We designed several applications for Colmobil. One manages the workshop floor, and another provides a digital solution for managing trade-in vehicles using a visual 3D interface and a user-friendly graphical system for tracking faults.
Additionally, we designed the workshop floor management application, which allows all levels of staff — from mechanics to senior managers — to view the status of vehicles currently in the garage. This is achieved through aggregation of data such as urgency level, service duration, vehicle location in the workshop, and available technicians.
Attached is an article published in People and Computers about this project.
The application was implemented in the company’s importer garage and serves as a front-end interface for its ERP system.
It was developed using IBM’s Worklight tool.
To collect real-time data, touch screens adapted for industrial environments were installed on the workshop floor, allowing for data input; large LCD screens display employee performance; and on the customer side, up-to-date information is provided.
The project cost is estimated at tens of thousands of shekels.
Colmobil Group Launches Mobile App for Managing and Monitoring Work at the Importer’s Garage
Colmobil Group recently launched a mobile application for managing and monitoring operations at the importer’s garage. The project took six months to complete. While the financial scope was not officially disclosed, People and Computers has learned that it cost tens of thousands of shekels.
The application is used by dozens of work managers across the company’s garages. Colmobil’s development team received support from RealCommerce professionals and Blender Industrial Design Studio, which helped create a user-friendly and intuitive visual interface. The app was developed using IBM’s Worklight platform.
This is the first application of its kind in Israel’s automotive and garage market. It serves as a front-end interface for the company’s SAP-based ERP system, which has been in use at Colmobil for over three years.
Department managers at the garage, who have the application installed on their smartphones, can use it to access real-time data about vehicles being serviced in their department, track their progress, and identify special cases requiring attention. It also facilitates the assignment of mechanics to vehicles.
To collect real-time information, industrial-grade touchscreens were installed on the garage floor, enabling efficient data entry. Large LCD screens display performance metrics for employees and their compliance with various benchmarks. The same system also delivers updated information to customers in the waiting area, keeping them informed about the status of their vehicle’s service.
According to Gil Katz, Vice President of Business Technologies at Colmobil Group, “The project was born from a clear need to support field personnel in their daily tasks. Mechanics, team leaders, and department managers who participated in a think tank requested to make the data — which already existed in our IT systems — accessible to the people who actually need it, in the right format, at the right time, and in the right place.”
He added, “We realized that the solution was in a smartphone application. It was clear to us that this would be a much more complex undertaking than before and that we needed a platform that could address as many of the challenges as possible.”
To meet these needs, the team selected IBM’s Worklight — a mobile development environment created by an Israeli company later acquired by IBM. The system is capable of displaying the right data to each employee at the right time, with minimal input and a graphic-based interface.
Colmobil Group is the exclusive importer of private cars, commercial vehicles, trucks, and buses from brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Mitsubishi Motors, and Hyundai Motor. The group employs approximately 800 people across various locations and operates 87 service centers.
