Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive is a global leader in the auto industry, changing how the world buys, sells, owns, and uses vehicles. The brief was a six-week discovery: research the in-lane auto auction market and deliver a proof-of-concept design. It doubled as a trial. If it went well, the next step was a full contract to build the in-lane auction app and redesign Cox's existing customer portals.

I flew to Dallas to experience an auto auction first hand and talk with the buyers and dealers working it. After speaking with eight potential users, the market split cleanly in two: buyers who arrive prepared, having researched the cars beforehand, and buyers who do no research and show up the day of the auction ready to buy.

The difference between the two groups was research, so the concept was built around it: lean on existing data, and make new data easy to capture. That put the VIN scanner at the front of the app. In lane, about to bid, a buyer scans the car's VIN with their phone and immediately sees its full data and condition reports, or their own notes and assessment if they researched the car before the auction.

Feedback on the prototype was overwhelmingly positive. Buyers found it light and simple, yet complete enough to make a buying decision on the spot.

At the end of the six weeks, Cox was pleased with the work and signed a seven-figure contract extension to keep working with us.