Customer success story: How Autonative avoided e-commerce and logistics chaos and scaled with Brainence

In automotive e-commerce, every order is a race against time — complex logistics, razor-thin margins, and rapidly changing data can make or break growth. Autonative, our long-time UK client, is rewriting that playbook. Their platform automates orders, streamlines courier connections, and uses AI-powered product data with real-time pricing to help automotive businesses sell parts online faster, smarter, and more profitably.

To unpack where the industry is heading, our CEO, Andrii Kornytskii, sat down with Harrison Reece, Head of Technology at Autonative. The conversation dives into how logistics and AI are reshaping automotive retail, why Autonative partnered with Brainence for development, and what the road ahead looks like as technology continues to redefine the aftermarket.

A: What made you choose Brainence over other development companies?

H: We work with enterprise businesses, which usually means long sales cycles. When we win business, there’s a surge of work, but keeping a large in-house team for those peaks just doesn’t make sense.

Over the years, we’ve tried different development partners, but struggled with quality. At handover to our QA team, we often had to run through several cycles before meeting delivery standards.

Brainence changed that. They give us the ability to easily scale resources up or down depending on where we are in the sales or delivery cycle.

A: How is logistics affecting automotive e-commerce?

H: One of the keys to success in large-scale automotive e-commerce is the ability to operate across multiple markets. Logistics vary dramatically from country to country. You need a wide range of courier solutions to handle the variety of automotive parts. That’s exactly where Autonative comes in.

Over time, our logistics offering has become pivotal for our clients. It’s something we’re doubling down on as we grow.

A: What challenges do you see in automotive logistics, and how have custom shipping solutions helped?

H: Automotive manufacturers deal with thousands of parts — from small components to roof boxes and collision parts that can be absolutely massive. And it’s mission-critical to get those items from the warehouse to the customer reliably.

To enable that, Autonative offers clients a range of shipping options and, thanks to the volume we handle, we can negotiate better courier rates. We’ve also built bespoke courier integrations, including solutions for dangerous goods. These capabilities allow automotive e-commerce to operate at true scale, which is essential for long-term success.

A: How is AI changing automotive e-commerce, and how is Autonative responding?

H: We’re now entering the age of AI, and it’s become a catalyst for simplification. It allows us to be predictive rather than reactive, turning complex data into a seamless customer journey from end to end.

For Autonative, the biggest shift has been using AI to enrich and validate product data, and to apply it in pricing — reacting to competitor changes in real time. This is a huge change in the industry. Unless you’re applying AI in this way, you’re going to lag behind. That’s why we’ve made it a core focus over the last couple of years: to simplify complexity with AI and keep our clients ahead of the curve.

A: How would you describe your working relationship with Brainence?

H: Flexible. Some team members work with us nearly full-time and are essentially integrated into our business as key members of the team. Others we bring in on a more ad hoc basis, when we need very specific expertise for a short time.

If anyone is considering building solutions or automation, I would strongly recommend contracting before hiring in-house.

I’ve worked in technology for many years, starting in a startup-style environment with minimal experience. What I’ve learned over time is that development is a truly multifaceted discipline. You need expertise across DevOps, QA, architecture — there’s a whole plethora of skills required to bring a solution together. Some people can do it all, but realistically, you don’t want all your eggs in one basket. You need multiple people with diverse skill sets who all understand the product. That’s nearly impossible to achieve when you’re just starting out, unless you hire a very large dev team.

Brainence has all those skills in-house. So whenever a solution is delivered, large or small, there’s always backup if someone is sick or a specific skill set isn’t available. There’s always someone ready to step in and get the job done. That capability de-risks our projects and ensures uninterrupted service for our customers, no matter what happens.

A: What are your future plans for collaboration?

H: So far, it’s been a resounding success. As we grow, we need to grow with Brainence. They’re now a pivotal part of our future, enabling flexibility, scalability, and long-term growth. And we’re looking forward to building together long into the future.