Sword Apak’s wholesale finance system (WFSv6) has gone live at Mercedes Benz Financial Services France (MBSF), a subsidiary of Daimler Financial Services AG. The launch marks a significant achievement for one of the world’s leading floorplanning systems providers and will be followed by a series of planned implementations in further European countries.

The successful installation of WFSv6 is the first ‘live’ implementation of Daimler Financial Services’ (DFS) Global Products, Processes and Systems (GPS) programme. Viewed as a component of Daimler’s ‘GPS Wholesale’ strategy, Sword Apak’s implementation of WFSv6 for Mercedes Benz Financial Services France (MBFS) is considered a major milestone as well as an important measure of the project’s progress to date.

Looking forward to further European installations

Tony Allen, business unit director for Sword Apak said: “Sword Apak takes great pride in its role and responsibility for supporting Daimler Financial Services’ Wholesale Finance strategy by developing and implementing a truly global, unified end-to-end wholesale finance solution”. Allen added: “So we are of course very pleased to announce the first DFS implementation to go live at Mercedes Benz Financial Services France, and look forward to completing further European installations.”

Recently Norbert Meder, vice president Global Products, Processes and Systems (GPS) at Daimler Financial Services AG said: “The new wholesale finance system exemplifies our global strategy to implement modular products, standardised processes and integrated IT systems across more than 40 countries. Following a rigorous selection process, Sword Apak was chosen for its expertise and long-term experience of developing, implementing and supporting proven wholesale finance technology.”

Tony Allen said: “Implementing WFSv6 for Daimler Financial Services firmly establishes Sword Apak as the leading global supplier of wholesale finance systems. We are delighted to be working with DFS, whose pedigree and reputation as a leading provider of automotive financial services is highly regarded in the industry.”

Global wholesale finance template

By working as a partnership, the Daimler and Sword Apak teams have delivered a global wholesale finance template that will support the business partners, dealers and internal processes of DFS, and can be implemented across DFS subsidiaries with only minor localisations.

Daimler Financial Services is a leading provider in the financial services industry offering tailor-made leasing and financing solutions to promote vehicle sales of the Daimler Group’s international brands. With a comprehensive product portfolio including financing, leasing, insurance concepts and fleet management services, Daimler Financial Services is responsible for a contract volume of $77bn.

WFSv6 is a fully integrated, web native application that will support wholesale finance products, including new, used, demo funding as well as dealer loans and current accounts. Dealers at MBFS France will have online access to remotely manage and maintain their accounts.

Sword Apak has over 30 years’ experience of providing specialist financial systems. It focuses on asset based finance and retail banking sectors. A statement from the company said: “Our superior wholesale finance systems are used by major financial institutions, processing over $20bn worth of direct debits and credits through our ASP based systems each year. Sword Apak is also renowned for its expertise in developing and integrating core banking technology.”