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PROSPECTUS
SUMMARY
We have developed a comprehensive
business-to-business software application that will provide the auto
glass industry with seamless insurance claim, parts order processing
and instant video-claims approval via the Internet. Currently, we
offer a fully integrated e-commerce claims processing and management
software that reduces the average cost to process an auto glass
insurance claim by as much as 65%.
Our software incorporates all the
functionality required to successfully conduct e-commerce on the
Internet from the subscriber's browser. Initially, we hope to be
able to provide our system to over 1,600 auto glass retail and
wholesale stores through a proposed joint venture agreement with the
Independent Glass Association (the "IGA") and its buying
consortium AmeriGlass Inc.
We are currently negotiating with
the IGA to sign a letter of intent for a joint venture agreement
whereby we will provide our system to over 1,600 IGA independent
retail glass stores. The IGA will provide us with their industry
expertise and specific functional requirements for our software as
well as introductions to various insurance companies. We expect to
provide our system to the IGA members free of charge and we will
absorb the development costs specific to the IGA's functional
requirements. We anticipate the letter of intent will be complete
before August 30, 2000 with the development of our system completed
before the end of year 2000.
Approximately eleven million
windshields are replaced each year in the United States alone, at a
cost of over $4.8 billion per year and insurance companies pay a $15
to $50 processing fee per claim to network call centers. The auto
glass industry and the associated auto glass insurers have all
expressed a need for an online claims processing system that is
significantly more cost effective than the existing system.
Speedeclaim was incorporated under
the laws of the State of Nevada on March 14, 2000. Our offices are
located at 1066 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C.,Canada V6E
2X3.
RISK FACTORS
We are a recently organized company
and have no significant operating history or operating revenues. In
order to be successful, we must contract with insurance claim
companies to generate transaction fees, attract a significant number
of users to the website and database delivered through our website
and generate significant e-commerce revenues.
We have a short operating history
upon which you can judge our prospects.
We are a recently organized company
and have no significant operating history or operating revenues. In
order to be successful, we must contract with insurance claim
companies to generate transaction fees, attract a significant number
of users to the website and database delivered through our website
and generate significant e-commerce revenues.
Specifically, as an early stage
entity in the rapidly evolving market for Internet services, we will
face numerous risks and uncertainties…
The market for Internet
business-to-business commerce software and services is relatively
new, intensely competitive, quickly evolving and subject to rapid
technological change. We expect competition will increase in the
future.
Our competitors include: in-house
custom solutions built by a national glass chain's information
technology group; and products and components offered by companies
such as GTS, IBS, Quest, PPG Lynx and Mitchell.
If we do not partner with the IGA,
our chances for success will be severely diminished.
Our business model is dependent on
acceptance and the use of our system by auto glass retail and
wholesale stores and the insurance companies. We are currently in
the process of negotiating an agreement with the IGA to implement
our system. If we are unsuccessful in achieving such a partnership,
it will be difficult for us to obtain subscribers for our system.
Each glass vendor must have
Internet access.
Our business model assumes that the
retail glass vendor has access to the Internet. Notwithstanding the
fact that we will provide free access to the system, the system only
works if the user has a computer and video capability. We do not
intend to give away the computer hardware necessary to use the
system.
DESCRIPTION OF
BUSINESS
Incorporated on March 14, 2000, we
are a development stage corporation. We are in the process of
developing a comprehensive business to business software application
that will provide the auto glass industry with seamless insurance
claim, parts order processing and instant video-claims approval via
the Internet. Currently, we offer a fully integrated e-commerce
claims processing and management software that reduces the average
cost to process an auto glass
insurance claim by as much as 65%.
Our software incorporates all the
functionality required to successfully conduct e-commerce on the
Internet from the subscriber's browser. Initially, we hope to be
able to provide our system to over 1600 auto glass retail and
wholesale stores through a proposed joint venture agreement with the
IGA and its buying consortium AmeriGlass Inc.
Approximately eleven million
windshields are replaced each year in the United States alone, at a
cost of over $4.8 billion per year and insurance companies pay a $15
to $50 processing fee per claim to network call centers. The auto
glass industry and the associated auto glass insurers have all
expressed a need for an online claims processing system that is
significantly more cost effective than the existing system.
We have developed a revolutionary
Internet based software and database application that addresses the
certain problems inherent in the property and casualty industry.
Our system utilizes the latest
Internet communications technology and online claims processing
databases and is the first user-pay auto glass claims processing and
management software to offer instant, online claims processing and
parts ordering, including live video, directly from the auto glass
retail store for instant claims approval by the insurance companies.
Our network is accessible wherever the Internet is available,
there's no download required because it runs from an Internet
browser. (Microsoft(R) Internet Explorer or Netscape(R)). Each glass
vendor will have equal access to the entire glass replacement
market, creating a greater ability for independents to compete with
the large networks.
Unlike current point of sale and
parts directory software that only provide invoicing and reporting
features, we provide each area of the industry with a single,
comprehensive Internet application located at our head office. Our
system links the insurance companies to the IGA's AmeriGlass
industry buying consortium, provides "live" video and data
services and provides e-commerce claims processing using our secure
network. Our software is based on `distributed client server
principles' providing the auto glass retail and wholesale stores
with free access to the industry's only dynamic, online
comprehensive auto glass and parts database and claims processing
system.
