Don't do everything, do the right thing
An evening in a supermarket car park: someone scans the QR code on the display, sees the price, pays with their phone, the session starts. No app install, no customer account, under a minute until power flows. That moment decides whether they charge here again next time. Or somewhere else.
For that moment to work, a lot has to line up: the station shown as free really is free, the price quoted matches the invoice, and the payment goes through without a hitch. For operators that means a charge point that reliably generates revenue, instead of driving customers away with waiting times or errors. This is how ad-hoc charging with OB7 already works reliably in Hamburg at the charge points operated by HEnW Mobil, where eRound and OB7 work together.
The best charging experience is not created by whoever does everything. It is created by whoever focuses relentlessly on the experience. OB7 made a deliberate choice not to be an all-in-one solution. The focus is on the experience at the charge point. The high-performance operations in the background are handled by eRound, a partner specialised in exactly that.
Who does what at OB7 and eRound
In the collaboration between OB7 and eRound, the roles are clear: eRound, the CPMS (Charge Point Management System) of Hamburger Energienetze, is the software a charge point operator (CPO) uses to control and monitor its stations. OB7 provides the ad-hoc solution that lets drivers charge without a contract and without registration. OB7 is the side drivers experience. And this is exactly where it is decided whether a charging session happens or someone drives on.
OB7's customer here is the operator itself: the ad-hoc experience runs under the CPO's name, with OB7 supplying the software behind it (white-label). The two worlds are connected through two open industry standards. OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) connects the charge points to the CPMS. OCPI (Open Charge Point Interface) connects the CPMS with OB7's ad-hoc solution.
In plain terms: operators who run eRound as their CPMS can offer ad-hoc charging with OB7. OB7 can connect to virtually any OCPI-capable CPMS.
Combine two systems today, stay independent tomorrow
The split pays off beyond any single charging session. Because the CPMS and the ad-hoc solution are separate, each evolves independently. An update or change on the CPMS side does not force anyone to touch the customer-facing layer. New features for drivers, a different payment method, or a better interface can be added without touching station operations.
In an all-in-one system, by contrast, everything hangs on the same thread. Over the years the system gets overloaded because one provider is supposed to cover everything for everyone. The pace of new features is tied to that provider's roadmap, no matter how long the backlog already is.
Separate systems stay agile. eRound drives operations forward, OB7 the experience, each at its own pace. That is a very strong combination and, looking ahead, offers the freedom to develop both sides independently. OB7 and eRound follow the same strategy: building well-thought-out solutions with specialised partners.
Thomas Börger, Head of Mobility of Hamburger Energienetze GmbH, says:
"Anyone who wants to run charging infrastructure successfully does not need an all-in-one solution, but the right specialists. With eRound we focus on what we do best: stable, high-performance charging infrastructure operations. Partners like OB7 add a compelling charging experience for users on top of that foundation."
What arrives at the charge point
The ad-hoc solution is built for operators and drivers. Drivers scan the QR code, see the energy price and blocking fee before they start, and pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or card, without an app and without an account. After charging there is a digital receipt, with a separate billing address on request, and the session stays reachable via its link even through short signal drops. For the operator, all of this runs under their own branding and multilingual, for example in German and English. You can find all the details on the product page for ad-hoc charging with OB7.
Philip Müller, Co-Founder & CEO at OB7 GmbH, says:
"You win a customer in the seconds at the charge point, and that is exactly what we focus on. The operations behind it are handled by eRound, a partner that is genuinely good at it."
Why speed decides revenue
Anyone who charges ad-hoc has no patience for detours. If the start takes too long, they are gone before the current flows. A session that never happens is lost revenue for the operator.
Speed does not depend on the interface alone. The CPMS and the ad-hoc solution need to know the same thing at the same moment: whether the station is free, which tariff applies and whether the charging session is cleared to start. If that does not match up, the flow stops. eRound supplies the operational data, OB7 the fast start and payment without an app. That keeps the session running reliably.
For everyone who wants the best charging experience
The collaboration with eRound shows how well this fits together: eRound handles station operations in the CPMS, OB7 the experience at the charge point. For drivers it feels like a single flow, even though two systems work together behind it.
Ad-hoc is the first shared building block between OB7 and eRound. There is room to build on it, for example with the driver app, billing and dynamic pricing.
Getting started does not have to be big: ad-hoc can be rolled out in a controlled way, at selected sites first, then wave by wave onto further charge points, without disrupting day-to-day operations.
Specialisation here means not less, but more focused. To explore whether this fits your setup: Get in touch.