NCC product chief hire puts dealer workflow in focus. NCC has named Joe Kacala chief product officer, adding a former AutoFi and Xtime executive during what Auto Remarketing described as an active 45-day stretch for the company. NCC's public positioning centers on credit, compliance, desking, CRM and fraud-prevention tools for automotive retailers. That combination makes the hire more than a personnel note. For a GM, used car manager or F&I director, the operational question is not whether NCC has a new product leader. It is whether the company can make several high-friction parts of the store work more cleanly together: deal structure, customer communication, lender-ready information, compliance review and risk detection. Those are the places where margin gets protected, deals get delayed or customers quietly disappear. Why this move matters at the store level. The appointment follows two other May moves noted by Auto Remarketing: NCC's launch of an Equifax-powered tool aimed at identifying chargeback risk and the hiring of a new chief financial officer. Taken together, the activity suggests NCC is trying to strengthen both its product direction and its business discipline at the same time. The data does not fully prove this yet, but I'd argue the more important signal is workflow consolidation. Dealers have spent the last several years adding tools to handle online leads, digital retailing, remote credit activity, identity checks, follow-up, compliance and F&I documentation. Many stores now have capable systems that still require too much rekeying, too many status checks and too many "who has this deal?" conversations. That is where a chief product officer can have real influence. A strong product leader does not just decide what features ship next. In a dealership software business, that role can shape how information moves from the first customer touch to the final funded deal, how exceptions are surfaced to managers and how much duplicate work gets pushed onto salespeople, BDC agents and F&I managers. The handoff problem dealers know too well. A retail deal rarely breaks because one person forgot one thing. More often, it slows down because five people each have a slightly different version of the deal in front of them. A salesperson may have one conversation logged in the CRM. A desk manager may structure the deal around a different assumption. F&I may discover a missing stipulation after the customer has already waited too long. Accounting may later flag a contract issue, and management may not see the pattern until chargebacks or unwind pressure start showing up. If NCC's recent activity leads to fewer of those handoffs, the dealer benefit is straightforward. Even saving a few minutes per deal can matter in a busy store, especially when the time saved belongs to managers who are also appraising trades, working lenders, solving heat cases and trying to keep the showroom moving. The larger win is not just speed. It is fewer avoidable surprises after the customer has mentally moved on. Fraud and chargeback visibility are becoming manager issues. The Equifax-powered chargeback-risk product mentioned in the Auto Remarketing report is also relevant because fraud prevention and chargeback exposure are no longer back-office-only concerns. They affect gross, lender relationships, CIT timing, CSI and staff confidence. A store that finds risk late is usually left choosing between a bad customer experience, a delayed delivery or a deal that should have been structured differently from the start. Earlier visibility is the practical goal. Dealers do not need more noise on every deal; they need clearer signals on the deals that deserve a second look before delivery, before funding and before the store's leverage is gone. If NCC can help retailers spot potential chargeback or fraud concerns closer to the beginning of the process, managers get more room to adjust the structure, ask better questions or slow down a risky delivery. That matters in used cars in particular. Inventory remains expensive, affordability is still pressuring buyers and many stores are working harder for each funded deal. A chargeback or preventable unwind can erase the profit from several cleaner transactions, especially when you add recon, sales compensation, floorplan time and management hours into the calculation. What dealers should watch next. Kacala's background at AutoFi and Xtime ties him to two areas dealers continue to scrutinize: digital retailing and fixed operations software. That mix is notable because both categories have forced dealers to think about customer experience beyond a single department. Digital retailing exposed gaps between online intent and showroom execution. Fixed ops software put more pressure on stores to communicate clearly, schedule efficiently and keep customers informed after the sale. For NCC, the test will be whether that experience turns into simpler daily work for dealership teams. Dealers should watch for product changes that reduce duplicate entry, make deal status easier to understand, tighten CRM follow-up after credit activity and give managers earlier warning when a transaction needs attention. Just as important, stores should ask whether any new product direction helps employees do their jobs faster without adding another screen to babysit. Vendor consolidation will probably remain part of the conversation. Many dealers are not looking to replace every system at once, but they are increasingly impatient with tools that only solve one narrow problem while creating another handoff. A vendor that can help connect credit, compliance, desking, follow-up and fraud awareness in a usable way has a stronger story than one selling another disconnected dashboard. Dealer takeaway. NCC's leadership move should be read as a workflow story, not just an executive announcement. The company is active in categories that sit directly in the path of profit protection: credit, compliance, desking, CRM and fraud prevention. If the new product leadership brings those pieces closer together in a practical way, dealers could see less friction between sales and F&I, better risk visibility and cleaner follow-up with customers. For now, the smart approach is to watch the next few releases and ask operational questions. Will this reduce manager touches? Will it catch risk earlier? Will it make the next step obvious to the employee handling the deal? Those answers will matter more to dealers than the title change itself. Ready to acquire more vehicles for less? Free for 30 days. No credit card. No contracts. Live in 10 minutes.