Prices, products and availability
can be accessed in minutes via a single, online database. We believe
that our system provides reliable, simultaneous access for 15,000
auto glass retail and wholesale stores (users) and additional users
can be added with the integration of additional interfaces.
Secure Online
Payment
We employ proprietary, secure,
online payment and credit card processing as well as comprehensive
online customer service, thereby providing a safe and effective way
for retail stores to complete online payment and claims processing
transactions. We will participate in transaction fees from claims
processing and the sale of all glass product originating through our
network.
To replace a windshield under our
model a simple process for both the auto glass retail store and the
insurance company is followed.
- 1. The consumer drives directly
to his preferred (or nearest) auto glass store.
- 2. The auto glass store uses
speedeclaim.com to provide the insurance company with live video
approval of the glass insurance claim.
- 3. The retail store replaces the
glass and processes the insurance claim using the
speedeclaim.com system.
- 4. The insurance company pays
the company $7 for processing the claim and reimburses the
retail store via a wire transfer with in 48 hours.
Through a proposed joint venture
agreement with the IGA (currently being negotiated) over 1,600
independent auto glass retail stores will have the capability to use
the speedeclaim.com system within our first year of operations.
Through the power of leading edge technology such as Internet search
engine listings and viral marketing, in conjunction with a
comprehensive media campaign including, e-trade and printed trade
journals, we will aggressively
target every potential business-to-business auto glass retail and
wholesale store possible.
Our system will
generate revenues based on the following revenue streams:
- Transaction fees from each claim
processed of $7.00 per transaction paid by the insurance
company.
- Transaction fees of 1% of each
glass order, to a maximum of $2.00 per transaction, through the
AmeriGlass consortium.
- Credit card processing fees of
1.0% of each transaction though the CyberSource Corporation
merchant services.
- Web advertising revenues.
- Web hosting fees from auto glass
store web sites.
Our initial target market is the
U.S. auto glass retail and wholesale stores as well as the auto
glass insurance companies. We will provide the auto glass stores
with free access to our system and each insurance company will pay
us $7.00 to process each claim.
Industry Overview
The Internet is a rapidly growing
global computer network for collecting and exchanging information,
communicating, and conducting business. The growth of this computer
network is driven by inexpensive web access, inexpensive website
production costs, and businesses wishing to capitalize on the
potential revenues which may result from effective advertising.
The property and casualty insurance
industry is experiencing runaway claims processing and litigation
costs. Industry research indicates that the property and casualty
insurance industry spends over $70 billion annually on inefficient
claims processing techniques of which $6 billion is related to auto
glass claims. The Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel has
determined that Internet technology has matured to the point where
`it is time to determine and establish ways and means of adopting
and leveraging Internet standards and technologies to address
directly the problems of claims processing, litigation
inefficiencies and runaway costs'.
Frederick Jennings, (Harvard
economist) recently identified this problem as a result of "the
networks developing their programs based on a faulty economic model
of market power and not efficiency". In the IGA
January/February 2000 newsletter, IGA President Donovan Trana also
stated "Over the past 8-plus years, administrative costs have
risen dramatically in all phases of the glass handling process.
These costs have eroded the glass dealer's profit while increasing
complexity and decreasing efficiency. The panacea of a streamlined
glass-claims handling system has actually evolved into a bloated,
confusing, inefficient and costly system. The insurance companies
are not truly saving any money, and there hasn't been a profitable
network developed yet"!
At the present time the independent
glass stores have no option but to purchase costly point of sales
software applications from dominant industry suppliers. And as a
result their market share and profits continue to decrease as they
compete against large networks and "claim steering"
tactics.
As an example, to replace a
windshield under the current auto glass industry model, a cumbersome
process for both the auto glass retail store and the insurance
company must be followed.
- 1. The consumer must first
contact his insurance agent to notify them of his need to
replace his windshield.
- 2. The agent then passes the
consumer to a call center.
- 3. The consumer completes a
telephone insurance claim form and is directed to an auto glass
retail store by the call center.
- 4. The auto glass store
schedules the consumer and checks available glass inventory
using a monopolized parts system that every auto glass
wholesaler and manufacture must use.
- 5. The consumer pays the
deductible amount (to the retail store) and his windshield is
replaced.
- 6. The retail store incurs all
expenses required to replace the windshield.
- 7. The retail store completes
the insurance claim form and either faxes or mails it to a
designated call center for processing.
- 8. The call center processes the
insurance claim for a $15 - $50 processing fee paid by the
insurance company.
- 9. The insurance company mails
payment to the retail store.
The consumer's windshield is
replaced in a few days from the date he first contacted his
insurance agent. However the insurance company may not reimburse the
retail store for as much 90 days after the windshield was replaced.
This is due to the inherent inefficiencies of using call centers to
process over $6 billion in auto glass insurance claims per year with
a paper trail that involves at least 4 different parties before the
retail store gets paid.
