AutoLeaseDirect.com
Title
autoleaseDIRECT
Description
When Jerry Thompson, CVLE formed Austin Auto Leasing in 1994, the Internet was just beginning to capture the attention of the general public. Although the concept of conducting business over the World Wide Web received mention in some circles, the Internet was little more than a source of curiosity to most business owners. In 1999, Thompson began to look at ways to more fully employ the Internet to streamline the business. "Initially, our goals were to improve internal processes and make it possible to locate representatives in other cities and states." The company contracted Uniquest International, a software developer, to create a proprietary program designed to monitor each step of the lease transaction from first contact to closing the deal. "We wanted the capability to track the sales process using one software program that could be used through the Internet," says Thompson.
While overseeing the development of the software, Thompson began to envision broader applications for the program. He looked to changes occurring in the arena of vehicle sales, where companies were unveiling online business models that promised to revolutionize the way that vehicles could be sold and distributed. "We stepped back and looked at Austin Auto Leasing from the perspective of outsiders," says Thompson, "thinking about what those new models might mean for leasing and what we could do to be in the forefront of change.
Surveying the growing number of online finance and vehicle sales companies, Thompson found that few, if any, offered their customers a leasing option, and concluded that the reason was a lack of expertise and resources for handling leases. "Financing a lease is much more complicated than financing the purchase of a vehicle," he says, "and we positioned ourselves to take that complicated process and specialize in it.