Turn transparency into trust and sales gains - Kevin Singerman & Joe St. John | AutoFi. By jasmine daniel january 28, 2026. In today's digitally-driven world, the traditional showroom sales process is struggling to meet modern customer expectations. On this special edition of Driving Solutions, AutoFi CEO and Co-founder Kevin Singerman and Brand Ambassador Joe St. John share how dealers can modernize the customer buying journey and build trust in a challenging market. Industry forecasts indicate that 2026 may be a tougher year, with flat to modest growth. Dealers will need to rethink engagement strategies to remain profitable. According to Singerman, the most important factor will be building trust with customers throughout the sales experience. The retail automotive industry has made strides with digital retailing to create more convenient processes. Approximately 92% of customers shop online before visiting a dealership, spending an average of 14-17 hours researching. Yet, nearly all (97%) purchases conclude in-store, highlighting that customers still value human connection for such a complicated and significant investment. "Connecting the online with the in-store experience is going to be the magic to truly elevate the industry to a much more modern, better, customer-centric experience that unlocks profitability." - Kevin Singerman This in-store transition is also where the most significant breakdown in the customer experience occurs, creating opportunity costs for dealers. Consumers frequently express frustration with back-and-forth negotiations and a lack of transparency - issues that quickly erode trust and hurt profitability. To address these pain points, AutoFi has introduced a customer-centric Showroom solution. The platform allows customers to build their own deals, adjusting terms and down payments to fit their budget - all within guardrails that protect dealer profits. The results are faster deals with fewer negotiations. Most customers can complete the process within 30 minutes or less. When customers feel empowered and see transparent pricing, it strengthens rapport, satisfaction and long-term retention. Dealers using AutoFi have reported higher profitability, with gross gains ranging from $300 to $500 per completed deal. Salespeople can engage more customers, while sales managers can shift from being tied to the desk to providing additional support on the showroom floor. "Customers aren't upset about time: they're upset about their time being wasted. They want the time they spend at the dealership to be valuable." - Joe St. John Customer experience metrics also improve. Buyers who complete deals through AutoFi leave fewer low-star reviews, more five-star reviews and are more likely to return to the dealership for future purchases. For dealerships looking to transform their showroom experience, adoption can seem intimidating. Resistance is common when staff face a radical shift in technology and processes. St. John emphasizes that organization-wide success starts from the top: dealers must recognize these changes as real and embrace them. Adoption is often easier than expected. AutoFi employs a hands-on change management team of former sales managers and GSMs. The team spends time at the dealership through the transition, demonstrating the platform in action. Seeing immediate, tangible results helps staff overcome hesitation and resistance. Dealerships that achieve the most transformational success with AutoFi combine accountability with a disciplined sales process. Teams that consistently follow structured procedures maximize the platform's impact. Affordability remains a key concern, with the average new vehicle exceeding $50,000. The challenge is helping customers find vehicles and payment options they can afford without sacrificing profitability. AutoFi addresses this by matching buyers with tailored vehicles and financial solutions, seamlessly integrating inventory and financing across online and in-store platforms. Dealers can engage customers via email, text, social media, and retargeting campaigns, while AI tools enable buyers to ask questions before connecting with a live agent. AutoFi will showcase its solutions at the 2026 NADA Show. St. John will host a panel with dealers from Preston Automotive, Oaks, Kia, and Riverhead Mazda who have seen significant growth using the platform. The session is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5, at 3:30 PM. To experience AutoFi firsthand at NADA, book a meeting here and visit their booth in the West Hall at #3323W.