem to be in one of two camps regarding integration to their systems. One camp sees product and service provider offerings as enhancements to their systems. They certainly don’t want to see an outside company cannibalize a product that they offer, but they also seem to understand that dealers will never see all services the same. These DMS providers can create reasonably priced integration tools that create a revenue stream but also stimulate the growth of technology from smaller more agile “niche product” companies. The second camp is much more guarded. They see any competing technology as a potential threat to their control of the dealer. These providers are typically difficult to deal with and offer cost prohibitive pricing for their integration tools.

The controversy today revolves around DMS providers moving to a “certified only” model where any other outside access is branded as dangerous and aggressively discouraged. Telling a dealer what he can or cannot do with his data is one issue, but forcing him to require certification is a much bigger issue for the dealer than the product providers themselves. Even a small dealer is doing business with as many as five outside product vendors. If all five are forced to certify their products and pay (for an example) $100 in fees, those fees are inevitably passed on to the dealer. At that point, the dealer is faced with not just one fee, but five fees for the same service now costing $500. The model needs to change. The dealer should be able to subscribe to the service and allow the vendors access to it. Product and service providers can compete on the merit of their systems, not the cost of their integration.

One way or the other, we think non-certified interfaces will eventually disappear over the next several years. The cost of supporting non-certified technology is going up, competition from other products is increasing, and service oriented system architecture is definitely becoming the accepted model. We just hope that DMS providers will open their systems in a way that is reasonably economical and creates a “best man wins” environment for product providers.

We don’t want to discount the issue of security. It is very important that dealers recognize the importance of their customers private information, and that it be safeguarded properly. There is a need in this industry to make sure that vendors are following all governmental and ethical rules concerning data. Proper service agreements and contractual obligations are essential. Having dealers, DMS providers and vendors work together to establish standards in this area would benefit all players without stifling business, but most importantly, it would protect the customer.

How do your current clients feel about the changes in integration?

Most of them simply feel blackmailed. They feel like they are being cornered into a position where they have to pay fees for services that have worked well for years and are now just being taken advantage of simply because the opportunity was there. Most are happy to pay for advances in technology that increase their ability to sell product. In this case, they feel like it’s simply another expense that must be passed on to the dealer who will then pass it on to the customer. Remember, we are not talking about one point of integration. We’re talking about five, 10, even 15 points of integration that can ultimately mean hundreds of dollars to the consumer.

How are you planning to re-invent your products and services to adapt for the future?

For StoneEagle, planning for the future is and always has been important. As a family owned business, we must rely on re-investing annual profits in R&D for future product and service planning. We have been preparing for the change in integration certification for a few years now. We have been re-developing old products and inventing new ones in order to capture other segments of the auto dealer market. We have certified our products with various DMS providers and are in the process of doing so with others. Re-focusing some of our efforts and resources from integration will mean terrific advances in our product offerings over the next few years.

DALLAS – StoneEagle Insurance Systems, Inc., a provider of contract administration systems, is pleased to announce that Global Administration has implemented StoneEagle’s SEcureARCH system to manage contracts, claims and reporting processes.

Global Administration, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a provider of flexible aftermarket products and services to independent and franchise automotive dealers. Global Administration has deployed the SEcureARCH system to streamline the rating, selling, and administration of aftermarket contracts.

“StoneEagle is an innovative technology provider that has a clear commitment to third party administrators of aftermarket products and services,” said Jim O’Connell, Vice President of Global Administration.

“We selected the SEcureARCH system because it will improve our efficiency and, as importantly, provide a direct interface to our agent and dealer partners. SEcureARCH met our strategic objectives and provides us with a greater propensity to be a progressive and viable challenger in a very competitive marketplace.”

“StoneEagle is committed to helping Global Administration achieve ongoing success. SEcureARCH will help drive efficiencies, facilitate superior customer service and scale with Global’s growth strategy,” said Andy Hamilton, Vice President of StoneEagle Insurance Systems.

