BUILDING A ROBUST AUTOMOTIVE E-COMMERCE PLATFORM

About Client

The company, a prominent player in the mobility technology sector within automotive, delivers a distinctive vehicle performance analysis program to its clients. Through this offering, the business empowers customers with profound industry insights, enabling them to enhance their automotive operations and maintain competitiveness.

Project background

Our client requested a platform to showcase their informational products and insights related to vehicles for their customers. The project involved integrating vehicle systems, models, and component databases into a platform that facilitates intuitive comparison of assets.

Additionally, the client utilized Salesforce Experience Cloud as part of their CRM strategy. Therefore, our secondary objective was to ensure that the automotive e-commerce platform aligns with the client’s digital experience platform requirements.

Business Problem

The enterprise faces challenges related to adapting to the digital transformation in the automotive industry. Traditional sales models are increasingly being supplemented or replaced by online channels, necessitating a robust e-commerce solution. Customers demand a more interactive and informative buying experience, which the current infrastructure fails to adequately provide. There is also a need to integrate diverse vehicle systems, models, and component databases into a unified platform for efficient asset comparison and decision-making.

Business Objective

• Our client needed a fresh automotive e-commerce platform to showcase their products and services. The platform aimed to deliver content to users in an intuitive and responsive interface.
• The platform needed to include a robust database that synchronized seamlessly with the client’s business assets, offering users a smart search capability.
• Ensuring the automotive e-commerce software met high standards of security, scalability, compliance with standards, and reliability was paramount.

Key Features

The automotive e-commerce platform includes several key features designed to optimize the customer experience and achieve business objectives:

• Vehicle Comparison Tool: Enables customers to compare various vehicle models based on specifications, pricing, and performance metrics.
• Integrated Database: Consolidates vehicle systems, models, and component databases to provide accurate and up-to-date information for informed decision-making.
• Personalized Recommendations: Utilizes customer data and preferences to offer personalized vehicle recommendations and promotions.
• Enhanced User Interface: Provides an intuitive and responsive interface that simplifies navigation and enhances user interaction.
• Secure Payment Gateway: Integrates a secure payment gateway to facilitate smooth and secure transactions for vehicle purchases and related services.
• CRM Integration: Seamlessly integrates with Salesforce Experience Cloud to enhance customer relationship management and digital experience platform capabilities.

Key Challenges

Throughout our partnership, we faced various challenges stemming from technical requirements and the scale of the client's enterprise. Due to the client's status as a large company, we adjusted our workflow to align with their internal decision-making processes. Additionally, the client adhered to an Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework, necessitating strict adherence to predefined goals with measurable outcomes.

To address these challenges, we implemented a strategy focused on delivering results, ensuring each feature was released according to schedule. This required assembling a dedicated team with a structured approach to development and documentation to meet project milestones promptly.

Our development team was tasked with several redesigns to align with the client's corporate style and branding guidelines. As a trusted provider of automotive websites, we prioritized compliance with established non-functional requirements throughout the process. During one of the redesign phases, we reevaluated the platform's data organization while preserving its integrity.

To enhance the platform's functionality and improve user experience, we integrated full-text search capabilities using MS SQL. This enhancement enabled users to efficiently locate products based on specific characteristics.

Zenesys Solutions

• We precisely planned the project, defining development stages and milestones for the client to track progress. We established communication methods and reporting frequencies, focusing on delivering compliant automotive e-commerce solutions.
• Our development team selected ASP.NET 6 and Angular 13 with Material Angular 12.2.13, Microsoft Azure for front-end and back-end application development. For infrastructure automation, we utilized Terraform, and SignalR libraries facilitated effective client-server communication. MS SQL was chosen to enable flexible product search by name and key characteristics.
• Integrating MS SharePoint and implementing file synchronization functionality resulted in an automotive e-commerce website that met the client’s expectations. Leveraging advanced technologies and our developers' expertise, we ensured seamless integration with the client’s framework.
• Zenesys implemented best practices in automotive retail software and provided comprehensive documentation detailing the product’s infrastructure logic. This approach ensured successful product adoption, with the client fully understanding its technological intricacies.

Results/Outcome

• A user-friendly vehicle performance analytics platform increased loyal user base by 65%.
• Integrating the platform seamlessly with the client’s CRM system reduced customer journey bottlenecks by 85%.
• Implementing an intuitive vehicle comparison platform enhanced search capabilities, resulting in a 25% increase in daily transactions.