| Written by Christian Aadal
Table of contents:
- Why is vehicle customization an essential part of selling a car?
- How is the customization of millions of cars possible?
- The tasks in a Vehicle Processing Centre
- Asset Agent and Engarage to solve the customization maze in Vehicle Processing Centres
- FAQ
- Takeaway
- Glossary
Why is vehicle customization an essential part of selling a car?
Vehicle customization has become one of the defining characteristics of today’s automotive industry, shaping how cars are manufactured, transported, and ultimately delivered to buyers. At its core, customization is about far more than choosing a paint colour or adding decorative trim. It reflects the modern consumer’s expectation that a vehicle should not just be a means of transportation but an extension of personal identity, lifestyle, and functionality. In practice, this means that virtually every element of a car, from its drivetrain and software features to its seating configuration and digital connectivity, can be tailored before it ever leaves the factory floor. What was once a niche luxury option is now an essential expectation across nearly every segment of the market, from compact cars to high-end SUVs.
The demand for customization stems from a fundamental shift in how people perceive mobility. For decades, vehicles were largely standardized products, differentiated only by a limited set of trim levels and optional extras. Today’s consumers approach car buying with the assumption that they can select a configuration that matches their specific needs, whether that means an electric drivetrain tuned for efficiency, advanced driver assistance systems for safety, or infotainment packages that integrate seamlessly with digital lives. In an era when consumers are accustomed to personalizing everything from their smartphones to their streaming playlists, the idea of a one-size-fits-all automobile feels outdated. Buyers want to know that the car they are investing in has been built with them, not just for them.
Manufacturers have responded by opening up a wide spectrum of configurable elements. Some buyers focus on performance: they want engines with a certain output, suspension systems adjusted for their terrain, or braking systems suited for high-intensity driving. Others prioritize interior choices, such as premium materials, seat layouts that accommodate families or work needs, or climate systems optimized for different geographies. Increasingly, customization extends into the software that governs the vehicle’s intelligence, including the ability to activate or deactivate digital services, adjust navigation tools, or even subscribe to functions such as enhanced cruise control. The “bits and bytes” of customization are as central as the “nuts and bolts,” reflecting how vehicles are now both machines and digital platforms.
This appetite for customization is not just about indulgence. It also ties to broader social, economic, and environmental factors. Electric vehicle buyers, for example, want to choose battery capacities that align with their driving habits, balancing cost, range, and charging convenience. Fleet operators need vehicles configured with specific telematics or tracking technologies to optimize logistics. In many markets, safety requirements and regulations also drive consumers to select particular features, whether mandatory or voluntary. All of these variations underscore how deeply customization is woven into the act of buying and owning a car in the 21st century.
The result is that customization is no longer a peripheral feature of the car industry but a core element that influences the entire chain of production and distribution. Cars cannot simply be built en masse and shipped to lots in the hope that buyers will accept them as-is. Instead, the industry has evolved around the premise that every vehicle is, to some degree, unique before it reaches its owner. This has transformed how automakers plan manufacturing lines, how suppliers deliver parts, and how logistics providers manage the movement of finished vehicles. Customization is therefore not just a consumer desire—it is a structural reality that defines modern carmaking.
How is the customization of millions of cars possible?
The path of vehicle customization does not end once an order is placed; it is woven through nearly every stage of the automotive value chain. From the factory floor to regional processing centers, from the showroom to the aftermarket, the car remains open to personalization. Each step introduces different opportunities, and together they form a layered system that ensures buyers receive a product that feels uniquely theirs.
It begins in the factories, where the most consequential decisions are made. A car’s identity—whether it is powered by a combustion engine, a hybrid system, or a fully electric drivetrain—is fixed here, along with the architecture that supports it. Assembly lines determine structural details such as chassis layout, suspension systems, braking components, and seating configurations. Paint colors, upholstery, and dashboard designs are also locked in, since these require large-scale production planning. Once the car rolls out of the plant, these choices are irreversible, making the factory the locus of customization that defines a vehicle’s core character.
After production, vehicles often pass through processing centers, particularly if they are destined for overseas markets. These hubs near ports or distribution points serve as the industry’s adjustment rooms, where cars are tailored to local regulations and preferences. Headlamps may be swapped to meet national standards, software updated to support regional navigation, or emission labels affixed for compliance. Beyond regulatory work, a vehicle processing center handles upgrades that sit between the scale of factory options and the intimacy of dealership extras: tow hitches, alternate wheels, or upgraded multimedia packages can be added before the car reaches its next destination. The centres act as a bridge, translating global production into local readiness.
Dealerships represent the most visible point of contact in the customization chain. By the time vehicles arrive, their fundamental structure and mid-level options are already in place, yet room remains for refinement. Buyers often add accessory packages such as roof racks, protective coatings, or premium audio systems. Dealerships can also install features like tinted windows or styling kits, offering a final round of tailoring that is as much psychological as practical. For many customers, the ability to make these last decisions reinforces the sense of agency in what is otherwise a mass-manufactured purchase.
