iLendingDirect is an award-winning automotive financial solutions company that provides automotive refinancing to consumers in markets nationwide. Through strategic partnerships with credit unions, banks, and other financial institutions across the country, iLendingDirect offers competitive interest rates on auto loans and creative financing and refinancing solutions to thousands of consumers each year.
In 2017, iLendingDirect launched a project to modernize its loan application process, aiming to enhance features, user experience, performance, and cost-efficiency. Initially partnering with a third-party developer for a web application, they encountered significant issues, including delays, budget constraints, feature gaps, and performance challenges. Seeking a solution, they engaged TechFabric to evaluate the existing work and collaborate with their internal team to reimagine and improve the project to meet its original goals while allowing for ongoing enhancements.
Key Areas To Remedy:
Lead Ingest & Loan Officer Assignment
Rate Sheet Management
Stipulation Document Management
Customer Relation Management (CRM)
Loan Origination API Performance
Manual Entry Error & Poor Agent On-Boarding
Strategy
Re-Imagine iLending’s “Phoenix” Application
Our strategy involved accommodating the continually evolving workflow at iLending and empowering their call center agents to seamlessly convert leads into loans. At the core of this approach was the Auto Refi system, also known as the Phoenix App, which incorporated a range of innovative features. Notably, we integrated a real-time web-based chat functionally using Twillo, facilitating enhanced communication and engagement.
Additionally, TechFabric assisted in further enhancing the application by recommending the use of an Event Store, a functional database, and a service bus architecture design. These enhancements were strategically implemented to optimize the Lead to Loan process, ultimately improving efficiency and success in iLending's operations.
Fixing The “Old” Manual Process:
Incoming Lead
Agent Manual Workflow:
Reference Rate Sheets
Fill Out Templated PDFs
Email & SMS Text Communication
4. Manage Data in Excel
5. Process Refi Deal & Loan Docs
Solution
Improving The Lead-To-Loan Process For Agents
The data (leads) received from various sources are imported into the Auto Refi Platform using REST APIs. TechFabric helped in the successful migration of highly secure data from on-premises (SQL Server database) to Azure Cloud database and set up CI/CD for code management using VSTS.
The original process required agents to manually enter information from the CRM to request once the information was available, they then had to update it in the CRM manually. Agents also had to create PDF documents from templates and manage external data (outside the CRM) in Excel files. Managers were also tracking & managing reports in Excel outside of the CRM. Automating the system would significantly accelerate the approval process while reducing the risk inherent in all manual processes.
Solution - Growth
Scalability From Onboarding New Lenders
Loan and vehicle refinancing volume relies on the number of lenders in the system. Teaming up with TechFabric, we developed an integrated application that streamlines onboarding by connecting to various third-party systems. This single system empowers agents to manage the entire financial approval process efficiently. Its scalability ensures seamless integration with numerous third parties, enabling iLendingDirect's rapid expansion. Our ongoing partnership with TechFabric ensures the continuous development of new features to meet evolving market demands.
Microservices
Allows the application to scale up with business needs
No-SQL Database
Reduces risk of performance issues due to large volume
Solution - Key Factors
Making The Best Refi Match
To automate this process, TechFabric implemented a rules-based auto-response, driven by lender and rate. TechFabric needed to deliver to the AutoApprove loan consultants the criteria and information from the lender ecosystem that represented the best financing solutions for the customer that would reduce their payment or interest rate or both.
iLendingDirect was able to enforce the company's best practices (for Lead management / Agent Management / Queue Management) within the system. The AutoRefi Platform literally eliminated the need to manage the workload of Agents and opened up the possibility of Advanced Dashboard & Advanced Notifications, allowing iLending Direct management to monitor their entire operation closely. It gave both managers and agents higher visibility and control of the overall process.
Key Features
Automated Lead Responses
Automated Rates Based on Eligibility
Automated Contract Management
Automated Loan Applications
Phone, Email, and SMS Integrations
Communication History Tracking
results
The ROI Is Simple
In addition to automating numerous tedious and error-prone manual processes previously done by CRM Users, the iLending app provided the ability to efficiently store all the required operational data (like lender rate cards and preferred lenders) and the dashboards and custom reporting required by managers for decision.
2x
Number of loans closed per month
4+
Key manual workflows replaced with automation
What the client had to say about the project.
Mark Lindley
Director of IT
“One thing about the TechFabric team that stands out is their dedication and commitment. They’ve always been available even if it’s after hours or on the weekend -- if there’s an issue, they’ll respond. Honestly, I feel like they’re a part of our team, they act and behave that way as well. They’re not just a vendor.”
key takeaway
Automation Transforms Cycle Time
The Auto Refi Platform resulted in not only an improved bottom line for iLendingDirect, but also improvements in other important factors like security (SSL encryption and multifactor authentication), efficiency, productivity, visibility, control, and scalability. All of these factors combined to allow iLendingDirect to expand its footprint in the Auto Refinance Industry.
Let’s build something amazing.
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