What are the issues within equipment finance?
The commercial equipment finance industry, like many sectors of commercial finance, has faced numerous challenges and rapidly changing market conditions. From higher interest rates impacting debt service capabilities for lessees and borrowers, to fluctuating equipment values, the industry is consistently searching for solutions for borrowers and lessees.
Two segments of the commercial equipment finance industry that are not immune to these challenges are Captive Finance Companies and Independent Equipment Finance Companies.
A Captive Equipment Finance company is a subsidiary or affiliate of a parent company, typically a manufacturer, which provides financing solutions to facilitate the purchase or lease of the parent company’s products. Ultimately, captive equipment finance companies support the sales of their parent company’s equipment by offering tailored financing, leasing and loan options directly to customers.
An Independent Equipment Finance Company is a non-bank, non-captive company that provides financing and leasing solutions for a wide range of equipment. Unlike captive finance companies, which are tied to a specific manufacturer, independent equipment finance companies are not affiliated with any one brand, dealer or product line. As a result, they offer financing options for diverse types of equipment across multiple industries.
Whether the company is a Captive or Independent equipment finance company, their goals are similar – to facilitate the acquisition of equipment for end users with competitive financial products and build long-term relationships with borrowers and lessees.
Meeting these goals requires an investment in technology by both Captive and Independent equipment finance companies to provide the services required on a consistent basis. This requires an equipment finance technology platform provider that will work closely with Captive and Independent equipment finance companies to identify pain points experienced not only by the borrowers and lessees, but also the actual equipment finance providers.
To follow are some of the more common pain points for both Captive and Independent equipment finance companies:
- Reducing manual processes that are time consuming and a poor use of critical personnel – with the goal of efficiently closing financing transactions.
- Providing equipment upgrade capabilities throughout the life of a financing contract to ensure long term relationships with borrowers/lessees.
- Consistently providing competitive and creative financing products for borrowers/lessees.
- Providing customized portals to enhance the overall client experience and consistently communicate with borrowers/lessees on transactions throughout the credit underwriting, documentation and transaction closing process, as well as throughout the life of the financing.
- Platform upgrades (SaaS solutions)
How Solifi is addressing these issues
Originations (Formerly known as Rapport)
To solve the issues created by these pain points, Solifi Originations (formerly known as Rapport) creates a best-in-class and highly -configurable financing solution for both Captive and Independent equipment finance companies – providing a platform to facilitate equipment sales and achieve the lender’s portfolio growth goals.
Kristie Kosobuski, Vice President Portfolio Management, with Solifi, shared her insights into the Captive and Independent equipment finance environment saying, “To meet our clients’ needs, we let our customers – the equipment finance providers – drive our product offerings by listening to their needs and understanding their processes. Additionally, we pay close attention to changing market conditions. We never operate in a vacuum. We work with finance companies to develop the best products, with the goal of creating a true long-term partnership.”
Equipment Upgrades
According to Kosobuski, one of the more significant requirements for both captive and independent finance companies is the need to facilitate equipment upgrades throughout the life of an equipment financing facility. Solifi meets this requirement with Solifi Portfolio Management (formerly known as InfoLease)
“Providing an equipment upgrade solution is critical for both Captive and Independent finance companies,” says Kosobuski. “The goal for both is to make their customers “sticky.” In other words, these finance companies want their customers to return for additional financing and create long-term relationships.”
The need to consistently provide competitive and creative financing products is a must for both Captives and Independents. To accomplish this, Solifi collaborates closely with their clients to create solutions to deliver financing structures that range from standard financing arrangements to the most complex – depending on the market served by each finance company. The key is to understand what financing products will be required to succeed in the delivery of financial products in various industries.
Consistent Communication
According to Kosobuski, providing customized portals is not only important, but also critical to achieving consistent and accurate communications between lenders and borrowers/lessees.
“Finance companies – whether they are Captive or Independent finance companies – are not in the business of being technology experts. They need a technology partner that provides strong and consistently updated solutions to take care of technology requirements today and in the future. For these reasons, Solifi’s SaaS solutions provide portal configuration flexibility to meet the individual needs of each client.”
Solifi’s mission is to provide Captive and Independent Finance companies technological solutions to efficiently achieve their portfolio growth and profitability goals with a steady eye on what borrowers and lessees need in the form of financial products to acquire equipment. Understanding the unique needs of these finance companies and their pain points is the foundation for creating a leading-edge software platform. It is through this collaboration with all types of equipment finance companies that Solifi has developed a software platform unrivaled in the equipment finance industry.
In closing, Kosobuski says, “Captive and Independent finance companies can pick their journey with Solifi solutions in their mission to create the optimal solution for their unique business.”
To learn more about Solifi’s products for the equipment finance industry, contact us and schedule a demo.