Caruso launches Data Marketplace

Caruso, the open, neutral and secure data marketplace for the automotive aftermarket, is now officially launched, and the first data and mobility services are being offered and subscribed on the marketplace.

Initial partners include telematics service provider ABAX, parts manufacturers and telematics service providers Bosch, Continental, ZF with Openmatics, parts manufacturer Schaeffler, automobile club start-up JimDrive, TecAlliance, the digitisation specialist for the automotive aftermarket, and workshop software provider WERBAS.

Also available on the marketplace are data from the automotive manufacturers. BMW is already onboard in time for the launch, with Caruso currently in detailed negotiations with other OEMs, too. The marketplace was officially launched under the motto “Join the Caruso ride” on 16 November at the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering, Caruso’s strategic technology adviser, in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Almost 200 representatives of the international aftermarket industry received a live demonstration of the marketplace and its functionalities. At the same time, Caruso announced two new shareholders: CARAT, one of Germany’s biggest car parts purchasing cooperations, and Eucon Group, leading supplier of market information services for vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers and digitalization expert for insurance companies and real estate.

In addition to the largest shareholder and enabler, TecAlliance, and ATR International AG recently also joined the board.

The Caruso data marketplace connects data to enable new business models for the automotive aftermarket and combines a number of different processes via the platform. In one of the first use cases, a vehicle’s mileage can be connected with its repair and maintenance information (RMI) – the technical data for vehicle repair, mechanical information, maintenance and diagnostics – and also with the appointment booking system used by workshop chains.

The connection of telematics data with the RMI and workshop data means the fleet manager knows in advance which vehicle is due next for inspection when, and can use the Caruso marketplace to book an appointment directly with the closest workshop. The workshop can then use the RMI data to order the replacement parts due in the service plan – and if the parts retailer is also on board, this can be done automatically via the marketplace.

This use case is being continually expanded and could, for instance, enable insurance companies to manage potential claims that arise during inspection – such as repair of stone-chip damage – directly with the workshop (with the consent of the driver).

In future use cases, Caruso wants to facilitate services such as protection from manipulated mileage readings and remote diagnostics. In all these use cases, Caruso is the enabler, providing the necessary data and bringing the different partners together on the marketplace.

Alexander Haid, MD, Caruso GmbH, said: “Following its foundation in March 2017 with an initial investment of around six million euros, we are delighted that our Caruso data marketplace is now launched. All participants in the automotive aftermarket – be they parts manufacturers, wholesalers, workshops, insurers, fleet and leasing companies, providers of car rental and car sharing services, mobile communications providers or breakdown service companies – are dependent upon vehicle data if they want to improve their mobility services or develop completely new ones.

"Particularly, if they want to keep up with the big players in the digital age, the available data has to be intelligently interlinked. This is exactly where Caruso comes in.”

Access to the Caruso data marketplace for users is browser based and therefore quickly and easily possible via all devices with an internet connection. On the landing page (dashboard), partners receive an up-to-date overview of their marketplace activities: How often their data has been requested and what sales they have achieved with it. How much data they have subscribed themselves and what costs they have incurred in the process.

Offering and subscription of data is done using a straightforward catalogue search function or simply by entering keywords into the search field, e.g. mileage. Caruso then delivers all predefined data packages available on the marketplace that match the search term.

The data provider supplies a detailed description of its data set and specifies the associated pricing and contractual conditions. The data consumer can then choose the most appropriate offering from among the different providers or combine a variety of offerings in order to put together the data required for his/her use case. Caruso charges a brokerage fee based on the platform functions used, the amount of data and the sales price of the data in question.