Web and mobile car configurator connected with CRM and product information system

One of the most known brands in the automotive industry planned to structure and improve the sales process in the Polish dealership network. The Right Information was responsible for organizing information and configuring principles of management in one central location. Our company also developed an online car configurator compatible with CRM and the website.

The Challenge

For many years the Polish dealership network of the company has faced the problem of lack of up-to-date information about available configurations, current prices, and discounts. One central standard for the offer template did not exist, therefore dealers could have generated different documents. The process was complicated, and it required a lot of time to manually find the appropriate information and check availability of configurable elements. During this process, the dealers faced many different issues that motivated the company to structure the whole configuration and sales process.

The Solution

Right Information suggested a solution in the form of an online car configurator integrated with CRM. The configuration process is based on available products with its versions defined by configuration rules and exceptions. There was no application or source to manage this information in the company, so the platform had to be extended by the back-end application as the one centralized point of data.

The development and implementation of Right Information’s Product Information Management (PIM) system allowed management of:

• Basic information
• Photos and technical parameters
• Common elements of cars, such as the engine, drivetrain or transmission gear
• Equipment versions composed of common elements divided into categories
• Available color range with car visualization of each type of vehicle and version
• Accessories with prices in various categories like rims, packages, body, interior, etc.
• Vehicles by range, year, type and version consisting all of the above-mentioned components
• Available insurance, financing, and purchase methods, rules and exceptions in the configuration process

Finally, structured information and a centralized source of the data allowed us to develop the car configurator. Available not only internally for dealers, but also for external users, the application helped to configure an expected car and send the request or proposal to the chosen dealer.

The responsively designed web application allows quick and easy configuration of a car through the web browser using different devices like PC, tablet or smartphone. Every configuration made in the system is automatically saved in the database and available to find in the dealers’ CRM with a unique number. Thanks to the application, the same document can be opened in the system during the customer’s visit and let the dealer start the work. Users are assisted through the configuration which makes the process easy and efficient, even for a person who is not familiar with the company’s full offer. Not only is this a big advantage for the customers because they are able to configure the car by themselves, but also for the dealers because the sales force can quickly start working without complex training.

The Results

Our solutions have transformed internal and external sales processes from the automotive brand into a completely new approach. Customers are more engaged during the process and the dealers’ sales force can work more efficiently, reducing typical mistakes. Finally, the visual aspect is much better with common central standards for all documents.

The Right Information PIM system and the online car configurator have become a central point of data, with both dealers and customers having access, to updated information.

• The offer generation process is now 25 times more effective.
• The sales of car accessories increased and it has become an easier process.
• There is a common standard for document templates across the dealership network.
• A reduced number of mistakes during the configuration process.
• The dealership network now operates on the same, updated system, so they all have access to current configurations, prices, and discounts.
• There is now the possibility to analyze all configurations to plan cars sales strategies.
• The sales process is integrated with CRM as a well-designed workflow.