Overview

Our team joined a project to transform the digital retailing experience for a premium automotive brand. With a dual focus on end users and dealers, we aimed to redefine digital car sales by addressing critical challenges on both sides. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies and crafting user-centric solutions, we elevated the digital ecosystem to improve engagement, streamline operations, and boost sales outcomes across the board.

Challenges

This project involved tackling distinct challenges tied to the evolving needs of digital retailing in automotive, covering both end users and dealers.

End User Challenges

  • Cumbersome Purchase Process: The digital car sales platform posed obstacles to users, resulting in low conversion rates as potential buyers dropped off mid-journey.
  • Lack of Key Functionalities: The platform fell short of providing consumer-friendly features that align with modern digital retailing standards.

Dealer Challenges

  • Fragmented Systems: Existing tools lacked cohesion, creating inefficiencies in inventory management, data synchronization, and overall workflows.
  • Outdated Infrastructure: The complexity and limitations of legacy systems made it difficult for dealers to meet operational demands effectively.

Solutions Delivered

1. Enhancing Digital Car Sales for End Users

We overhauled the customer-facing platform to prioritize seamless, user-friendly digital retailing experiences. This encompassed key advancements such as:

  • Streamlined Checkout Flows: A fully reimagined purchase and reservation process allowed users to reserve vehicles and complete transactions more efficiently.
  • Integrated Financing Tools: Loan calculators provided within the platform enabled users to explore and compare financing options conveniently.
  • Third-Party Data Integrations: Features such as used-vehicle history data ensured better insights and transparency for consumers shopping online.

2. Revolutionizing Dealer Operations

Our dealer-focused solutions targeted operational efficiency and accuracy within the digital car sales ecosystem. Key enhancements included:

  • Real-Time Inventory Management: Dealers gained access to live updates on inventory availability, as well as production and delivery timelines.
  • Enhanced Listing Tools: Synchronization and optimization ensured that vehicle listings were up-to-date and included enticing, accurate information across platforms.
  • Workflow Automation: Tools like event history tracking and workflow orchestration provided a more efficient way to manage key processes such as vehicle tracking and status reporting.

3. Scalable Infrastructure for Digital Retailing

We upgraded legacy systems with modern cloud-based solutions designed to meet the demands of digital retailing in automotive. Using AWS tools such as Glue, Athena, and Step Functions, we enabled seamless scalability, improved error-tracing capabilities, and ensured reliability even under high data loads.

Integrative Approach

A unified strategy was vital to the success of this project. By addressing the distinct needs of both end users and dealers, we delivered a cohesive and future-ready ecosystem for digital retailing in automotive. For end users, the focus was on enhancing their online shopping experience, providing confidence and convenience in the digital car sales process. For dealers, the new tools empowered them to operate more efficiently, manage inventory effectively, and deliver optimized listings that better appealed to customers.

Results Achieved

End User Outcomes

End User Outcomes

  • Improved Online Sales Performance: The reimagined checkout flow and added functionalities boosted transaction completion rates.
  • Enhanced Engagement: The more robust platform attracted a broader audience and improved user satisfaction.
Dealer Outcomes

Dealer Outcomes

  • Streamlined Processes: Operational bottlenecks were removed, allowing dealers to manage their workflows and data more efficiently.
  • Optimized Listings: Synchronization features increased the quality and accuracy of vehicle listings, driving better customer interest.
System-Wide Benefits

System-Wide Benefits

  • Scalability: The cloud-based infrastructure upgrades ensured long-term reliability and adaptability for digital retailing demands.
  • Stability and Security: Improved architecture minimized downtime, offering a consistent and secure system for all stakeholders.

Summary

This project highlights the potential of innovation-driven strategies in addressing the needs of digital retailing in automotive. By unifying end-user and dealer-centered solutions within a scalable, high-performance ecosystem, we successfully enhanced the digital car sales process. From creating a seamless purchasing experience for consumers to empowering dealers with advanced tools, this case study demonstrates how technology can transform the landscape of the automotive industry’s online retailing efforts.

Testimonials

What our partners say about us

Hicron’s contributions have been vital in making our product ready for commercialization. Their commitment to excellence, innovative solutions, and flexible approach were key factors in our successful collaboration.
I wholeheartedly recommend Hicron to any organization seeking a strategic long-term partnership, reliable and skilled partner for their technological needs.

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Günther Kalka
Managing Director, tantum sana GmbH

After carefully evaluating suppliers, we decided to try a new approach and start working with a near-shore software house. Cooperation with Hicron Software House was something different, and it turned out to be a great success that brought added value to our company.

With HICRON’s creative ideas and fresh perspective, we reached a new level of our core platform and achieved our business goals.

Many thanks for what you did so far; we are looking forward to more in future!

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Jan-Henrik Schulze
Head of Industrial Lines Development at HDI Group

Hicron is a partner who has provided excellent software development services. Their talented software engineers have a strong focus on collaboration and quality. They have helped us in achieving our goals across our cloud platforms at a good pace, without compromising on the quality of our services. Our partnership is professional and solution-focused!

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Phil Scott
Director of Software Delivery at NBS

The IT system supporting the work of retail outlets is the foundation of our business. The ability to optimize and adapt it to the needs of all entities in the PSA Group is of strategic importance and we consider it a step into the future. This project is a huge challenge: not only for us in terms of organization, but also for our partners – including Hicron – in terms of adapting the system to the needs and business models of PSA. Cooperation with Hicron consultants, taking into account their competences in the field of programming and processes specific to the automotive sector, gave us many reasons to be satisfied.

 

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Peter Windhöfel
IT Director At PSA Group Germany

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