WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. —  BMW Financial Services management believes that by removing the desk from the equation and taking specific financing elements directly to the consumer and the car, customers can reap the benefits of accuracy, immediacy and a comfortable interaction within the finance process, all at the same time.

After earning a significant CSI advantage, achieved through a six-month dealer pilot program, BMW Financial Services' ability to bring the technology of iPads and other tablet products into the dealership, opens an entirely new arena in financial dealings and communication, according to officials.

The launch of InfoBahn Mobile, an extension of the company's B2B portal, can offer the mobility to address both dealer and customer needs, while facilitating credit applications, credit inquiries and dealer self-inspections (form and signing) functionality, according to management.

Shaun Bugbee, vice president of sales and marketing for BMW Group Financial Services, explained that the benefits of mobility inherently facilitate an easier flow of business within the F&I world. 

"Our pilot program for lease-end initiatives alone showed that dealers utilizing the iPad for the dealer self-inspection process improved their CSI scores at more than twice the rate of the dealer network," said Bugbee. 

"We are providing transparency to what can be a contentious process. Our mobility solution enables seamless dialogue between dealers and customers which clearly results in the higher satisfaction scores we are seeing," Bugbee added.

The DSI (dealer self-inspection) pilot program began in October 2010 and was introduced to five BMW dealers located on both the East and West Coasts. The program increased to target 16 pilot dealers in various parts of the country and launched nationwide in late March.

With iPad and tablet integration, DSI can be completed and signed real-time while the customer and dealer are physically inspecting the vehicle. Unlike the company's e-contracting system, that is currently being utilized in 11 states, the iPad DSI program is not a state specific program and has no state specific requirements — anyone with access to an iPad or other laptop/PC with browser capabilities such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome, and is on BMW Financial Services' InfoBahn business portal, can have access, management revealed.

Bugbee noted that while all BMW dealers affiliated with BMW Financial Services have shown consistent CSI improvements, an internal survey has indicated that dealers utilizing the iPad process show an even larger increase. 

Though the off-lease DSI process for iPad is the first of many technological applications moving forward for the brand, Bugbee stressed that the company is not in the technology business — but rather the mobility business — as a means to transport the F&I structure further.