The process does not end once the keys change hands. The aftermarket extends customization into the life of ownership, giving drivers the ability to adapt their cars as their needs and tastes evolve. Performance upgrades, new suspension systems, custom interiors, or digital retrofits like advanced infotainment modules ensure vehicles remain living products. For fleet owners, the aftermarket may mean adding telematics or safety systems long after delivery, proving that customization remains a continuous act rather than a single event.
Viewed across the chain, each stage carries its own responsibility: factories anchor the fundamentals, processing centres align vehicles with markets, dealerships provide the customer’s last word, and the aftermarket sustains personalization over time. Together, they demonstrate that in the car business, customization is not a feature bolted on at the end—it is a process threaded through the entire journey of production and delivery.
The tasks in a Vehicle Processing Centre
Managing the customization process in vehicle processing centres requires a tightly orchestrated combination of software and technology. Unlike the factory, where large-scale specifications are fixed, processing centres face the challenge of handling vehicles that are already built but still open to adaptation. Here, each car arriving from overseas or a domestic plant may carry a unique set of instructions, and ensuring that these instructions are carried out without error demands a digital infrastructure capable of tracking, monitoring, and documenting every step.
At the heart of this system is order management software that translates customer and dealership requests into actionable tasks. Each vehicle enters the processing centre with a digital identity, often tied to its vehicle identification number (VIN), which acts as the anchor for all subsequent work. The order management system assigns the required customization tasks to the vehicle, ensuring that no two cars are confused even when thousands of nearly identical units are stored side by side. This system does more than hold a checklist: it prioritizes jobs, sequences them efficiently, and integrates with inventory data to confirm that the correct parts and accessories are on hand before technicians begin work.
Tracking the vehicle’s location within the processing centre is equally critical. These facilities often cover vast areas, holding thousands of vehicles in lots that can span multiple hectares. Locating the right car quickly requires more than paper records or manual searches. Technologies such as RFID tags, GPS modules, or real-time locating systems can be paired with yard management software to provide live maps of vehicle positions. With this digital overview, managers and technicians know precisely where each car is parked, how it is moving through the facility, and when it is scheduled for work. The ability to locate and retrieve vehicles efficiently reduces bottlenecks and ensures that customization tasks begin on time.
Once the vehicle is in the workshop, technicians need tools to record the progress of each customization step. Mobile terminals or handheld scanners are often used to log completed work directly into the central system, updating the vehicle’s digital record in real time. If a tow hitch is installed, a software entry confirms not only that the task has been completed but also who performed it, at what time, and with which part. This creates an audit trail that guarantees accountability and helps resolve disputes should questions arise later in the supply chain. Integration with quality control systems further ensures that every modification is checked and approved before the vehicle is released from the centre.
Beyond execution, managers require visibility into the overall process. Dashboard software consolidates all vehicle-level updates into facility-wide views, showing how many cars are undergoing customization, which jobs are pending, and whether delays are emerging. Alerts can be generated when work stalls or when parts shortages threaten deadlines. Such oversight allows managers to reassign resources, balance workloads, and maintain throughput even under shifting demands.
Taken together, these layers of software and technology form the backbone of customization management in processing centres. Vehicles can be identified, located, customized, and documented with precision, while managers remain fully informed of progress. Without this digital infrastructure, the complexity of tailoring thousands of cars to individual specifications would be unmanageable. With it, customization becomes not just feasible but scalable, enabling the industry to deliver personalization at industrial volumes.
Asset Agent and Engarage to solve the customization maze in Vehicle Processing Centres
The Asset Agent system from Identec Solutions and the Engarage platform from POMEN form together a potent combo for managing the full software and hardware stack needed to run efficient, accurate vehicle customization in a Vehicle Processing Centre (VPC). These two systems dovetail nicely: Asset Agent handles yard-scale identification, tracking, and process visibility; Engarage manages work orders, parts/inventory, invoicing, and customer/order records.
Asset Agent provides the backbone of tracking and real-time visibility in the yard. Each vehicle that arrives at the VPC is registered by its VIN (vehicle identification number), either by scanning via a mobile app or by using a transponder placed on the vehicle. This digital identity anchors that vehicle throughout its stay in the yard. Asset Agent offers modules for registering incoming, locating the vehicle on site, registering its position dynamically (via GPS modules or the constantly transmitting Asset Agent transponders), and locating it among potentially thousands of vehicles.
