AUTO1 Group optimizes workshop operations across Europe with INFORM
AUTO1 Group, Europe’s leading digital automotive platform for buying and selling used cars, continues to expand its internal production network for vehicle reconditioning. After successfully optimizing yard operations, AUTO1 Group now relies on INFORM Workshop Management to optimize workflows within its production centers and support scalable, high-quality refurbishment across Europe.
Challenge
AUTO1 Group operates ten internal production centers across Europe, refurbishing used cars for its retail brand Autohero. At full capacity, these centers can process up to 179,900 vehicles per year. Each vehicle differs in make, model, age, condition, and required repair scope - making workshop planning highly complex.
Key challenges included:
- High variability in refurbishment requirements per vehicle
- Difficulties estimating repair times and resource needs
- Frequent schedule changes due to unexpected findings
- Need for transparency across workstations, personnel, and tasks
- Scaling productivity while maintaining quality and short lead times
To sustain growth, AUTO1 needed a solution that could dynamically plan and re-plan workshop schedules in real time, across multiple locations.
Solution
Building on the successful rollout of INFORM Yard Management, AUTO1 Group expanded its collaboration with INFORM to include Workshop Management across all production centers.
The solution enables:
- Real-time visibility of who is working on which vehicle, task, and workstation
- Intelligent scheduling and sequencing of workshop tasks
- Automatic adjustment of optimized schedules when disruptions occur
- Resource-aware planning that considers skills, workstations, and parts
- Standardized yet flexible workflows across multiple production sites
By integrating workshop optimization with existing yard transparency, AUTO1 created an end-to-end optimized production environment for used-car refurbishment.
Results
With INFORM Workshop Management in place, AUTO1 Group achieved clear operational improvements:
- Improved transparency across all workshop processes
- More stable and reliable production schedules
- Higher utilization of workshop resources and workstations
- Faster reaction to unplanned changes in refurbishment processes
- Productivity improvements of up to 20% based on comparable INFORM projects
- Scalable setup supporting rollout to all production centers
The solution supports AUTO1’s goal of preparing vehicles efficiently while ensuring consistently high quality for customers.
The Yard Management Software has helped to improve our processes, giving us transparency of all vehicles at our sites at all times. It is therefore only logical to take the next step with INFORM. We expect similar improvements in the production centers by using the Workshop Optimization System.
Future Outlook
AUTO1 Group continues to expand and standardize its production footprint across Europe. With INFORM Workshop Management, the company has established a scalable foundation to further increase throughput, improve planning accuracy, and continuously optimize refurbishment processes as volumes and complexity grow.
Conclusion
AUTO1 Group’s collaboration with INFORM has significantly enhanced its vehicle refurbishment processes, ensuring efficient, high-quality service across its European production centers. By leveraging advanced digital solutions, AUTO1 Group continues to lead the used car market, providing exceptional value to customers and partners.
Dennis Feddern
Senior Vice President Vehicle Logistics
