You know, the biggest lessons in leadership don’t always come when things go right—they often show up when everything is falling apart. This is one of those stories.
We were working on a high-stakes eCommerce platform for a
well-known automotive brand. The idea was exciting—customers should be able to
book their vehicles online, complete their KYC, choose insurance or finance,
add accessories, and make full payment, all from the comfort of their home. The
deadline? Six months. No extensions. The pressure was real.
On paper, everything looked sorted. But as we rolled
forward, chaos began. Legacy systems could not keep pace, UI partners missed
the business context, and cross-team dependencies slowed us down. Every day
brought a new fire to put out.
But somehow, through all the mess, we stayed together,
adjusted the plan, and kept moving.
And in the end?
We delivered. Not just a product—but belief.
Here is how it all happened.
The Grand Vision (and the Big Ask)
We had exactly six months to launch a complete end-to-end
vehicle booking platform.
This was a big deal for the brand—it was their first serious
move into digital. The idea was to give customers the power to book their vehicle
online, without stepping into a showroom.
Not just booking, but the full journey:
- Explore
models and variants
- Choose
a dealer and city
- Pay
a token amount
- Upload
KYC
- Choose
finance and insurance options
- Add
accessories
- And
make the final payment
Everything digital.
All live before the upcoming festive season.
Honestly, it was exciting. The plan was ambitious, but
doable—on paper. We divided the work across teams, built a detailed sprint
schedule, and kicked off the project full of energy.
But very quickly, the cracks started showing.
Where It All Started Breaking
1. Our Legacy ERP Became the Roadblock
The ERP system that powered the backend was owned by us—but
it was built years ago for dealer operations, not for real-time customer
transactions.
Everything—inventory, pricing, booking, dealer
assignment—was connected to this ERP. And it just wasn’t designed for the speed
and flexibility an eCommerce platform needed.
So while we were building sleek frontend screens and fast
workflows, the backend couldn’t keep up. APIs were taking time. Data wasn’t
syncing in real time. Small issues in ERP logic caused big disruptions in
frontend flows.
We had the keys, yes—but the vehicle wasn’t ready for the
highway.
2. UI Design Was Outsourced, and Misaligned
To speed up delivery, we had outsourced the UI/UX part to a
design agency. They were good—but they didn’t fully understand the automotive
flow or the limitations of our backend.
What looked beautiful in Figma didn’t always work in real
scenarios. For example, one screen assumed multiple payment gateways per
dealer. Another assumed customer data would be fetched instantly—which our ERP
couldn’t support.
Multiple iterations, back-and-forth discussions, and
corrections wasted a lot of precious time.
3. Too Much Scope, Too Little Time
Initially, we were supposed to deliver everything in
one go. Full journey. No compromises.
But by the end of the second month, it was clear—the
original plan wasn’t realistic.
We were burning time, the team was getting frustrated, and the confidence in
the project was dropping.
What We Did to Regain Control
Now comes the turning point.
Because when the plan started falling apart, we didn’t give up.
We adapted.
1. Broke the Delivery into Two Phases
We spoke with the business team and proposed a phased
approach:
- Phase
1 – Launch the Online Booking module: Customers can select a vehicle,
choose city & dealer, and pay a token amount online.
- Phase
2 – Roll out the Full Journey: KYC upload, insurance &
finance selection, add-ons, and complete payment.
This was a tough call—but it helped us build confidence,
test the waters, and deliver something usable on time.
2. Daily Stand-Ups with All Stakeholders
We set up a daily 30-minute sync with everyone:
backend team, UI vendor, QA, business, and ERP leads.
These were not just status calls. We focused on blockers.
No waiting till sprint reviews. If something was stuck, we unblocked it that
same day.
This simple step brought everyone onto the same page—and
built a sense of shared ownership.
3. Parallel Work and Realistic Scope
We created mock APIs so the frontend team could
continue while backend APIs were being finalized.
QA started testing flows module by module.
We involved the dealer network early for UAT and most importantly, we kept
trimming the fat—cutting unnecessary scope without compromising on customer
experience.
The Launch (and What It Meant)
We went live with Phase 1 just before the festive
season.
The system allowed:
- Model
and variant selection
- Dealer
and location-based booking
- ₹
token amount booking via secure payment gateway
That’s it. No flashy features. No complex flows.
But it worked. Smoothly. Reliably.
And the result?
- Thousands
of online bookings in the first few weeks
- Dealers
started treating online leads seriously
- The
business team regained confidence
A few weeks later, Phase 2 followed—this time with
more stability and smarter design:
- KYC
upload
- Insurance
& finance partner selection
- Accessories
and add-ons
- Final
payment gateway
The full digital journey, live and running.
What I Learnt (and What I’d Tell Anyone in This
Situation)
1. Your Plan is a Hypothesis, Not a Guarantee
Just because a timeline is approved on paper doesn’t mean
reality will follow it. Be ready to adapt.
2. You Can’t Rush Digital Maturity
Legacy systems have limitations. You can’t put a high-speed
customer journey on top of an old, slow backend without making adjustments.
3. Outsourcing Requires Alignment, Not Just Talent
The UI team was capable, but not aligned with our business
logic. You have to over-communicate when partners are involved.
4. MVP is Not a Compromise. It’s Strategy
Delivering something usable fast is better than waiting to
deliver something perfect. We needed wins, and MVP gave us that.
5. Project Delivery is About People, Not Just Timelines
During the lowest point, my team was burnt out. What they
needed wasn’t pressure—it was clarity, ownership, and belief that what we were
building mattered.
Final Thoughts
This wasn’t the smoothest project I’ve led—but it’s one that
will always stay close to my heart. We set out to build an eCommerce platform
for a traditional automotive brand, and in the process, ended up delivering far
more than just software. We delivered confidence—to the business, to the
customer, and most importantly, to ourselves. The plan may have fallen apart
multiple times—delays, system limitations, external dependencies—but the team
didn’t. We stayed resilient, adapted our approach, split the delivery into
manageable phases, and ensured something meaningful went live on time. The
transformation wasn’t just technical; it was cultural. For a legacy-driven
company to embrace digital at that scale was huge. And the fact that we pulled
it off, not perfectly, but effectively, is what makes me proud. Leadership,
I’ve learned, isn’t about things going as planned—it’s about holding the team
together and moving forward, even when they don’t.
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