Potential of Blockchain Technology and Distributed Ledger Technology in the Commercial Vehicle Industry

Master’s Thesis by Benjamin Beyer (benjamin.beyer@tum.de)

In cooperation with Knorr-Bremse AG

The commercial vehicle industry is undergoing rapid change. Developments in autonomous driving technology, new types of powertrains, and rising connectivity will have a profound impact on the industry. The future role of other novel technologies such as blockchain technology and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the commercial vehicle industry has not yet been thoroughly explored, although a wide range of applications are conceivable.

🤔 So what exactly are blockchain technology and DLT?

DLT is an umbrella term for all distributed technologies enabling secure transactions between untrustworthy participants through algorithm-based consensus. Blockchain is a specific DLT concept. In a blockchain, a series of records is combined into timestamped blocks which in turn are cryptographically linked by referencing the previous block. Depending on the specific implementation, blockchain networks can possess salient features such as security, immutability, and privacy without relying on a central authority.

🙇 Motivation

The motivation for this thesis was to research how blockchain technology and DLT can be utilized in the commercial vehicle industry to solve existing problems or create novel systems. The main objective was threefold: The first goal was to identify potential applications in the commercial vehicle industry by conducting analyses of the literature and the organizations active in the ecosystem. Second, five of the applications were analyzed in depth using the Blockchain Innovation Framework (BIF) as developed in Hughes et al. (2019, pp. 125–126) and by conducting expert interviews. The last goal was to conclude by giving organizations in the commercial vehicle industry strategic guidance on their approach toward blockchain technology and DLT. In the following you can see an overview of my results.

🧐 Identification of Applications of Blockchain Technology and DLT in the Commercial Vehicle Industry

Broadly summarized, all identified applications use blockchain and DLT to transact or store data or value. The advantage of blockchain and DLT in most applications is that they allow data to be stored immutably and enable the need for trust or an intermediary between parties to be bypassed. A total of 12 applications were identified. It should be noted that the applications are not necessarily mutually exclusive, i.e., there may be overlap between different applications.

✨ Three Promising Applications

⁉️ Two Applications with Less Potential

🚛 What should Organizations in the Commercial Vehicle Industry do?

Generally, blockchain and DLT are potentially useable in diverse applications in the commercial vehicle industry. Organizations should raise awareness of blockchain and DLT among their employees. The technologies should be perceived as potential technical solutions to problems, especially when trust needs to be established between different parties. Furthermore, organizations should monitor and evaluate blockchain and DLT solutions implemented in practice, solutions proposed in academia, and developments in consortia (e.g., MOBI) and in other projects (e.g., Gaia-X). Moreover, organizations should evaluate their strategy regarding specific applications of the technologies based on their own goals and capabilities. Organizations that decide to develop or implement blockchain and DLT solutions should seek collaboration with other organizations. Distributed systems oftentimes can only unfold their full potential when implemented across organizations meaning an open collaborative approach is advisable.

Blockchain and DLT will potentially impact various areas of the commercial vehicle industry. Existing systems could be disrupted, or completely new systems might arise enabled by blockchain technology or DLT. The exact impact is not yet foreseeable, but it is clear that blockchain and DLT have the potential to profoundly change several areas in tomorrow's commercial vehicle industry.

Additional Information:

 📰  Article