Transparent and holistic payment process

The Wahl Group stands for tradition and modernity — for over 120 years, the name Wahl has been associated with mobility in Siegerland and beyond. As the world's oldest still existing BMW dealer and a RENAULT partner that has now existed for over 60 years, the Wahl Group can look back on impressive growth. It now sells over 25,000 BMW, MINI, ALPINA, RENAULT, DACIA, ALPINE, ŠKODA and FORD vehicles a year at 29 locations in NRW, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. Creating a holistic payment process

Creating a holistic payment process

The cooperation between Wahl-Group and bezahl.de started in January 2021. The decisive factor for the cooperation between the two companies is the holistic presentation of the payment process. “The special thing about bezahl.de is that it is not a normal payment solution, but holistic support for the processes in the car dealership — from payment to receivables management.”, explains Thomas Bruß, CIO/CDO of the Wahl Group. The typical challenges in practice, such as time-consuming inquiries about payment status and availability of accounting staff, especially in the evenings or on weekends, can be easily solved by bezahl.de. Thanks to the live payment status, Wahl-Group sellers can now competently provide information about customer payments received at any time of day without having to consult the accounting department. Which is also pleased with the transparent monitoring of the demands.

Positive feedback from employees for the digital introduction

In times of corona, the process of introducing a new system is a challenge: Employees from a wide range of areas must be trained and briefed. The Wahl-Group and bezahl.de were able to prove together that introductory measures such as training courses can also be implemented digitally and lead to success. In addition to digital training programs, the retail group has opted for internal training videos, which were well received by sales and scheduling employees. Mr. Bruss draws a positive assessment of the implementation process: “We have already received initial feedback from sellers who accept bezahl.de well, precisely because it does not entail any additional work for them, but is integrated into their normal sales tools. ” Thanks to full integration into the sales workstations SPS (BMW) and CarLiner (Renault), payment invitations can now be sent automatically from the same tool in which sellers plan their daily deliveries. There is maximum transparency.

Competent support from the bezahl.de team

Another success factor for the smooth start of the cooperation is communication with the bezahl.de team. Mr. Bruß is particularly impressed by the competent and personal support: “You can immediately tell that the bezahl.de team has experience in the car trade and knows our pain points and problems. I rate that as very positive. ” This applies both to preliminary support from the sales team and to actual project support, which always involved a technical contact person and a sales partner with extensive experience. Even after the successful start of the cooperation, 1:1 support from a personal contact person remains in place and thus ensures a positive working atmosphere.

Expansion to automotive service planned

Following the successful implementation in the automotive trade, the next step is for both companies to expand their cooperation to the service and after-sales sector. The Wahl Group records around 140,000 workshop visits a year and each is linked to a written invoice. As a result, the payment process, accounting, control and reminder systems are much more complex than in sales. ”Since we carry out significantly more processes in service, a tool that helps us understand the payment status and payment methods is even more important than in sales” affirms Thomas Bruß. Integrated receivables management in particular makes many downstream administrative and accounting processes easier there. In addition, bezahl.de smartkasse should play an essential role in simplifying back office processes. With the self-service terminal, Wahl Group customers will be able to pay their workshop bills contactlessly and cashless in the future. In addition to reduced waiting times and a faster collection process, bezahl.de ensures a clean flow of data into the retail group's cash register and accounting systems regardless of the payment method selected.