CLIENT CASE STUDY
CCF Transforms Equipment Financing with Salesforce-Powered Small Ticket Solution
CUSTOMER
SOLUTION STACK
Sales Cloud
Sales Dialer
Marketing Cloud
Aspire
VSP
DocuSign
STORY SUMMARY
Customers Commercial Finance (CCF) is the nationally recognized equipment financing and leasing subsidiary of Customers Bank. They offer a wide range of finance products for transactions ranging from $25,000 to $25 million, providing vital support to targeted vertical markets such as material handling, plastics/packaging, motorcoach, machine tools, construction, vocational trucks, and general manufacturing.
In a collaborative effort with Fortimize and Salesforce, CCF successfully developed a small ticket digital finance platform using Sales Cloud, Sales Dialer, Marketing Cloud, and business-critical software integrations. By digitizing their loan application on Salesforce, CCF streamlined the application lifecycle and improved the customer experience, all while maintaining a balance between speed and risk management.
In the equipment financing sector, the speed at which you can provide funding is table stakes. The real differentiator lies in a team’s capacity to deliver an exceptional customer experience, all the while efficiently managing operations and minimizing undue risk. We believe this innovative Salesforce solution accomplishes all these goals, positioning CCF to revolutionize the industry.”
THE CHALLENGE
For years, CCF had built a strong reputation in the mid & large ticket equipment financing sector. As they embarked on their expansion efforts, CCF hired industry veteran John Donohue to serve as the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Small Ticket Business division. With over 30 years of experience in building and managing business platforms, he and the leadership team sought a digital finance solution capable of efficiently processing a high volume of applications while ensuring extensibility and integration with Customers Bank’s technology stack.
In their search to find the right software vendor, CCF carefully evaluated several options and ultimately chose Salesforce. Their decision was heavily influenced by Salesforce’s consistent innovation and strategic investments in the platform, a commitment the CCF team had personally observed during their years in the industry. Additionally, Salesforce’s capability to extend beyond CRM functionality and act as a workflow engine for every process satisfied a crucial need for CCF’s small ticket division.
Donohue commented, “In the small ticket finance sector, borrowers exhibit consumer-centric behaviors. They expect to manage all their financial needs on personal devices, from research to application and approval. While in the past, it was acceptable to promise a response within a few business days or even hours, today’s customers demand near-instant feedback.”
To transform CCF’s vision into reality, they sought a partner who followed an agile delivery methodology, possessed strong Salesforce expertise, and demonstrated a willingness to dig into their challenges and offer robust solutions rooted in best practices. Fortimize met all of these criteria, in addition to being a strong cultural fit.
SOLUTION
CCF successfully implemented a robust Salesforce cross-cloud solution that enhances the digital finance experience, streamlines transactional processes, and aligns with the organization’s risk tolerance. Sales Cloud plays a pivotal role in this solution by managing data intake, customer relationships, workflow functions, and seamlessly integrating with a proprietary Customers Bank fraud and credit risk review system. This integration has already boosted the team’s efficiency and effectiveness throughout the credit adjudication process, providing a critical advantage as the company continues to grow.
Through a Lease Accounting System integration, CCF ensures Salesforce workflows align with their own and CUBI’s well-established portfolio management practices. To further enhance their operations within Sales Cloud, CCF uses Sales Dialer, DocuSign, Paynet, and email integration, allowing their team to focus on exceptional speed and accuracy with every transaction without having to leave the platform. These efficiency gains have motivated CCF to evaluate the expansion of the application into their mid-large ticket offering where applicable, thus enhancing their ability to serve customers and partners more effectively and accommodate transactions in a manner that aligns with their specific needs.
To personalize their interactions with customers and prospects, CCF leverages Marketing Cloud. Journey Builder enables them to create digital intake forms for applicants, landing pages, lead generation forms for vendors and partners, and email campaigns. With Marketing Cloud’s vast capabilities, CCF can engage with its stakeholders in a convenient and user-friendly manner, enhancing the overall customer experience, streamlining processes for both clients and partners, all in an effort to meet customers where they are.
Donohue shared, “Going into this project, our expectations were very high, and I’m pleased to say they were exceeded. The team, collaboration, and project management were outstanding. Fortimize truly listened and challenged us by saying, ‘Tell us what you’re looking to solve, and let us come back to you with viable solutions.’ That’s a strong partner.”
OUTCOMES
Since the implementation of their solution, CCF has successfully booked several million dollars in transactions, with a growing backlog of approvals. The Salesforce platform and thoughtful workflow processes have significantly reduced financing timelines and provided the team with a clear understanding of their customers and prospects. To support their business goals, they’ve expanded their sales team and believe this solution is a catalyst for continued growth, especially as they identify efficiency gains that can be leveraged in the mid-large ticket division.
Donohue shared, “In the equipment financing sector, the speed at which you can provide funding is table stakes. The real differentiator lies in a team’s capacity to deliver an exceptional customer experience, all the while efficiently managing operations and minimizing undue risk. We believe this innovative Salesforce solution accomplishes all these goals, positioning CCF to revolutionize the industry.”
Looking forward, CCF’s strategy includes leveraging Fortimize’s support model to make incremental enhancements to their digital finance solution before identifying future phases. Additionally, Donohue is eager to explore the relevant use cases for artificial intelligence, particularly in enhancing sales productivity and performance.
Donohue elaborated, saying, “We consider our team, Salesforce, and Fortimize as a three-legged stool. Collaboration and open communication concerning future technology decisions are crucial for continued growth and success. Fortimize will be involved in every step of the way.”
