One Client’s Perspective: RouteOne on the Importance of Leveraging Technology
Universal Advisor, 2007 Issue No. 1

Formed in 2002, RouteOne is a web-based credit application management system developed by the finance arms of DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Toyota. Chief Information Officer Joel Gruber and Marketing/Communications Director Suzi Straffon recently recounted the rationale behind developing RouteOne and how effectively leveraging technology can lead to success.

For people who may be unfamiliar with RouteOne, can you explain a little about what you do?

SS: With RouteOne, dealers can process credit applications to their captive finance companies and independent finance sources through one portal.

JG: Prior to this system, dealers could only send information to their captive financing companies from their captive systems; they had to use a competing system to send it to other financing sources, which meant they were doing everything twice. RouteOne has streamlined all of that. Now captives are side by side with other lenders, making things a lot easier and faster for dealers.

Why did the financing arms of DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Toyota decide to form RouteOne?

JG: Like everything at RouteOne, it was driven by dealer demand. Technology had evolved, and our dealers’ appreciation of technology had increased. Our system is all about straight-forward efficiency for the dealer.

How has the RouteOne system better enabled dealerships to more efficiently manage their businesses?

SS: We provide our dealers connections to best-in-class vendors so that they can make their own choices about who to integrate with and how to conduct business. We believe that it’s in the dealers’ own best interests to make these choices on their own — and we provide them with the tools to do it effectively.

JG: We’re an enabler of relationships. Whereas other major players in this arena try to reshape relationships (and there’s nothing wrong with that —it’s just a different business model), we’re simply trying to make things more efficient. On the technical side, one of the first things we did when we formed RouteOne was to define what a credit application should look like. Then we gave the intellectual property definition to starstandard.org for the benefit of the entire industry. For the first time, there’s a common standard that’s widely used. This means that any new service provider can come along and create something that’ll work in 150+ banks and 35 (and counting) other service providers.

How has effectively leveraging technology contributed to RouteOne’s success?

JG: Although we spend a significant percent of our budget on technology, we don’t see ourselves as a technology company. We see ourselves as a service provider.

SS: It’s really about leveraging the technology properly, and at RouteOne, that goes way beyond credit applications. We offer a free reporting suite to allow dealers to pinpoint opportunities for profit and growth by spotlighting finance source relationships and providing data regarding how different performers of dealerships are doing. There are opportunities for credit bureau integration. Our Deal Manager provides easy workflow tools dealers can use — simple things that make their lives easier. We continue to develop other value-add products, such as our newly released autoValue™ product, an online used vehicle valuation tool that eliminates the use of physical books and ensures a reliable asset valuation to the banks.

JG: Everything we do is geared toward making dealers’ lives easier, and it’s usually a direct result of what they’ve told us they need. That’s the heart of our business.

Plante & Moran recently conducted a study in tandem with Wayne State University regarding the strengths and weaknesses inherent in the Great Lakes Region. Business leaders consistently cited innovation and technology as reasons to be optimistic regarding the region’s future. Do you agree?

JG: I do. I think that the Great Lakes Region is as well-positioned as anywhere else to leverage technology to move the economy forward. There are plenty of opportunities — RouteOne is a case in point. The Region has great universities and a lot of talent coming out of those institutions on a regular basis. In addition, Google recently moved into the Ann Arbor area; outside of IT, I see Toyota and Hyundai putting in research centers locally — all of this supports that statement.

SS: In addition, I think because of Detroit’s obvious focus on the auto industry, people are being forced to become more creative and use technology in new ways. We can’t be complacent.

JG: It’s really about applying technology innovatively — thinking of ways to do things differently. Our region is not without its challenges, but oftentimes, challenges can be significant drivers of creativity.