ETE REMAN implemented fast & reliable VIN Scanning in just 1 week
Goal
ETE REMAN sought a real-time OCR solution to empower customers to directly scan VINs from work orders or vehicles, streamlining the ordering process for automatic transmissions and various automotive components.
Challenge
A critical requirement was to deliver real-time feedback to ensure that the VIN matched the observed vehicle. Beyond merely scanning the data, the solution had to be able to identify and filter out characters and patterns to ensure a reliable check-digit calculation to verify the VIN.
Solution
The Scanbot VIN Scanner SDK proved pivotal in driving customer adoption of the newly released app. It has greatly simplified lookups of price and delivery information for transmissions. This, in turn, empowered ETE REMAN’s B2B customers to quote prices to their end consumers promptly.
Key Results
Easy to use and accurate
VIN lookups from the shop floor, no office visit needed
Fast integration
Saved weeks of internal development time
Fast and reliable
High customer satisfaction
ETE REMAN sought a real-time OCR solution they could seamlessly integrate into their existing codebase. The preference here was for a real-time scanning solution that didn’t necessitate an API callout for each potential scan. This project’s core objective was to empower customers to directly scan VINs (Vehicle Identification Numbers) from work orders or vehicles. This streamlines the ordering process for automatic transmissions and various automotive components, making it swift and efficient.
The company was aware of customers’ frustration over the app’s inability to simply scan VINs from work orders or vehicles. However, ETE REMAN’s team deemed it impractical to develop an OCR scanner from the ground up. This prompted the search for a solution. A critical requirement was to deliver real-time feedback to ensure that the VIN matched the observed vehicle. Although a snapshot-and-processing approach was considered, it was judged less effective and interactive. Moreover, the project required more than basic OCR capabilities. Beyond merely scanning the data, the solution had to be able to identify and filter out characters and patterns to ensure a reliable check-digit calculation to verify the VIN.
A trial of the Scanbot SDK demonstrated its impressive reliability and ease of integration. The comprehensive service offerings and the convenient communication via a dedicated Slack channel greatly facilitated the adoption. The SDK enabled ETE REMAN to add a significant feature to the app. Thanks to the first-class user experience, the VIN scanner was pivotal in driving customer adoption of the newly released app. It has greatly simplified lookups of price and delivery information for transmissions. This, in turn, empowered ETE REMAN’s B2B customers to quote prices to their end consumers promptly. Ultimately, the Scanbot SDK enabled them to sell with incredible speed and ease, boosting customer satisfaction.
Without the Scanbot SDK, we wouldn’t have been able to offer the robust, real-time VIN-scanning features the project required. We don’t have the time and resources needed to build such functionality from scratch, and the other options we considered were not nearly as integrated and didn’t provide the real-time scanning that was part of our feature necessities.
The SDK was easy to integrate, and though we had some initial configuration challenges, the support we received from Scanbot’s team helped to eliminate the problems and was critical to getting us up and running.
We can now offer our prospective customers a highly functional scanning functionality, and providing it was among the easiest parts of the project.
The process before the Scanbot SDK
If there was no VIN barcode, which is common on older models, the customer had to manually enter the 17-digit VIN into the app. This is especially tricky with work gloves on.
The app identified the vehicle model/year based on the entered VIN.
Using the vehicle details, the app retrieved transmission pricing and availability.
The customer generated a quote for the transmission.
Without the app, customers had to write down the VIN, call ETE REMAN, or use the web-based catalog to find transmission pricing and availability.
The process with the Scanbot SDK
The user opens the app and selects “Scan a VIN.” If no VIN barcode is present, the user can choose “Scan a VIN directly.”
The user points their camera at the VIN. Once the scan is complete, the app displays the matching vehicle model.
Now, the user can explore the parts available for that vehicle. The app shows the part descriptions, the shop’s purchasing price, and the delivery timeframe.
With this information, they can generate a quote for their customer.
After finalizing the selection, the user can confidently place the order.
With the Scanbot VIN Scanner SDK, ETE REMAN significantly improved the user experience and streamlined the process of finding automatic transmission pricing and availability.
