Addition of Vehicle Transportation Technology Provider Marks First Step into Transportation and Logistics’ Standards

MCLEAN, Va., January 17, 2023– The Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), automotive’s leading IT standards organization, announced that it recently added transportation technology platform provider RunBuggy, to its association membership. RunBuggy is the first technology provider working within automotive shipping to join STAR’s membership.

RunBuggy works with car haulers, automotive dealers, auctions, OEMs, fleet management firms, digital platforms, and individual consumers to move vehicles faster and easier. The company’s platform processes hundreds of thousands of financial transactions, which led to the team internally questioning who would create standards for such information in automotive logistics. Enter STAR. RunBuggy’s current work with its large, global client base was one of the primary drivers behind their decision to join STAR’s membership now.

“As a company dedicated to providing innovative and reliable transportation solutions, RunBuggy is committed to upholding the highest standards of safety and quality in the industry,“ said Max Graupner, Head of Security and IT at RunBuggy. “By joining the Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail, we hope to not only contribute to the development of best practices within the sector, but also to demonstrate our commitment to our customers and the community at large.”

RunBuggy recently announced the launch of its cloud-based Transportation Management Solution (TMS) called Hitch and a consumer focused service called RunBuggyOne. The company is attracting investment and demand from large international OEMs and captive financial firms, national dealership groups, major digital retail platforms, and large independent auctions. In less than 4 years, RunBuggy has established itself as a leading technology platform for both commercial and consumer shippers as well as thousands of transporters.

“We are excited to welcome RunBuggy as a member of STAR. A leader in vehicle transportation services, the innovative work RunBuggy is doing in that space to integrate processes is directly in line with the goal of STAR. We are looking forward to their contribution,” said Rafael Maldonado, chairman of STAR Standards.

About RunBuggy

RunBuggy is a technology platform that connects car shippers and haulers. RunBuggy allows shippers to seamlessly integrate car transportation services, reducing cost and improving time to deliver. For transporters, RunBuggy offers an alternative to expensive load boards and custom software solutions to better find and manage transportation loads. To learn more, please visit runbuggy.com

About STAR

Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) is a nonprofit organization whose members include dealers, original equipment manufacturers, retail system providers, and automotive-related industry organizations. STAR uses non-proprietary technology (IT) standards as a catalyst in fulfilling the business information needs of dealers and manufacturers while reducing the time and effort required to support related activities. Collectively, STAR develops industry standards and emerging technologies for the benefit of retail automotive dealers. Incorporated in 2001, STAR defines industry standards for automotive retail, standard architecture that supports global data interoperability, and standardizes the dealership IT infrastructure. To learn more about joining STAR, please visit starstandard.org or follow the latest updates on LinkedIn.

Reynolds and Reynolds to Help Set Data Standards for Automotive Retail

MCLEAN, Va., November 08, 2022– The Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), automotive’s leading IT standards organization, announced today the addition of Orbee to its association membership.

Orbee is a leading provider of digital marketing analytics, data, and automation solutions to the automotive industry. Orbee’s innovative digital marketing platform provides automotive dealerships with comprehensive consumer insights and analytics, helping users better understand the customer’s behavior and allowing them to deliver an engaging shopping experience.

“The technology that Orbee continues to build focuses on the needs of our dealership clients and the automotive ecosystem that supports them,” noted Atul Patel, Orbee’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder. “Participating in STAR will ensure that Orbee represents dealerships and their desire to integrate and innovate for the common goal of improving and streamlining the experience of customers as they research, purchase and service their vehicles, now and into the future.”

Orbee recently announced its investments from large dealership groups, including Holman and Flow Automotive, positioning itself as an advocate for how dealerships and large groups define the future of their businesses. By bridging future marketing technologies with standards development, Orbee is committed to the fundamental goals that STAR has set out to achieve.

“As a next-generation digital marketing company, Orbee is pushing our industry to adapt exponential technologies to obtain a comprehensive view of customer interactions that directly impact the customer experience in automotive retail. We are excited to welcome Orbee as a new STAR member and look forward to their contributions” said Rafael Maldonado, Chairman of STAR.

