Carlins is a family owned business that specialises
in "Trade Only Auctions". The business was started in
1960 in the City of Melbourne by Arthur Carlin, who recognised the
need for an auto wholesaler to satisfy the stock requirements of
the retail motor industry. Carlins has become one of Australia's
leading auto wholesalers with auction houses around the country.
Challenge
Carlins needed a way to interact with their clients without them
having to attend each auction. The clients include both sellers
and purchasers of vehicles, and both parties required their needs
to be meet through an online secure portal. Furthermore, staff were
spending an excessive amount of time on the phone distributing various
pieces of information, all of which were being tracked in their
in-house database, and a way needed to be found to distribute this
information to clients securely, yet automatically.
Solution
Hopscotch developed an online live auction system, whereby vendors
could arrange for their vehicles to be collected at a pre-determined
location at a certain time, whilst specifying reserve prices and
vehicle information through the website, and entered directly into
the database. This meant that Carlins staff simply needed to compare
their database with vehicles as they arrived. Vendors could then
follow the progress of the auction online, and be advised which
cars had met their reserves, or which cars had outstanding offers.
Clients were then able to bid through a live online interface,
and set bidding limits on vehicles coming up in the auction or being
bid on in realtime. Bidders could view account information, plus
bidding history on any vehicles they have bid or placed offers on.
Website Address
www.carlins.com.au
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