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Peer exchange accelerates ROI in automotive finance - Insights from the autumn German customer forum

Leaders from automotive finance gathered for a focused Customer Forum featuring two hands-on workshops — Modules & APIs and Decision Support Platform. The sessions surfaced practical, peer-tested approaches to modernize without disruption and to strengthen audit-ready decisioning. Themes include patterns for automotive finance APIs and lowrisk leasing migrations.
Author
Sofico
Categories
SOFICO
Tagged
Customer Forum
Published
17/10/2025

Why peer exchange matters now

Release cadences accelerate, regulatory expectations rise, and teams must modernize without disrupting live portfolios. In this context, structured peer time outperforms oneway presentations. At the Autumn Germany Customer Forum, workshops set the tone: practitioners compared integration choices in Modules & APIs and explored governance needs around the Decision Support Platform. Moderated roundtables built on those sessions, helping IT and business leaders validate approaches, avoid rework, and define next steps they can execute. 

What attendees valued

  • Benchmarking with peers who run similar migrations and release processes. 
  • Translating architecture into business impact, not just technical detail. 
  • Short, hands-on formats that surface patterns and pitfalls early.

Two themes leaders can apply

1. Integration without disruption (Modules & APIs)

Modernization succeeds when integration patterns match the leasing lifecycle. Leaders emphasized framing work around end-to-end activities—quote → contract → vehicle ordering—so mixed teams deliver outcomes, not just endpoints. In practice, peers highlighted: 

  • Coexistence and “strangler” patterns to phase in new capabilities while legacy front ends remain stable.
  • Sandbox-first trials to de-risk integrations and shorten feedback loops.
  • Impact-based release notes—what changes do to downstream processes, not only technical deltas—so upgrade windows stay predictable. The result? Clearer handoffs, fewer surprises during rollout, and quicker movement from proof-of-concept to production.

2. Transparent, auditable decisioning (Decision Support Platform)

Credit, residual values, and collections rely on decisions teams can explain and govern. SOFICO’s Decision Support Platform surfaced repeatedly in discussions as a way to operationalize this discipline without slowing delivery. Discussions focused on: 

  • Policy versioning and traceability so teams can reconstruct how decisions were made.
  • Scenario testing to stress-test credit and portfolio assumptions before changes go live.
  • Portable governance across product, risk, and IT—enough structure to satisfy audit, not so much that delivery slows. The result? Faster approvals, fewer audit escalations, and more confidence when adjusting strategies midcycle. 
” I already said we should have more regular exchanges. This event proved that once more. “
CIO, premium OEM finance

Keep learning with peers

The signal is clear: compact, practitioner-led exchanges help leaders move faster with less risk. If you work in automotive finance or leasing and want to benchmark approaches to integration and decision support—including practical applications of SOFICO’s Decision Support Platform. Join us at an upcoming session – we’ll be in touch!