SEcureARCH is StoneEagle’s third commercially available warranty administration system and combines decades of industry experience with the latest technologies.

SEcureARCH is built with service oriented architecture to provide administrators with extensive security, reliable data processing and intuitive reporting. It is fully integrated and compatible with all StoneEagle offerings as well an array of third party applications.

Over the next five months, P&A Magazine will be profiling companies within our industry that connect providers, administrators, and dealers. We will be discussing where we are today, what tomorrow looks like, and what it means for the players.

The reality of interconnectivity between a dealer’s DMS system and those that provide goods and services to the dealership has been slow to evolve. When PC’s began to replace the old “green screens” in dealerships around the turn of the century, the genesis of the current revolution began.

Surprisingly, it was not the dealers that demanded greater efficiencies and better processes, but rather software developers that saw the true value of the dealer’s data and the potential for the efficiencies they could create, even when the dealer was slow to recognize this fact.

The software solutions and integration strategies becoming ubiquitous today in dealerships are not the result of truly unique or groundbreaking cutting-edge technologies. It is simply our industry catching up to the benefits enjoyed by other industries.

Part I: The Connected Industry

For the first installment of our multi-part series, P&A will be profiling two companies that are at the forefront of integrating providers and administrators with dealerships: F&I Administration Solutions (F&I Admin) and StoneEagle. We will be exploring the internal processes they support, how they connect to dealers and third parties, and what the future looks like as the adoption of integrated technology evolves in our industry.

Connecting Internal Processes

The reason why we need to start by looking at internal processes is because the end result, at some point in the near future, needs to be a totally paperless end-to-end transaction process. Eliminating single points of failure (errors) and tedium in the back offices throughout the work flow is critical.

Why? Incorrectly rate a contract and it costs someone either money, customer satisfaction, or a lost sale (and possibly all three). Dealers that slow-walk remittance hold up agent commissions and harm the agent’s cash flow. The whole claims process, from origination, to payment, to inspections, to looking up parts costs, needs to be smoothly integrated, or again, it costs time and money. On the flip side, creating administration efficiencies for dealers and providers can save money, either through allowing volume growth without the need to hire, or by redeploying/reducing head count.

The good news is, innovators like F&I Admin and StoneEagle are diligently working towards that ideal paperless work flow, where efficiencies can be measured in cold hard cash for the participants.

Both F&I Admin and StoneEagle provide comprehensive end-to-end solutions supporting the administration of VSC, GAP, pre-paid maintenance, etch, tire and wheel, and other F&I products. Nothing other than a computer with internet access is required of their customers. Users benefit from extensive security, reliable data processing, and intuitive reporting.

F&I Admin’s SCS Auto platform is a fully integrated, web-based solution consisting of modules that are specifically designed to support each F&I product. StoneEagle’s SEcureARCH system boasts minimal maintenance and support costs and multiple hosting solutions. Both companies’ products support claims processing and automated claims payment, interfaces for dealers and agents, integration to third party applications through web services (more on this later), and integration to the leading DMS providers.

Connecting Dealers and Third Parties

Connecting providers and administrators with dealers through the aforementioned integration is the key ingredient that makes the whole process work. Nothing is more critical to achieving the end-to-end paperless transaction process than integration across a myriad of disparate platforms. Let’s explore the current state of integration as it exists today.

F&I Admin is currently connected to 19 different selling systems, all of whom are connected through the same standard interface. This means that any change in the admin system will immediately be reflected through the third party software. This way, rates and contracts are managed in the administration system ONLY, so no additional administration is necessary to support the next third-party selling system. The benefit? Agents can focus on selling product, not software, because, for the most part, a dealer is connected electronically no matter what system they are using.

Incorporating the dealership into the integration mix is F&I Admin’s “DAP” dealer administration system. DAP is branded as the administrator’s website and is where the dealer can get and save quotes, print contracts, get reports, do online remittance, and more. All of this is directly connected to the administration system so the administrator will never have to enter something again that the dealer has already entered.

