Seeking to expand its wholesale operations in Italy by introducing main dealers into its business portfolio, Agos needed a robust platform to support its expansion plans. Having reviewed the options, it selected Sword Apak to implement its state-of-the-art Wholesale Floorplanning System (WFS) v6.

This is the second implementation for Sword Apak under the Credit Agricole umbrella with Netherlands-based bank Ribank already a well-established WFS client.

Signing up on an Application Services Provision (ASP) basis, WFS provides Agos with a fully integrated, web native wholesale finance solution, combining all financial products and portfolios into one core application to improve operating efficiency.

Luigi Senesi, deputy CEO and director of commercial network of Agos (pictured above) said:  “In today’s complex and challenging automotive finance market it’s critical to our success to embrace and move forward with fresh and innovative ideas to ensure an effective, sustainable implementation of ‘Enterprise-wide’ applications.

“Sword Apak has proven its ability to design, deliver and flex while working with our parent company, Credit Agricole, and we had no hesitation in selecting them as our specialist floorplan technology partner.”

Agos is named as a leader in terms of quality of service; customer service, product range and flexibility, communication and value for money. The ‘self-service’ element of WFS will support Agos as they work to retain their excellent reputation for customer service.

It will give manufacturers and dealers access to information including credit lines, stock lists, bank transactions, reports and management information. Users can manage their stock finance accounts online, and can also make new and used vehicle funding requests, payoff existing loans, swap vehicles, view reports and download statements, all subject to user authority.

“We are delighted that Agos has selected Sword Apak’s WFS to meet their wholesale floorplanning requirements.” said James Powell, sales director for Sword Apak (pictured below). “We firmly believe WFS offers a premium global floorplanning solution and look forward to working with Agos and supporting the business as it expands.”

Agos Ducato began as a consumer credit company in 1986 under the name Agos Service. It quickly became a market leader, and joined up with Itafinco in 1997, a complementary company in line with corporate strategy. After merging with another leading company, it operated under the name Agos Ducato from 2008.

The share capital is owned by two large banking groups: Crédit Agricole, through Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance, and Banco Popolare.

Agos grants loans through different product lines: personal loans, targeted financing, credit cards, salary-backed loans and leasing. It also offers a wide range of insurance services.

Agos has currently nine million customers, and market monitoring registers satisfaction levels that exceed 90% (IPSOS - Customer Satisfaction, December 2014). It has a distribution network of about 230 sales units in addition to thousands of affiliate dealers in all its product sectors; loan requests are made to Agos every 10 seconds in Italy.

A recent survey of Italian households conducted by the German Institute for Quality and Finance chose Agos as the best financial company again in 2014. The company ranked first in all areas relating to service quality and customer relationships.