Once identified and located, the vehicle’s individual customization requirements are logged in Asset Agent: which tasks must be done (tire change, washing, specific accessories, tow hitch, etc.), when they are scheduled, and which steps are already completed. Managers can track the live status of all vehicles under customization, spot bottlenecks, check readiness for transfer or delivery, and ensure that work flows properly. All customization steps done on the vehicle (servicing, detailing, installing parts) are documented, forming an audit trail. Asset Agent also helps manage the outbound side: when a vehicle is picked up for delivery, loaded into a transport, or similarly relocated.
On the other side, Engarage (POMEN) fills in many of the internal work-order, parts, invoicing, and workshop management needs that go beyond yard tracking. Engarage enables the creation of new work orders (quotations, bookings), manages inventory and spare parts stock, tracks parts usage, supplier integration, and automates the administrative side of workshop jobs. When a customization job requires parts or accessories, the system ensures their availability, registers orders, decrements inventory, and tracks costs. Invoices and payment records are managed, and the history of what was done to each vehicle is logged. There are also dashboards/crm tools for the status of orders, communication with customers or the dealership, and oversight of workshop capacity.
When put together, these two systems cover the core needs of an efficient customization workflow in a VPC. Asset Agent ensures every vehicle is correctly registered, continuously located, and all high-level status updates about its movement and customization tasks are visible to operators and managers. Engarage ensures that once a vehicle enters “customization mode,” all the school of internal work orders, parts flows, scheduling, costing, and documentation are handled cleanly. Any custom activity (e.g. changing wheels, installing accessories, mounting software modules, etc.) is recorded both from Asset Agent (for location/status / yard visibility) and from Engarage (for parts, labour, costs, and paperwork).
The synergy means fewer errors (vehicles lost in the yard, wrong parts installed, tasks missed), better throughput (knowing at any time which vehicles are ready or delayed), and more accurate reporting for management. Because both systems produce audit trails, VPC managers can monitor progress, identify chokepoints (waiting for parts, scheduling delays, staff capacity), and communicate reliably with dealers or customers. Together, Asset Agent + Engarage form a robust, end-to-end software + hardware solution that aligns with all the requirements you described: identification, tracking, task recording, progress monitoring, and managerial oversight.
FAQ Vehicle customization
What exactly does a Vehicle Processing Centre do in the customization process?
A Vehicle Processing Center acts as the middle ground between the factory and the dealership. While the factory builds the car with its structural and technical features, the VPC adapts it for local markets and customer requests before delivery. This can include installing accessories like tow hitches, swapping wheels, updating navigation systems, applying protective coatings, or ensuring the car meets regional safety and regulatory standards. Essentially, VPCs make sure that every vehicle is delivered not just as it rolled off the production line, but as the customer actually ordered it.
Why can’t all customization be done at the dealership?
Dealerships are well-suited for small, quick add-ons like branded floor mats or aftermarket sound systems, but they lack the scale and infrastructure for more complex or regulation-sensitive work. Customizations that involve larger parts, specialized tools, or compliance with regional requirements are handled more efficiently and consistently at VPCs. By centralizing these tasks in a facility designed for high-volume customization, manufacturers reduce the risk of errors, control quality, and ensure that every car arriving at a dealer is ready for immediate handover to the customer.
How do VPCs ensure each car receives the correct customization?
Every vehicle arriving at a VPC is digitally registered using its VIN, which serves as its identity throughout the process. Customization orders linked to that VIN are tracked in management systems that assign tasks, monitor progress, and confirm completion. Technologies like RFID tags, GPS, and real-time locating systems help staff quickly find vehicles in large yards. Work completed is recorded step by step, creating an audit trail that managers can review. This ensures that the right car receives the right work, and that it leaves the VPC meeting both customer expectations and manufacturer standards.
Takeaway
The future of vehicle customization depends on processes that are both efficient and quality assured. Automation and smart software provide the backbone, ensuring that every car is tracked, adapted, and delivered exactly as ordered. Systems such as Asset Agent and Engarage demonstrate how digital oversight and intelligent workflows reduce errors, speed up throughput, and maintain consistent standards. The result is a seamless customization chain where personalization is not a logistical burden but a proven, scalable process that matches modern consumer expectations while safeguarding operational excellence.
Delve deeper into one of our core topics: Car logistics
Glossary
A drivetrain is the system of components that delivers power from a vehicle’s engine or motor to its wheels, enabling motion. It typically includes the transmission, driveshafts, differentials, axles, and in electric vehicles, electric motors and reduction gears. The drivetrain is distinct from the engine itself—it transmits rather than generates power. Its configuration (front-wheel, rear-wheel, all-wheel, or four-wheel drive) affects performance, handling, and efficiency. (3)
References:
(1) Asset Agent - https://www.identecsolutions.com/vehicle-logistics
(2) Engarage - https://engarage.io/
(3) Heisler, H. Advanced Vehicle Technology. 2nd ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002.
Note: This article was partly created with the assistance of artificial intelligence to support drafting.
Author
Christian Aadal, Product Manager
