A custom ERP software application for an ADAS company

Client

Our client Globcom, a company from the automotive industry, is operating prototypes and modified series of cars from the customer at their request to safely, legally, and responsibly collect test data for Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) and Autonomous Vehicle development.

Over 200 employees work in teams and conduct test drives and legally collect test data around the world according to GDPR regulations.

The context

It was the beginning of 2020, and all the news about an unseen pandemic & COVID-19 only started to spread across Europe when our client addressed us with a request to build a custom web application (ERP application) that would allow them to gain control and transparency over people and operations.

They needed to solve the following business tasks:

• Scale the business and sign new contracts,
• Streamline and automate internal business processes,
• Reduce operational costs

Challenge

Our client was faced with the challenge of managing human resources in their company.

Management in Excel spreadsheets, communication spread all over multiple channels WhatsApp, Viber, and Messenger, required a lot of time for processing and always with the risk of having erroneous data.

The company was dealing with heavy operational and growth-locking difficulties:

• Impossibility to take new contracts and expand the company. The demand for their services was high, but they could not sign new contracts due to inefficient processes and poor people management processes. 
• Managing people and processes using multiple tools and spreadsheets. Communicating and collecting information using WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber, etc; Using Excel for reporting;
• Lack of control & transparency over people and teams. Staff planning difficulty; impossibility to validate business receipts and expenses; lots of manual work involved. 
• Time wasted on collecting and processing documents. This resulted in many people managing the processes, delays in financial reporting, and no real-time view of company data for decision making

They have reached the moment when the team has grown considerably and there is a need to automate the entire management process.

Solution

As usual, we started the discovery phase with an in-depth analysis of the business, company services, internal business processes, market, competition, and short ad long-term business strategy. As a result, we gathered a minimum amount of information that was just enough to get the process started. 

The first step was understanding the business goals of our client. They needed:

• To unlock business scalability through automation
• Sign new contracts with other companies in the automotive industry
• Optimize operational costs
• Gain real-time visibility over company numbers for the decision-making process

For illustration purposes, we will describe our working process with the client through three main stages.

Stage 1. Product Discovery & Design

Objectives: Analyse processes (visits, workshops); Define key requirements; Select the tech stack; Design prototypes, Define the implementation team componence.
Team: Product Owner (Client), Product Manager, UX/UI Designer, Lead Engineer.
Timeframe: 4 Sprints of 2 weeks.
Outcomes: Defined key requirements, System architecture, tech-stack selected, clickable prototypes.

Stage 2. Iterative Product Development with Agile

Objectives: Product increments delivery in sprints according to SCRUM/Agile
Team: Product Owner (Client), Scrum Master, Front-End Engineer, Back-End Engineer.
Timeframe: 24 Sprints of 2 weeks.
Outcomes: Working software application ready to use in the 3rd Sprint.

Step 3. Deployment, Monitoring & Soft Improvements

Objectives: Monitor the application & optimizations
Team: Product Owner (Client), Scrum Master, Front-End Engineer, Back-End Engineer.
Timeframe: 6 Sprints of 2 weeks. On-going at request.
Outcomes: Performant, fast-loading ERP application, new features.

Source: Scrum.org

Working with Scrum, an Agile development framework, we iteratively built the software application and tested it continuously with the company's real users. 

Finally, we delivered the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for human resource management with the help of which all management processes of projects, teams, tours, and employees were fully automated, so that decision-making processes can be taken as quickly as possible based on real-time data provided by the software. 

Result

We developed software that makes the management process more easy, accessible, clear for all users, and most important in real-time.  The ERP system is now the main point of reference for everything that's happening in the firm, and for all employees, projects, and teams' centralized data. 

In addition, employees provide daily reports on working hours, based on which payroll reports are generated and measured performance indicators. Thanks to ERP statistics, the company board can quickly make decisions to develop and optimize resources.  

We helped our clients achieve important results:

• A newly signed contract with The Largest Automotive Group in Europe, thanks to the ERP app in place
• Operational staff reduction, the saving amount estimated to ±50k EUR/year
• Faster decision-making process, thanks to real-time data provided by the ERP software
• Positive ROI in 12 months.

Are you interested to learn more about how we can help you achieve the same results and drive revenue through high-quality custom ERP development services? Contact us!