Now, the make side. Making something in financial services is different than in manufacturing. Our commercial finance business uses the Web to expedite underwriting loans for companies. Instead of using FedEx and fax to send 150 pages of information and documentation, everything is posted online. Modifications are made online, too, saving laborious and expensive checking and cross-checking, and error rates drop dramatically.
Customers can track their deals in real time.
Automation allows us to record, analyze and transmit information in real time, which frees up significant resources. Customers of the card-service business receive their bills and pay them online. The cost differential is more than 50 percent. On the commercial side, GE Capital Aviation Services, which leases jets to commercial airlines, has created a Web site for its clients. They manage financial information directly, and customer response problems and billing disputes have been virtually eliminated.