“With cardossier, we’re trying to democratize the vehicle market to create a fairer experience for all,” explains Matthias Loepfe. The Innovation Manager at VNTR is currently Chairman of the cardossier association which is responsible for the platform of the same name. The platform brings together all relevant information about the life cycle of a vehicle, from the factory to the scrap heap. If we take the example of the second-hand vehicle market, the advantages become clear very quickly: a dealer buying a used car no longer has to rely on the details provided by the car’s previous owner, but can now call upon the dependable information provided by the platform. But cross-organizational business processes can also be set up more efficiently in the case of new cars too. Until now, there have been many obstacles to the required exchange of data.

25 members already on board

Technologically speaking, the platform is a distributed ledger technology (DLT), thanks to which vehicle data is no longer managed by each company individually, but collectively, and the platform provides authorized market players with high quality and up-to-date data. Only authorized parties can make changes to the data records. For the platform to operate successfully, all relevant partners in the vehicle market have to be brought on board. And all parties must be willing to put the collective interest above individual interests. So far 25 members have joined the platform, and in addition to private firms such as car import businesses and insurance companies, they include trade associations and regional driver and vehicle licensing offices. “We are the first digital public-private business ecosystem on a ledger to be operating in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. We’re calling it our digital common land,” says Loepfe.

Key factors for the development of cardossier

As a provider of payment solutions, PostFinance is not just a member of the association but is also helping to provide resources for the innovation project via VNTR while also acquiring useful experience in the area of business ecosystems. For cardossier, there is still a long path ahead. “We have not yet reached our destination and there is certainly still a lot for us to learn,” explains Loepfe. With that in mind, the following success factors that he identifies for the innovation project are by no means exhaustive:

Success factor 1: start with the right partners

“To start with, you need a group of important players who are willing and able to be trailblazers. There shouldn’t be too many or too few. If there are too few partners, your project will lack relevance; but if you have too many the system can become cumbersome. What’s particularly important is to have relevant companies on board that have a high profile. For instance, PostFinance has been with us since the association was founded.”

Success factor 2: take the lead and bring stakeholders along with you

“To drive an innovation project like cardosssier forward, with so many partners involved, requires someone who can push ahead, represent the vision of the project and keep an eye on, and maintain, the common thread holding it all together. Since you need to attract many stakeholders and bring them along on the journey, you have to have high social competency.”

Success factor 3: keep going until you reach your end goal

“There are a lot unknowns and uncertainties involved with cardossier, but the end goal is clear; namely, creating transparency in the automotive ecosystem and establishing trust and transparency for all trading parties. This means that all those involved in the project have to deal with uncertainties, but also show some backbone. Before reaching your destination, there are plenty of challenging periods along the way where you question whether you are doing the right thing. Therefore it requires resilience and an absolute will to persevere.”

Success factor 4: define the ground rules

“To avoid power imbalances in a business ecosystem you need clear ground rules, values and principles. Everyone has to do their bit to succeed, without any one party calling all the shots. And that requires a cultural re-think − on all sides.”

Find out more about VNTR

VNTR is experimenting, testing and innovating in all things future-related, and it is playing a major role in developing PostFinance’s future business plans. It assists innovation projects such as cardossier on their path to success.