The used vehicle market is a significant component of the online sales portfolio of our parent company, Volkswagen. Vandoo is an auction platform that we have developed for VGSG and it was one of our first projects in close co-creation with our clients.
What exactly does Vandoo do? And how did the co-creation concept prove itself within the project? We spoke to the Project Manager, Herbert Langegger.
Herbert, what is Vandoo all about?
Vandoo is a live auction platform for used cars. An auctioneer at the VGSG combines several vehicles in an auction catalogue and puts them up for sale. 20 to 30 bidders look at the vehicles on offer in advance and submit their bids during the auction.
Our task with Vandoo was to develop a new platform and to add features, such as interfaces and a cockpit for the auctioneer.
What can Vandoo do that the old system could not?
Previously, for example, the vehicles had to be added manually. We have integrated an interface from the inventory-managing system to the Vandoo auction to retrieve the vehicles automatically. Editing vehicle details and compiling auction catalogues is also a lot easier. The application is based on a technology stack from 2018 and uses responsive design. In a future version, we want to expand to a progressive web app.
Does “live auction” mean that bidders actually place their offers in real time?
It really happens live. Bids can either be submitted via a button or an automatic bidding agent. The auctioneer can intervene during the auction, for example, by reducing the starting price for a vehicle which is attracting little interest.
An interface automatically retrieves vehicle data for the auction platform.
Vandoo was a pioneer for the Porsche Informatik co-creation concept. Can you tell us more about this?
Herbert on co-creation: “The greatest confirmation was the client’s feedback that we had created exactly the product they were looking for.”
Vandoo was one of the first Porsche Informatik projects to be co-created. During the process, we gained a great deal of experience with regard to what it really means to start a project without a finished detailed concept. We actually started out with paper and pencil and charted the registration process as a flow diagram. The more details came up, the more complex it became.
We considered the internal logic of each process step and then designed the initial GUI prototypes for each page. We were then able to start programming the individual processes.
We set up a backlog for the ongoing change requests, which naturally arise during the co-creation process. Here, before going live, we discussed with our client on a point-by-point basis whether a particular feature still absolutely had to appear on the platform or if it might be allowed to stay in the backlog. This is one of the more challenging aspects of co-creation, but we always managed to achieve an agreement.
The development took place over a period of about 14 months. During this time, we met with the clients online on a weekly basis in co-creation meetings and presented the progress as it stood. We discussed matters process-by-process and incorporated the observations. Vandoo went live for the first time in July 2019, and we successfully launched the first auctions shortly thereafter.
What is the next step following this successful deployment?
The application is continuously being improved. The last major milestone was reached this summer when we included the integration of external stocks into the auctions.
We are currently working on improvements to the GUI, user maintenance and the auction itself.
