The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) has announced that its 2016 Operations and Technology Excellence Award will go to two companies: LEAF Commercial Capital, a previous winner in this category, and National Leasing.

The winners were selected by a subcommittee of ELFA members and will be showcased during ELFA’s Operations and Technology Conference, which is being held in Baltimore September 12-14 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor.

“Both LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc. and National Leasing took on the difficult challenge of modernizing and transforming legacy business processes and technology to establish a firm foundation for continued growth in an ever-changing business environment,” said Andrew Cotter, EVP, CIO, Somerset Capital Group, and subcommittee chair for the award. “Both winners are inspiring examples of the innovative spirit of the award.”

National Leasing is recognized for creating National Leasing Interactive (NLi), an online equipment financing system that brings financing to equipment dealers’ fingertips, making it easier, faster and more convenient to quote equipment financing to customers. Using the online quoting system, equipment dealers can generate financing quotes in seconds and instantly pull portfolio reports on all financing customers anytime, anywhere from the convenience of a desktop or mobile device. This personalized and customizable web tool, which was developed by a cross-functional team, eliminates most of the onboarding and training required for equipment dealers.

LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc. is recognized for creating a next-generation marketing automation and sales insight solution. The new system increases marketing and sales efficiency and conversions by intelligently and automatically prioritizing leads using Big Data and predictive analytics techniques. It displays optimized lead intelligence and prescriptive next actions to salespeople, reducing guesswork and allowing them to focus more tightly on converting leads. The solution integrates best-in-class third-party applications with LEAF’s existing cloud CRM and is designed to easily accommodate technological improvements as they come online.

The Operations and Technology Excellence Award identifies and recognizes equipment leasing and finance companies that have demonstrated best practices in developing and implementing innovative uses of technology or creative business processes to improve operations, enhance customer interactions, enter new markets and build overall ROI. The program is designed to bring the backroom to the foreground, spotlighting the best in the industry as an example for others.

“ELFA is pleased to highlight these award-winning initiatives, which serve as a model for the innovative use of technology in the equipment finance industry,” said ELFA president and CEO Ralph Petta. “We congratulate both companies for their cutting-edge solutions.”