The savvy collector: Enhancing repossession management with guided workflows and real-time insights

Today, collections and repossession organizations cannot afford to rely solely on traditional methods and legacy applications. As delinquencies rise, customer preferences change and repossessions approach a 15-year high, repossession management has become a critical part of the collections puzzle. 

To increase efficiency and ensure compliance, collections leaders need a dedicated repossession workflow that guides their agents through the complex process and keeps them informed of critical updates in real time. 

This blog builds on two posts earlier in this series—“Taking the work out of workflows” and “Stay informed with real-time updates”—by exploring how a repossession workflow that is both guided and updated in real time can drastically increase the efficiency of collections repossession agents.

Throughout this series, the savvy collector represents a modern collections professional—one who benefits from guided workflows and real-time visibility that keeps accounts moving and up to date. 

Many of the approaches described in this blog are informed by our experience supporting clients through CGI Credit Studio for collections, though the challenges and considerations explored here are common across the industry. 

Simplify complex repossession management with a guided, task-based workflow

A repossession workflow typically involves many moving parts and applications, causing collectors to suffer from the “swivel chair” effect. The account resides in the collections system, then needs to be activated in a repossession management application. Vehicle values are often pulled from online resources, titles are verified in another online resource, and occasionally, external spreadsheet-based tools or calculators are used. 

The savvy collector stays focused when managing repossessions and doesn’t have to bounce between systems to know the full account context. A guided repossession workflow presents each step by assigning tasks. When the savvy collector claims a task, it states exactly what needs to be done. If information is needed from another source¹ (e.g., vehicle value, title information) or needs to be sent to another source1 (e.g., setting up an assignment with a vendor), the workflow automatically calls out to those applications when the savvy collector reaches that point in the process. 

When leveraging guided repossession workflows, the savvy collector can access all relevant account and repossession assignment information in a centralized location, reducing the “swivel chair” effect and improving repossession management.

Stay informed about repossession assignments in real time

When working in an environment where the collections system and repossession vendor system are not effectively integrated, collections repossession agents usually have two poor options: constantly check the vendor application for updates or rely on a batch integration that will push updates to the collections system the next day (at best), which runs the risk of missing out on critical updates as they occur. Neither approach is productive.  

The savvy collector always knows what is happening with a repossession assignment when working with a modern collections solution. Fully real-time solutions can be integrated with the repossession vendor’s application to enable a real-time exchange of data. This enables the savvy collector to streamline the following activities:

• Activate a new repossession assignment with a vendor
• Pass along critical location information to the vendor for an active assignment
• Close an assignment with a vendor due to customer payment
• Receive critical updates from the vendor (e.g., refusal to surrender, notice of repossessed vehicle, notice of damage or impound)

Real-time capabilities enable the savvy collector to stay on top of things and always have the most up-to-date information at their fingertips to make well-informed decisions. 

Manage repossession regulations and communications effectively

Repossessions are among the most heavily regulated processes in collections. Not only are there adjacent federal regulations to navigate, such as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and the bankruptcy stay, but also a multitude of state-level regulations to consider throughout the process. 

The savvy collector is always aware of regulations that affect part of the repossession process, either by being prompted to take an action or by being blocked from completing one. When vehicles are repossessed and a state-specific Notice of Intent to Sell letter is required, Strata Enterprise, the decision engine embedded in CGI Credit Studio for collections, helps determine the right letter to send. The savvy collector then knows how long to wait for that letter to expire, since a task is assigned at the right time. The savvy collector is also blocked or prompted to adhere to certain regulations along the way, such as:

• Preventing or escalating a new assignment when an account is already flagged for SCRA protection
• Prompting for additional SCRA validation at defined workflow steps
• Preventing assignment for an account in bankruptcy unless relief from the bankruptcy stay has been documented

Adding systematic control to these critical regulations provides an extra layer of coverage for the savvy collector. 

Modernize your repossession operations

Repossession management is often viewed as being too daunting a task to overhaul, which is why, in many cases, it is significantly less modernized. With repossession being such a critical piece to the collections bottom line, organizations cannot afford to be inefficient and decentralized. 

Discover how CGI Credit Studio for collections and its guided workflows and real-time capabilities can help centralize and modernize your repossession operations.

_{¹Requires proper API integration with applicable external or vendor source}