Of course, DAP is integrated with the dealer’s DMS. Double data entry at the dealership level is significantly reduced when the business manager does not have to re-enter information already contained in another system. Multi-level integration like this will allow more time for selling product by relieving the overburdened business managers from onerous clerical duties. Even more important, many of these duties are performed while the customer is taking delivery and everyone is pressed for time. Eliminating mistakes here and allowing the process to flow smoothly will make a more stress free and enjoyable experience for all.

StoneEagle provides a scalable web service called SEcureIntegration to F&I menu providers, bi-weekly payment providers, third party administrators, aftermarket product providers, OEMS, and additional approved third party service providers. SEcureIntegration enables a real-time bridge between these applications and the DMS to eliminate errors associated with duplicate data entry and speeds up processes within the F&I department.

Creating efficiencies by connecting to third party dealer systems is a common theme with both companies, and significant success has been achieved with Menus and DMS systems, but what about other connectivity options? There are also credit card processing solutions for claims, VIN decoding systems, and systems that provide parts identification and values, among others. These third party connections must be facilitated for our goal of an end-to-end solution to reach fruition. As you will see below, companies are already experiencing the benefits of integration from these areas too, and are saving money.

F&I Admin is connected to the Wright Express credit card processing system to streamline the claims payment process. Payments are initiated within the claim screen, a unique card number is generated by Wright Express, and a fax is sent to the dealer. The dealer then processes the credit card and Wright Express returns a file each night of the payments made. F&I Admin’s system automatically reconciles the payments made within the system and each morning the provider only needs to follow up on exceptions, of which there are generally none.

F&I Admin expects to process over $50 million in claims through their system this year. Each of their VSC customers has redeployed on average two people because of the efficiencies this represents – clearly offering absolute and direct savings to its customers.

Further supporting the contracting and claims process, both F&I Admin and StoneEagle are connected to VIN decoding systems and parts identification and value data bases. One development still on the horizon is to get deeper data from the VIN decoding, allowing the provider to identify a vehicle more completely when in for a claim. If the VIN decoder can provide an even more sophisticated level of data to account for things like factory or aftermarket installed sunroofs, the claims process could be a lot sharper.

StoneEagle integrates with Warranty Inspection Services, Southwest Inspections, and Carr Appraisals. Integration to each of these providers allows SEcureARCH users to submit inspection requests, receive alerts when inspections have been completed, and receive links to completed reports all directly from within the SEcureARCH system.

Integrated Technology and the Future

If there is a theme among the “integrators” that will connect providers, administrators, and dealers as well as third parties, it is that some form of open architecture will be necessary. The interested parties need to start demanding that no limitations be placed on the ability to share, manipulate, and manage data. This will only be accomplished when there is a common “language” integrators and software developers can work from.

We are beginning to see the benefits of common platforms with open architecture. F&I Admin, as mentioned earlier, has created a common integration point to their SCS Auto that is easy for anyone to connect to and serves all systems equally for all data requirements within the dealers’ world. StoneEagle’s SEcureARCH allows third party vendors to integrate with ARCH on their own schedule.

Looking towards that future, for F&I Admin it is facilitating the inspection ordering process and access to refurbished parts databases. Keeping the inspection ordering process, forms, data, and photographs all on one system will eliminate multiple data entry points and provide notification when the inspection is complete.

The ability to offer refurbished parts prices alongside OEM parts in one system will provide more efficiencies and cost savings to the claims process. Currently these processes are done on the phone or through individual websites that require significant data entry and time.

Another peek into the future is to provide real time data through mobile devices such as smart phones. Mobile apps, branded as the provider’s applications, delivering real time data to all constituents in the F&I industry – providers, agents, customers, and dealers – would be a very powerful tool.

F&I Admin and StoneEagle offer one very important thing that most providers, dealers and agents may not even realize. These two companies are highly adaptable and listen to their customers. They understand that changing a dealer’s process is not the best solution when asking users to take advantage of their technology. Their forte is providing turn-key solutions and customizing platforms to fit precisely the way the dealer and the provider does business.

