A mandatory bottleneck: testing before every vehicle launch
Every vehicle model must pass mandatory testing at an approved track before it can be launched in the market. The government-owned automotive testing authority managing one of the country's premier testing facilities sits at a critical junction in the automotive supply chain — every OEM, from passenger vehicle manufacturers to two-wheeler companies, depends on access to its tracks to meet regulatory timelines. A delay in securing a test slot is a delay in the vehicle launch itself.
Despite this centrality, the facility's operations ran almost entirely on paper and telephone. OEM engineers calling to book test slots were placed on hold while staff consulted handwritten calendars. Track utilization was tracked on whiteboards that reflected what was planned, not what was actually in use. Billing was reconciled manually at month-end against usage logs that depended on track operators remembering to write down the right vehicle, the right time, and the right duration. Test report submission was paper-based and physically delivered.
The facility had no visibility into whether any given track was being used efficiently, no automated mechanism to confirm bookings to OEMs, and no audit trail for regulatory purposes beyond physical files. The initiative was to digitize every step of this process end-to-end.
The OEM-facing booking portal
The external portal, accessible to registered OEM accounts, replaces the phone-and-fax booking process entirely. Engineers log in, see a live availability calendar showing which tracks are open for which time slots, and submit booking requests with vehicle details, test type, and required duration. Confirmation is automatic on approval — no waiting for a callback, no ambiguity about whether a booking is secured.
The portal handles the full pre-test workflow:
- Browse available track slots by date, track type, and test category
- Submit booking requests with vehicle specifications and test documentation
- Receive automated confirmation with allocated slot details
- Upload vehicle test reports digitally post-completion
- View invoice history and outstanding payment status
OEM accounts are registered and verified by the authority's administrative team before gaining portal access. Each registered account can have multiple user profiles for different engineering teams, with booking histories and test records associated to the account level.
Track management: from whiteboards to live calendars
The internal operations dashboard gives track managers a real-time view of every track's current occupancy and upcoming bookings. Conflict detection prevents double-booking — if a track is already allocated for a time window, the system blocks any attempt to book it for an overlapping period, regardless of which user is making the request. Equipment and resource allocation (specific test instruments, personnel assignments) is managed within the same interface.
Track operators access a daily schedule view showing all confirmed bookings with vehicle details, test requirements, and OEM contact information. When a test session starts and ends, operators record this digitally — creating the timestamped usage record that feeds billing and the regulatory audit trail simultaneously.
Booking turnaround dropped from days — sometimes a week when multiple back-and-forths were needed — to minutes. OEM launch planning teams could now get a confirmed slot the same day they requested one.
Role-based access and billing automation
The system is structured around four distinct roles, each with access scoped to their operational responsibilities:
- OEM engineers — booking management, test schedules, invoice history, and document upload for their registered vehicles
- Track operators — daily booking view, session start/end recording, equipment status, and maintenance scheduling
- Finance team — invoice generation, payment tracking, outstanding balance reports, and billing reconciliation by OEM account
- Management — track utilization dashboards, revenue reports by period and track type, OEM activity summaries, and capacity planning data
Billing is automated based on track type, session duration, vehicle category, and applicable rate cards configured in the system. An invoice is generated at session close, delivered digitally to the OEM's registered contact, and tracked through payment confirmation. Manual billing reconciliation — previously a month-end task consuming significant finance team time — is replaced by a continuous, real-time record.
Regulatory compliance and audit trail
For a government facility conducting mandatory pre-launch testing, the completeness of records is not just operationally useful — it is a regulatory requirement. Every test conducted generates a digital record: OEM, vehicle model, test type, track assigned, session timestamps, operator on duty, and test report reference. These records are immutable once closed and searchable by any combination of parameters.
The digital record replaced boxes of physical files with an indexed, queryable database. Regulatory inquiries that previously required staff to manually search through archived binders can now be answered in seconds. The audit capability also serves the authority's own internal quality assurance processes, providing evidence for periodic reviews of track utilization efficiency and operator performance.