About Orbee, Inc. 

Orbee provides digital marketing analytics, data, and automation solutions to the automotive industry. Franchise and independent dealers and large dealership groups utilize Orbee’s platform to measure marketing investments with campaign analytics, understand shopper behaviors with its customer journeys, manage and control their first and third-party data with tag management, reach buyers everywhere with omnichannel marketing, leverage 1:1 engagement with personalized messaging, comply with safeguard data laws with regulatory compliance and enable their tech teams with powerful APIs and SDKs.  The company partners with dealer-centric media agencies, service providers, and OEM programs to expand the reach of its powerful technologies. To learn more about Orbee’s powerful marketing technology, please visit orbee.com and follow Orbee on LinkedIn. Connect with Orbee in person by visiting us at upcoming events. 

About STAR

Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) is a nonprofit organization whose members include dealers, original equipment manufacturers, retail system providers, and automotive-related industry organizations. STAR uses non-proprietary technology (IT) standards as a catalyst in fulfilling the business information needs of dealers and manufacturers while reducing the time and effort required to support related activities. Collectively, STAR develops industry standards and emerging technologies for the benefit of retail automotive dealers. Incorporated in 2001, STAR defines industry standards for automotive retail, standard architecture that supports global data interoperability, and standardizes the dealership IT infrastructure. To learn more about joining STAR, contact the team directly or follow the latest updates on LinkedIn.

MCLEAN, Va., September 8, 2022– The Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), automotive’s leading IT standards organization, announced today the addition of STELLA Automotive AI to its association membership.

STELLA Automotive AI was founded by Josselyn Boudett, CEO and Chairman of Telepathy Labs, as a way to bring conversational AI technology into retail automotive. Launched at NADA 2022, STELLA AI has expanded rapidly due to increased dealer demand. STELLA AI is currently focused on supporting phone calls and appointment settings in the dealership’s BDC and service departments.

Josselyn Boudett, STELLA AI’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, noted “There is real interest among retail dealers in using conversational AI.  We are delighted to work with STAR to help identify best practices and utilization of this powerful technology,” says Josselyn Boudett.

STELLA Automotive AI is the recipient of the 2022 AWA Sales Process award and the 2022 First Place Winner of the Kain Shark Tank. Both awards acknowledge STELLA AI’s ability to triage inbound service calls for retail automotive dealerships. The company is also fully compliant with the revised Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) Safeguards Rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) earlier this year.  

“Stella Automotive AI is one of those companies that is bringing a new level of innovation to our industry, by using exponential technologies like AI to change the way a dealership meets the customer experience needs that are demanded in today’s digital economy,” said Rafael Maldonado, chairman of STAR Standard. “We are excited to add Stella Automotive AI to the membership of STAR and are excited to have their contribution to industry standards.”

About STELLA Automotive AI 

STELLA Automotive AI helps dealers with a major pain point which is answering telephones.  STELLA AI is trained to deliver exceptional customer experiences through consistent branding, flawless dialogs, and the collection of essential data.  With STELLA AI, dealerships free up staff to focus on sales and in-dealership service while STELLA handles inbound calls, answers questions, finds and books appointments and takes messages.  With a U.S. headquarters in Tampa, Florida, STELLA AI is powered by Telepathy Labs, Inc, a world-class AI technology provider.  For more information, visit our website, like us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. 

About STAR

Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) is a nonprofit organization whose members include dealers, original equipment manufacturers, retail system providers, and automotive-related industry organizations. STAR uses non-proprietary technology (IT) standards as a catalyst in fulfilling the business information needs of dealers and manufacturers while reducing the time and effort required to support related activities. Collectively, STAR develops industry standards and emerging technologies for the benefit of retail automotive dealers. Incorporated in 2001, STAR defines industry standards for automotive retail, standard architecture that supports global data interoperability, and standardizes the dealership IT infrastructure. To learn more about joining STAR, contact the team directly or follow the latest updates on LinkedIn.