There are processes that are still not connected to third party providers and with some that are connected, there is still so much more that can be done. For example, inspection companies, refurbished and OEM part providers, DMS providers and deeper VIN decoding could all be better integrated within the industry. This is where we as an industry need to encourage, persuade, cajole, and dare we say demand that the integrated work flow becomes a reality. Our future profits and survival in a super competitive environment leave little room for argument.

Our industry is racing ahead toward a truly integrated and connected environment where data is accessible and can be manipulated across multiple platforms with ease. This will free up our human resources to spend more time taking care of our customers, innovating, generating more cash flow, and ultimately increasing the profitability of our organizations.

111 W. Spring Valley Road Ste. 100
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www.stoneeagle.com

DALLAS – StoneEagle Insurance Systems, Inc. has partnered with Tier One Warranty Services, LLC to provide a suite of online services.

Tier One Warranty Services, based in Houston, is a provider of flexible extended coverage and similar products in the United States and Europe.

“We have come to depend on StoneEagle’s technical expertise and ability to adapt to changing business requirements in the industry,” said Lance Davis, CEO of Tier One Warranty. “When presented with the opportunity to start using StoneEagle’s new system almost immediately, we knew that was the right choice for us moving forward.”

“We couldn’t be more excited about working with Tier One and the timing for us couldn’t be better,” said Brent Allen, president of StoneEagle. “Since we first mentioned the direction we were going with our next administration system, the interest from existing and new customers has been extremely high. StoneEagle has a unique vantage point in the administration industry with a large client base on not one, but two fully functional systems.”

SEcureARCH is StoneEagle’s third commercially available warranty administration system and it combines decades of industry experience with the latest technologies. It is fully integrated and compatible with all of StoneEagle’s other offerings as well as an array of other various providers.

Tier One will immediately start deploying the SEcureARCH system to its clients and partners for rating, selling and administering vehicle service contracts.

SEcureARCH is built on the Microsoft .NET 4.0 Framework and Microsoft SQL Server 2010. The front end (which includes built-in dealer functionality) is written in C# and JQuery to provide a rich user experience.

RICHMOND, Va. – StoneEagle is now able to integrate inspections from Warranty Inspection Services into its SEcureARCH administration system. The integration will allow StoneEagle’s users to submit inspection requests, receive alerts when inspections have been completed and receive links to completed reports all directly from within the SEcureARCH system.

As a result of the integration, StoneEagle’s users will enjoy significant time savings and the elimination of data entry mistakes when using WIS for inspections.

“We have been working to develop an integrated module to help our third-party administrators manage outside vendors,” said Brent Allen of StoneEagle Group. “With Warranty Inspection Services’ introduction of VeriScan, we immediately recognized that our customers would want access to this new technology. Any time we can improve accuracy and save time and money for our customers, integration makes perfect sense.”

“Our VeriScan technology offers the first real advancement in the inspection industry since digital cameras became commonplace, and is potentially beneficial to every administrator in the industry. We are excited to be working with StoneEagle to get this new technology into the hands of their extensive customer base of administrators in a smooth, seamless manner,” said Chris Rand, co-president of Warranty IS.

VeriScan is a proprietary tool designed to increase the accuracy, timeliness and thoroughness of inspection reports. VeriScan facilitates encrypted WiFi/cellular transmission of vehicle data (through an OBDii interface), photos, and the inspector’s initial written report to WIS’s secure servers. This system allows the administrator to receive more data and more accurate data faster than previously possible. VeriScan gives customers the ability to see the computer data from the vehicle and to view the written report and photos while taking the verbal report. Any additional photos or report editing required can be completed while taking the verbal report, allowing for clarification of any technical issues, making the verbal report much more accurate.

SEcureARCH is StoneEagle’s third commercially available warranty administration system and combines decades of industry experience with the latest technologies. It is fully integrated and compatible with all of StoneEagle’s other offerings as well an array of other providers.