Our target market is the auto glass
wholesale and retail store and the associated auto glass insurers
that want to process insurance claims effortlessly, at significantly
reduced rates and with immediate payment. Approximately 11 million
windshields are replaced each year in the United States alone, at a
cost of over $4.8 billion per year, however, our system is capable
of servicing the worldwide insurance glass claims processing
requirements.
We have identified a specific
market on which to concentrate its sales activities. The short-term
plan is to provide our system to the members of the IGA free of
charge across North America. The IGA currently has 1,600 independent
glass store members, and with the introduction of our system as the
IGA's online billing and buying group system of choice, the goal is
to increase membership to 2,500 during the next two years.
For these businesses, our system is
expected to provide the only turn-key solution for real time claims
processing and parts ordering via the Internet.
Our target market will also include
the auto glass wholesale level of multi-tiered sales organizations.
These organizations will be able to energize their wholesale level
sales by getting online and providing more complete product
information, delivered more effectively and less expensively, to
their internal and external customers. An extensive public relations
campaign, conducted by one of the world's largest public relations
organizations and
controlled by our in-house experts, will manage this assignment.
Employing our business-to-business
system will allow these stores to process claims and purchase
product with greater ease and efficiency and enable them to achieve
a broader cost reduction. And our management tools will make there
store much more effective. Most of these businesses already know
that the Internet can provide up-to-the-minute product cost and
availability to information from supplier channels while providing
marketing information to their customers.
Every business has a product that
current supplier channels fail to promote properly or whose reach is
limited by the current distribution network. With our system, the
Internet will be the primary medium by which these businesses will
be able to grow their revenue base and lower their sales and
customer service costs.
If the glass product can be
purchased online, over the telephone or through a catalog (if the
product is too complicated for telephone sales), we hope to be able
to provide the answer.
We hope to strengthen customer
loyalty because online interaction can actually result in closer
ties to a business' customers, based on a deeper understanding of
their needs and a potential for greater frequency of contact. We
hope to provide faster time-to-market and allows a quicker response
time to market changes.
The Internet supply channel is
entirely in the control of the purchasing company and it can
literally be changed as rapidly and as dramatically as needed and in
real-time. And because the channel is a virtual one, all of these
applications can be implemented without having to re-train
personnel.
Business-to-Business
Overview
By the end of 1999, Cisco Systems
reported $1 billion per year in on-line orders. Similarly, PC
Warehouse is generating $3 million in sales per day from its
Website. And Dell Computer reports $1 million in sales per day.
Business-to-business commerce is
thriving on the Internet. The successes are real and the returns are
measurable. Companies are reinventing relationships with their
customers and making it easier for customers to do business by
reducing the cost of doing business via their existing channels.
Their field sales people, channel partners and large account
customers can make inquiries and post orders, filling an important
need in a company's supply chain
management strategy. We will use uses the Internet to make more
complete product information available to an infinitely broader
audience.
Manufacturers will use the web to
compete directly with their existing bricks-and-mortar distribution
channels.
Distribution companies with large
inventories can use speedeclaim.com to present a depth of product
not practical in paper-based catalogs. These companies
realize that intranet/extranet based commerce is a good first step
to full retail e-commerce whenever they, and their customers, are
ready. Large wholesalers can use speedeclaim.com to offer online
ordering to their business accounts, reducing costs while increasing
service levels and building customer loyalty.
The Internet has made room for an
entirely new class of business-to-business product sales. Virtual
companies are springing up to service their new customer types whose
primary commonality is their connection to the web. Traditional
notions of "business-to-business trading channel" are
being dramatically revised by new ways of identifying and targeting
customers based on their associations,
affiliations, interests, buying habits and demographics.
The most obvious characteristic of
a virtual store is its lack of a physical presence in the industry
it serves (its lack of bricks and mortar). The revolutionary aspects
are the ability to reach target customers anywhere, such as the auto
glass retail store as well as the insurance companies, and to
identify those customers based on characteristics that a business is
specifically set up to serve.
We are ideally positioned to
service the auto glass insurance industry. Wholesale businesses will
typically offer a large depth of product and speedeclaim.com
technology was designed, from the ground up, eliminating the
wholesaler's need for additional computer systems and information
technology departments by out-sourcing their technology needs to us.
Our objective is to become one of
the Internet's leading Internet applications supplier for the auto
glass industry in the following areas:
- Claims processing;
- Parts ordering;
- Real time (live) claims
approval; and
- Online dynamic auto glass parts
identification and pricing database.
We hope to utilize the marketing
channels of our proposed joint venture partner, the IGA to ensure
that our system is in the majority of auto glass retail stores
across North America within the next 5 years. The arrangement with
our joint venture partner calls for a share of revenues generated
from claims processing and part ordering whereby we will pay the IGA
$1.00 for every transaction. Additionally, we will utilize
web-crawler technology to update the online glass database to create
the single largest database of it's kind available online
Since its inception, the founders
have spent approximately 2 years in product development, defined in
its operational and marketing requirements and completed the
third-stage product development. The founders also established
operational databases which demonstrate all of the major features
and benefits of our system. The executive staff was also hired
during this period and a joint venture agreement was entered into
with the IGA. |