IBM Credit Corporation Takes Financing Into Cyberspace
New Internet Tools let Business Partners Close Leasing and Financing Deals Over The Web
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 16, 1998) – Computer remarketers can close financing deals in minutes instead of days, and suppliers can track their working capital finances much more closely, using new Internet Financing Tools introduced by IBM Credit Corporation today at IBM’s annual Business Partner Executive Conference.
Rather than rely on phone, fax and e-mail, IBM’s new Internet Financing Tools Web site offers business partners an easy-to-use window into the world-class processing systems that support IBM Credit’s financing offerings in the United States. From the site, remarketers can obtain lease rates and credit approval for the financing of their sales of hardware, software and services, choosing the options best suited to their customer’s needs. In addition, remarketers and suppliers who use IBM Credit for their working capital needs can check on outstanding invoices, credit lines and scheduled payment dates.
“In our highly competitive marketplace, speed wins,” said Chuck Thomas, director, global channels customer financing, IBM Credit. “Our new Web-based tools will dramatically improve the rate at which our business partners can obtain the financial information they need to manage their working capital, as well as sell their products more quickly by providing financing solutions to their customers. These capabilities will improve their customer service and their bottom line.”
Thomas added, “We have used our technological expertise to create a competitive advantage for our business partners and demonstrate the benefits of operating as an e-business.”
The site can be accessed by qualified business partners from the IBM Global Financing home page (www.financing.ibm.com) with either Netscape** or Microsoft** browsers. It is based on Lotus Domino* technology and incorporates multiple levels of industrial-strength IBM and Lotus security.
For customer leasing and financing transactions, the Web site enables remarketers of IBM’s RS/6000*, AS/400* and S/390* computers, and IBM PC workstations acquired with those larger systems, to quickly explore multiple pricing scenarios for lease options and hardware and software configurations to determine the type of transaction best suited to their customer’s needs. The tool then streamlines the processes through which IBM Credit approves this planning rate and delivers credit approval and firm contract rates. It also enables remarketers to access comprehensive information on the status of customer financing transactions. These transactions can be electronically sent into IBM Credit for special handling at any point in the process. Future enhancements will include leasing and financing transaction support for Netfinity* and other PC based products acquired separately.
For remarketers and suppliers that use IBM Credit to finance working capital — the inventory and accounts receivable financing that helps them run their business — the site offers access to a variety of information and services. The Web site’s payment planner gives remarketers the ability to track scheduled due dates and balance due; retrieve specific invoice detail; and view their credit line. Remittance advisor lets suppliers manage a steady stream of cash payments from IBM Credit, obtain remittance detail and research invoices.
More than 150 leading information technology suppliers and 1,600 remarketers currently finance working capital and perform customer financing transactions with IBM Credit, and more than 50 of these business partners have already been using the IBM Credit Internet Financing Tools Web site for several months as part of a pilot program.
“Our company sells IBM hardware and software to more than 550 solution providers nationwide, and IBM’s Internet Financing Tools Web site has been an exceptional e-business tool for us,” said Terry Johnson, CFO of Business Partner Solutions, Inc., based in San Antonio, Texas. “The capability to submit worksheets electronically and get instant credit approvals and lease quotes online saves us a tremendous amount of time. It’s also terrific to be able to balance our working capital financing accounts online each day, rather than wait for a 100-page statement at the end of the month.”
Warren Turner, chief financial officer and senior vice president, Dickens Data Systems, said, “As IBM focuses on e-business solutions, it is easy to see why IBM Credit chose to implement an interactive Web site. It is the most efficient way for solution providers to quickly generate a guaranteed financial option for customers during the initial stages of developing a proposal. The Web site adds tremendous value to the channel by simplifying the quote process.”
Lotus Domino was used as the cornerstone of this advanced e-business application. The Domino front-end offers a real-time link from the Web to IBM Credit’s back-office systems, running under IBM’s CICS* and IMS* transaction processing software. Multiple levels of security are built into the system, including SSL encryption at the browser level with server-based certificates, user IDs and passwords to access the Web site, and Domino-enforced security for the rest of the system.
Source: IBM