Automotive Dealer Management System
About Project
Autoconnect is a central hub for automotive dealers and used car dealerships, bringing the entire vehicle trading process into one ecosystem. Dealers can manage inventory, discover and compare vehicles, connect with other dealerships, and buy or sell cars directly on the platform, while in-depth market analytics on pricing trends, demand and performance help them make smarter, data-driven decisions.
I joined after a previous design collaboration fell through, initially to redesign the landing page and a few additional views. That scope quickly grew into a full-scale product redesign, covering existing views and new features, and eventually led to transforming the client portal into a comprehensive dashboard with key metrics, price comparisons and market analytics.
Challenge
Designing without a reference point
Autoconnect brings trading, inventory and market analytics together in a way no single competitor does, so there were no established patterns to follow. The challenge was defining a structure from scratch, one that turned a large amount of market data into clear, actionable insights for dealers.
Research
Since there were no direct competitors, I looked at other industries with similar problems. Real estate platforms were the closest match. Apartment statistics pages show pricing trends, demand and comparisons for expensive assets in a way that’s easy to understand, which is very close to what Autoconnect needed for its market analytics.
On the inventory side, the most important insight came from how dealers actually work. Unlike private sellers, dealers manage dozens or even hundreds of vehicles at once, so every interaction had to scale. Bulk actions, fast filtering and clear status overviews became priorities, ensuring that managing a large inventory felt just as effortless as managing a single car.
Design
The platform is split into two parts, each built for a different mindset. The main page is where dealers browse cars, discover other dealerships and buy or sell. Here I followed the patterns people already know from car marketplaces and online stores: listings, filters and product pages, so the experience feels familiar from the first visit.
The dashboard is the advanced side of the platform, with vehicle statistics, fleet management and market insights. This is where dealers do their deeper work, so it’s designed for daily use: more information on screen, faster navigation and tools for handling many cars at once.
Keeping the two apart means the marketplace stays simple for quick browsing, while the dashboard can offer depth without making the rest of the product feel complicated.
We turned to Aksels after an unsuccessful collaboration with our first designer. He took over the project seamlessly and transformed it into a modern, light and stylish design. Working together was just as easy: Aksels was responsive to our feedback, quickly grasped our vision and elevated it with his own design sense. We’re truly grateful for the collaboration.
