Case study
Autobuy — Real-Time Vehicle Auction Platform
Strategic focus · Replace insecure manual bidding with real-time auditability
Real-time vehicle auction platform for US, Armenia, and Georgia — replacing browser-extension bidding and manual office workflows with a secure, auditable, branch-isolated system.
Role
Lead Product Manager
Duration
9 months
Team
1 Senior Developer · 1 QA
Markets
US · Armenia · Georgia
2,000+
Vehicles Won
400+
Active Dealers
100K+
Monthly Transactions
~3 hrs
Saved Daily
Problem Statement
What was broken — and what we built instead.
Before Autobuy
- Dealers bidding via browser extension with zero security — account passwords exposed via browser console
- Bids disappearing with no trace — no one in the office knew who placed which bid
- Office manager calling dealers manually to confirm every bid
- Car purchase status updated manually in spreadsheets
- Import cost calculated by visiting external websites one by one
- No branch isolation — all dealers shared one environment
After Autobuy
- Full audit log — every bid timestamped, tracked by user, branch, and role
- Real-time bid status: "Your bid accepted" / "You've been outbid" — zero missed bids
- Automated status updates — purchase lifecycle tracked from bid → won → payment → delivery
- Integrated import calculator (Armenia & Georgia) — price calculated inside platform instantly
- Branch isolation — each branch operates independently with its own data
- Anti-fraud module — DevTools detection, auto-suspension, incident logging
Discovery
Research & Discovery
Office team interviews, operational pain mapping, and a full legacy system audit — before defining the rebuild scope.
Key finding
The hardest decision: migration mid-project
During active development, the underlying browser technology was causing performance issues and instability. I made the call to migrate from the old browser framework to Electron — a complete technology switch mid-project. This also triggered a full visual redesign of the application. The risk was significant: it added scope and could delay delivery. The outcome: a faster, stable platform with no performance bottlenecks — the right long-term decision.
Delivery
Execution & Artifacts
Product Screens
Admin Panel & Dealer Management
Admin Panel — 5-Tier RBAC, Branch Management, Dealer Profiles
Central admin layer for branch-level control, role governance, and dealer profiles.
Purchased Cars — Status Tracking, Payment Status, Delivery Stages
End-to-end vehicle lifecycle from win through payment, logistics, and delivery milestones.
Real-Time Bid Log — Per-Lot History, Amounts, Users, Timestamps
Auditable bid stream with per-lot history, amounts, user identity, and timestamps.
Dealer Portal — Multi-Platform Access (Copart, IAAI, Manheim, ACV), Calculator Tools
Unified auction workspace across Copart, IAAI, Manheim, and ACV with in-platform tools.
Feature Spotlight
Integrated Import Calculator
Before Autobuy, dealers had to visit 3–4 external websites to estimate import costs. I designed an integrated calculator covering Armenia and Georgia — with real-time exchange rates, customs tax, VAT, environmental fees, transport, and insurance — all inside the platform.
Armenia Import Calculator — Real-Time Exchange Rates, Full Cost Breakdown
Landed-cost calculation with live FX, customs, VAT, environmental fees, transport, and insurance.
Import Calculator — Full Landed Cost Summary
Vehicle price, auction fee, transport, import tax, and environmental fees combined into one decision view.
Mobile Application
Dealer Mobile App
Dealers needed access on the go. I defined requirements and managed delivery of the mobile app — giving dealers full visibility into bid limits, active bids, purchase history, and direct auction platform access.
Dashboard — Bid Limits, Active Bids, Balance
At-a-glance bid limits, active bids, purchase limit, and account balance.
My Bids — Real-Time Tracking per Auction
Per-auction bid tracking with filters for active, won, and lost lots.
Browse Auctions — Copart, IAAI, Manheim, ACV
Direct access to Copart, IAAI, Manheim, ACV, and regional auction channels.
Architecture Decision
5-Tier RBAC with Branch Isolation
One of the core product decisions: how to structure permissions so that multiple branches can operate independently, while Super Admin retains full visibility. Each branch is completely isolated — agents in Branch A cannot see Branch B's data, bids, or finances.
Super Admin
Full platform control
Branch
Isolated environment
Manager
Branch oversight
Dealer
Bid & purchase
Sub-dealer
Limited access
- Hidden fee/margin controls — only visible to authorized dealer roles, never exposed publicly
- Prepaid bidding system — dealers bid against pre-loaded balance, preventing unauthorized bids
- Balance management per dealer — tracked independently with full transaction history
Core Features Delivered
What I Built
Isolated Session Architecture
Multiple dealers bidding simultaneously from one auction account — each session fully isolated, real-time status updates via WebSocket
Anti-Fraud Module
Auto DevTools detection, session suspension on first offense, permanent ban on second, full incident log (IP, location, action) in Super Admin dashboard
Multi-Platform API Integration
Copart, IAAI, Manheim, ACV — unified under one interface with account switching and regional flag display
Full Bid Audit Log
Every bid timestamped and attributed — user, branch, role, amount. Zero missed bids. Replaced manual phone confirmation entirely
Vehicle History Integration
Carfax and AutoCheck APIs integrated directly — dealers check vehicle history without leaving the platform
Import Calculator (AM/GE)
Real-time customs, tax, transport, and insurance calculator for Armenia and Georgia markets — built via rapid MVP prototyping
Product management proof
Backlog Ownership — 73 Tasks
My role
What I owned vs what I delegated
My Ownership
- Full product discovery and feature definition
- System architecture and logic design
- All 73 backlog tasks — written, prioritized, assigned
- Stakeholder communication and progress reporting
- QA process oversight and UAT
- Sprint planning and Agile facilitation
- Technology migration decision (Electron framework)
- Anti-fraud system design and specification
Team Execution
- 1 Senior Developer — full-stack implementation
- 1 QA Engineer — test execution against my specs
- Development work executed from my technical specifications
- No designer on this project — UI decisions made collaboratively with dev
Outcomes
Impact & Metrics
Approach
- Defined product architecture, backlog (73 tasks), and delivery across a 9-month lifecycle.
- Designed 5-tier RBAC with branch isolation and full bid auditability (user, role, branch, timestamp).
- Shipped real-time dealer and admin workflows, purchase lifecycle tracking, and integrated import calculators.
- Led mid-project migration to Electron after performance and stability issues in the prior stack.
Outcomes
- Full audit log — every bid timestamped and attributed; manual phone confirmation eliminated.
- Real-time bid status (“accepted” / “outbid”) so dealers miss zero bids.
- Automated purchase lifecycle from bid → won → payment → delivery.
- Integrated Armenia & Georgia import calculator inside the platform.
- Branch isolation — each branch operates independently with its own data.
- Anti-fraud module — DevTools detection, auto-suspension, and incident logging.
Skills demonstrated
PM competencies proven in this project
Product Roadmap
73-task backlog, 9-month lifecycle
Stakeholder Mgmt
US/Armenia/Georgia clients
Agile/Scrum
Sprint planning, backlog ownership
API Integration
Copart, IAAI, Manheim, ACV, Carfax
Technical Documentation
Full system specs authored
QA/UAT
QA process oversight end-to-end
WebSocket / Real-Time
Session isolation architecture
MVP Development
Georgian calculator rapid prototype
Security Design
Anti-fraud, RBAC, session control
Cross-Functional Leadership
Dev + QA + Stakeholders
Prioritization
Feature scoping & trade-offs
Product-Market Fit
400+ dealers, 2,000+ vehicles won
Platform Capabilities