Large Automotive Distributor

Company Background

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A leading automotive distributor in Latin America operates vehicle sales, parts distribution, and service centers across the region. Their core servicing platform—a decades-old VB.NET desktop application—was mission-critical for scheduling appointments, managing mechanic availability, ordering international parts, and tracking inventory.

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Challenge

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Over the years, the platform had evolved into a major constraint on growth. Built on outdated Windows libraries from the 1990s, it could not be updated or deployed to multiple locations without significant manual intervention. Much of the codebase was poorly understood, making any change risky. The database had grown increasingly complex, with redundant and overlapping data models, business logic embedded in stored procedures, and tight coupling with the VB Forms UI. Even small updates could unintentionally break unrelated parts of the system.

Leadership wanted to replace the legacy desktop application with a secure, cloud-native web platform that could eventually be white-labeled and offered as a SaaS product. However, without a clear understanding of the scale, cost, and risks involved, committing to a modernization effort felt like stepping into the unknown.

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Solution

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Stride applied its 100x modernization tooling to give the client unprecedented visibility into the inner workings of their system before any large-scale investment. The team began by tracing the application and database, surfacing hidden dependencies, identifying unused features, and mapping redundant data models. This work revealed exactly how different parts of the platform interacted and where the highest risks lay.

Stride also built a working prototype of a web-based architecture connected to the existing database, including a secure API layer to support the architectural move to a web application. Alongside this, the team developed automation to generate developer-ready Jira tickets with relevant code snippets and database context, showing how future work could be planned and executed more efficiently.

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Ultimately, the analysis made it clear that without addressing the flawed data model, modernization would simply carry forward existing limitations. By surfacing these risks early, Stride gave the client the clarity needed to pause, reassess, and plan a modernization effort built on a stronger foundation.

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Outcomes

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• Accelerated Discovery – Delivered deep system visibility in weeks instead of the year a manual process would require.
  
  
• Risk Reduction – Prevented potentially millions in wasted spend by exposing architectural flaws early.
  
  
• Clear Path Forward – Produced a working prototype while defining the foundational changes required for long-term success.
  
  

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