Build and Buy: Future-Proofed Mobility Tech Stack at CarlundCarla.de

CarlundCarla.de: Success Story that Started as a Student Project

The journey of the German sharing service started with a private Volkswagen T4 that future founders Richard Vetter, Martin Wesner and Gregor Wendt rented out to friends from university to share the running costs. In 2013, this idea evolved into founding CarlundCarla.de.

While the concept of car sharing was already gaining momentum, CarlundCarla.de pioneered sharing vans. Today, their station-based van sharing service operates over 1,400 vans across 40 cities in Germany, with plans for even further growth on the horizon.

Advanced Mobility Tech Stack: Foundation for Digital and User-Friendly Van Sharing

CarlundCarla.de aimed to streamline the use of their vans by combining the best elements of traditional rentals with modern sharing systems. To achieve this, there was one essential prerequisite: the digitalization of the rental process.

“People renting vans for a move don’t want to go to an office to hand over keys or be restricted by office hours for returns.” – Richard Vetter, co-founder of CarlundCarla.de.

Initially, the founders leveraged their deep technical know-how to develop both hardware and software tailored specifically for their van sharing service. They implemented a control unit with a GPS module capable of unlocking the T4’s central lock. The custom-built software facilitated the management of resources, customers, damages and fleets.

As the company grew in success, their fleet also expanded, exposing the limitations of the existing tech stack. To maintain pace with the expanding operations and successfully scale their sharing business, the team had to invest significant resources. Investing in both hardware and software development became a threat to the company’s operational efficiency. CarlundCarla.de decided they would be better off to refine the user experience and further streamline the digital rental process.

Scaling a Sharing Business: Build or Buy?

The founders were faced with a critical decision: Should they continue to evolve their mobility tech stack internally, or partner with external providers?

Looking at the software development, it became evident that outsourcing would pose significant costs and risks. Over time, the software has proven to be a highly sophisticated in-house ERP system. The developers have tailored it to align perfectly with the company’s distinctive requirements and customer expectations. Therefore, outsourcing this keystone component made little sense.

Conversely, the home-grown telematics system was struggling under the pressure of growth. Although it continued to operate mostly reliably, it was also experiencing minor outages. At the same time, its capabilities were limited. It could control the immobilizer and central lock but lacked the ability to extend functionality or analyze vehicle data in a comprehensive way. This presented an opportunity for innovation and evolution.

“We needed reliable hardware from a partner with more expertise than us.”

So, the founders decided to go their own way: build and buy instead of build or buy.

Hardware Evolution: Choosing the Market Leader

As part of this decision, CarlundCarla.de conducted a comprehensive review of all telematics providers in the German-speaking part of Europe. This naturally included INVERS.

The key requirements for the new telematics system were process reliability, stability, durability and exceptional manufacturing quality. INVERS’s CloudBoxx met or exceeded all these requirements. Its reliability rate of 99.9% ensured that users never had trouble with reserving, starting, and ending their rentals. The vehicle-agnostic feature allowed CarlundCarla.de to diversify their fleet by adding other Volkswagen and Ford models to their fleet. Most importantly, INVERS OneAPI enabled the telematics system to be seamlessly integrated with the existing CarlundCarla.de software system.

“The CloudBoxx is a scalable telematics solution that integrates easily with our software.”

Thanks to its always-on connectivity, CloudBoxx keeps the vehicles connected at all times, while the experienced 24/7support team is ready to resolve any issues. Instead of fixing issues caused by hardware that wasn’t ready to scale, the team can now improve their operations through data insights that the CloudBoxx provides them. This lets CarlundCarla.de direct their resources on software innovation, allowing for further development of their own technology.

What’s next?

CarlundCarla.de has established itself as a key player in the van sharing market in Germany, offering a convenient solution for van rentals. The company, which started off as a student project with a single van, is now comfortably operating hundreds of vehicles with a future-proofed mobility tech stack. The reliability of the CloudBoxx and the 24/7 support provided by INVERS allows the sharing service to confidently make plans for even bigger growth in the future.

“The successful collaboration with INVERS represents a significant backbone in our expansion strategy.”

We are delighted to support another German shared mobility champion and looking forward to accompanying CarlundCarla.de on its journey!