GM Financial looks to improve dealer relations, customer experience using tech AFN

NASHVILLE — GM Financial is increasing its investment in auto decisioning and technology to improve dealer relations and customer experience.  

The captive is looking to decrease funding time for dealers to less than about 30 minutes, Chitra Herle, global chief Information officer, said on a panel discussion at Auto Finance Summit East 2024 today. 

Other objectives for the company include using technology to assist with document management, asset management and efficiency, Herle said.  

For example, the captive’s use of tech to transcribe calls with consumers provides it with summaries and feedback for reference, she said, adding that this is only one piece to GM’s plan to invest in tech to support efficiency.  

“We’re fostering that culture of embracing change and continuous learning,” Herle said. “In doing so, we’re leaning on that growth mindset, while encouraging our customers and our employees to learn new skills.” 

On auto tech, innovation  

Using AI and machine learning to support efficiency and improve consumer experience was top of mind for each executive on the panel. 

Despite fears that evolving AI might cost jobs across different markets, some of the panelists indicated that leaning into tech provides employees with more resources, supports efficiency goals and results in an improved overall consumer experience. 

At Ally Financial, investing in tech and innovation is intended to eliminate mundane tasks while supporting employees in their contribution to the company’s broader strategy, said CIO of Auto Finance and Insurance Pat Rinaldo.  

“The goal is to get people to understand that they are more than those tasks, they are what they bring to the company in terms of their passion, their ambition and their focus on relationships with their customers,” Rinaldo said. 

Carvana, already a fully digital platform, continues to lean on tech to decrease the time consumers spend buying a vehicle. 

In the past year, the Tempe, Ariz.-based company launched same-day delivery, allowing consumers to buy a car online and have it delivered to their home on the same day, Vice President of Finance Matt Dundas said. 

Same-day delivery required the company to use technology to increase transaction speed while ensuring the accuracy of the process, Dundas said. 

Other efforts by Carvana will include using tech and data to find ways the company can add soft skills, or soft, social elements into its processes, despite the entirely digital process, he said. 

Customer service, even in a time of advancing tech, is “always driven by human connection,” Andrew Flegg, chief technology officer at Alfa Financial Software, said.