Digitizing Deal Jackets: Intelligent Document Processing for Automotive Dealerships

Client Overview: Automotive Group Embraces Workflow Automation

Cavender Auto Group is a legacy automotive organization headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with a presence that spans eight dealerships and nearly 800 employees. With over 85 years in business, Cavender has built a strong reputation in the region for excellence in customer service and automotive sales. As the company continues to grow, it remains focused on technology that improves efficiency, reduces paperwork, and supports long-term scalability.

Amber, the CFO of Cavender Auto Group, oversees the financial health of the organization. Her responsibilities include financial reporting, cash management, treasury, and identifying strategic business opportunities. As Cavender scaled its operations, Amber recognized a need to modernize the group’s document management and eliminate inefficiencies tied to manual processes.

Challenges with Document Processing in Auto Dealerships

Before implementing Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), Cavender’s document workflows were largely manual. This increased the risk of errors, slowed down paperwork review, and diverted staff attention from higher-value work. This need aligned with Cavender’s larger goal of reducing paper-based workflows across departments.

What Documents Are Processed in a Dealership—and Why Compliance Matters

Before implementing Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), Cavender’s document workflows were largely manual. This increased the risk of errors, slowed down paperwork review, and diverted staff attention from higher-value work. This need aligned with Cavender’s larger goal of reducing paper-based workflows across departments.

What Documents Are Processed in a Dealership—and Why Compliance Matters

Auto dealerships manage thousands of documents each day, including buyer’s orders, credit applications, government forms (like Form 8300), and backend product agreements. These make up the funding packet submitted to lenders. Missing or inaccurate items can trigger stipulations (stips), lender callbacks, or even a re-contract—delaying funding and creating friction for both staff and customers.

For Cavender, this challenge is multiplied across eight dealership locations, making accuracy, consistency, and compliance even more critical to maintaining operational efficiency at scale.

DOCUmation’s IDP solution ensures that every deal jacket is complete, compliant, and securely stored—before it’s finalized and submitted for next-steps.

The DOCUmation Solution: Automation for Automotive Dealerships

Cavender’s partnership with DOCUmation began with a comprehensive Business Technology Assessment (BTA), which reiterated Amber’s interest in automating the review and validation of deal paperwork across the dealership network. Based on those findings, DOCUmation Business Consultants—working alongside Alan Peters, Director of Business Automation—recommended Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) as a tailored solution to ensure all required documentation, including signatures, backend product forms, lender paperwork, and regulatory data, was present and accurate.

DOCUmation worked closely with Cavender to test the system thoroughly before going live, ensuring it fit seamlessly into dealership workflows.

Results and Impact: Streamlining Document Workflows

Today, Cavender uses IDP to process documents tied to vehicle purchases, including customer deal packets and finance-related forms. The platform uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to read form fields, route data into internal systems, and flag incomplete or inconsistent records before they cause downstream issues. Digitizing these workflows also advanced Cavender’s sustainability goals by reducing paper dependence and physical storage needs.

Key benefits include:

• Ensures documents are complete, properly signed, and compliant before submission
• Speeds up processing and reduces funding delays by eliminating manual review
• Minimizes re-contracts, stips, and lender callbacks by catching errors early
• Frees up staff to focus on strategic, value-added tasks instead of mundane paperwork
• Surfaces workflow bottlenecks and tracks document volume across locations
• Standardizes document handling and compliance across all rooftops
• Improves audit readiness with centralized, organized digital records
  
  

Customer Experience Benefits

Implementing IDP hasn’t just improved internal operations—it’s also enhanced the customer experience at Cavender dealerships. By streamlining document workflows and eliminating delays, customers benefit from a smoother, more professional purchase process.

• Faster deal turnaround times mean less waiting in-store or for vehicle delivery
• Fewer errors and re-contracts create a more seamless buying experience and increase customer confidence
• Improved document accuracy ensures customers receive clean, compliant paperwork—reducing back-and-forth after the sale
• Digitized records make it easier to locate and share documents when customers request copies post-sale
• A more efficient process overall contributes to higher satisfaction scores and stronger long-term loyalty

A Scalable Document Management System for Auto Dealerships

DOCUmation’s IDP solution has helped Cavender Auto Group move closer to its paperless goals while streamlining operations across all eight dealerships. By automating document validation and giving leadership visibility into processing bottlenecks, the solution has shifted the team’s focus from manual tasks to strategic contributions.

According to Amber, DOCUmation didn’t just deliver a product—they became a strategic partner in the group’s digital transformation. They listened, tailored the solution to how the team operated, and ensured it worked seamlessly across locations.

DOCUmation’s technology has become a daily part of Cavender’s operations—supporting faster, more accurate document handling and helping the team stay focused on strategic growth.

To learn more about our IDP solutions click here.