‘Management is all about managing in the short term, while developing plans for the long term’ – Jack Welch.

As someone who has worked in the motor finance industry in Ireland for almost three decades, and seen many developments, the one recurring theme over that period is change.

The nature of management is that it can sometimes force you into the trenches as you battle through the day to day or even quarterly challenges. Creating the space to put your head up and try to see beyond the horizon is imperative for the long-term success of a business. Because beyond that horizon there is one certainty – change is coming.

At Bluestone, we set up a new business in Ireland in 2014. Building a business from scratch was not without its challenges. Mistakes were made from which we learned lessons. And progress has followed. Since opening for business, Bluestone has financed in excess of €200 million of motor vehicles, largely for people such as first time borrowers and the self-employed who may have found it difficult to access motor finance.

Looking out to the horizon and beyond, technological developments will bring profound change to the motor industry – in the form of electrification and autonomous vehicles.

It is within this wider context that Bluestone is pleased to announce it has launched a new sales tool using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide a real-time, automated approvals process for motor dealers in over 600 dealerships across Ireland.

The new service uses algorithms that determine a customer’s credit suitability within seconds, replacing manual underwriting and enabling motor dealers to complete a sales transaction at a single meeting. Customers must meet Bluestone’s prudent affordability assessments to ensure the product is the right fit for the applicant.

Our new AI sales tool streamlines and makes more efficient the sales and approvals process, whilst ensuring we maintain a prudent approach to motor finance. The new technology means we can now provide an immediate decision on 30% of applications for motor finance. We aim to increase this to 40% of automated finance decisions in 2019.

In seeking to make progress for your business, embracing the possibilities of technological change seems a sensible course of action.

Donal Murphy
Managing Director