MCLEAN, Va., July 26, 2022– The Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), automotive’s leading IT standards organization, announced today the addition of ComplyAuto to its association membership.

ComplyAuto was founded by two long-time industry compliance experts and specializes in automotive privacy and cybersecurity, Chris Cleveland and the late Shane McCallan. Now with over 3,000 dealership customers and over thirty state association endorsements, ComplyAuto has become the leading provider of privacy and cybersecurity technology in the automotive industry. It is also a NADA Affinity Provider for state and federal privacy as well as cybersecurity.

Chris Cleveland, ComplyAuto’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, noted “Standardization of privacy and cybersecurity protocols in the automotive industry, from both a technical and legal approach, is long overdue and will benefit all parties involved in the automotive retail ecosystem. ComplyAuto is excited to join STAR and use the knowledge and expertise we’ve gained by working closely with thousands of dealers and vendors across the U.S. on compliance with the growing list of consumer privacy and data security regulations.”

ComplyAuto was the first dealer-specific software company to help automate compliance with complex privacy regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) . Since then, ComplyAuto has expanded its offerings to address the privacy and data security regulations of all 50 states, including a comprehensive solution for the revised Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) Safeguards Rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) earlier this year.  

“We are very excited about having ComplyAuto join the STAR membership,” said Rafael Maldonado, chairman of STAR Standard. “With the changes recently enacted by the FTC to the GLBA Safeguards Rule, we need to ensure that STAR stays at the forefront of standardization efforts to help our members meet compliance requirements at the federal, state and local levels.  Having ComplyAuto as a member of STAR will go a long way to help us do that. Their compliance experience and expertise is unquestionable. They will increasingly benefit the automotive industry through their contributions to the work being done here at STAR.”

Having ComplyAuto as members of STAR will help apply their expertise in privacy and cybersecurity to benefit the entire automotive industry- franchised dealers, OEMs, and technology vendors alike.   

About ComplyAuto

ComplyAuto is an automotive RegTech (regulatory technology) company offering cloud-based software that helps dealerships modernize compliance through automation and advanced technology. ComplyAuto is built around a philosophy that regulatory compliance shouldn’t be dependent on forms, spreadsheets, manual audits, outside attorneys, and training sessions. Rather, ComplyAuto operationalizes dealership compliance in a modern solution that is affordable, simple, and accessible to dealers of all sizes. ComplyAuto’s current product line focuses on privacy and cybersecurity compliance. Visit ComplyAuto.com to learn more.

About STAR

Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) is a nonprofit organization whose members include dealers, original equipment manufacturers, retail system providers, and automotive-related industry organizations. STAR uses non-proprietary technology (IT) standards as a catalyst in fulfilling the business information needs of dealers and manufacturers while reducing the time and effort required to support related activities. Collectively, STAR develops industry standards and emerging technologies for the benefit of retail automotive dealers. Incorporated in 2001, STAR defines industry standards for automotive retail, standard architecture that supports global data interoperability, and standardizes the dealership IT infrastructure.

DAYTON, OH – July 18, 2022 – The Reynolds and Reynolds Company announced today that it has joined the Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR). Reynolds customers enjoy the benefits of the industry’s only Retail Management System, and joining STAR is another step toward bringing the automotive ecosystem together to increase efficiency and drive long-term success.

Reynolds will join STAR’s steering committee and participate in working groups to help identify new standards and modify existing ones.

“With the amount of disruption occurring in our industry, now, more than ever, dealers and OEMs need to be as efficient as possible while maintaining a high level of security when it comes to the data they possess and use,” said Chris Walsh, president of Reynolds.

STAR has been developing voluntary industry-leading standards for the benefit of OEMs, technology vendors and dealers for the last two decades. In 2020, Rafael Maldonado- former CIO for the National Automobile Dealers Association, assumed leadership of STAR as its chairman. With this move, the association placed a renewed focus on broadening the communication of, and involvement in, establishing standards across the automotive industry.

“We want to make sure that people understand this is not your grandfather’s STAR,” noted Maldonado. “We understand the transformational power a common set of standards would have in our industry. This is a real need as we move forward in helping our entire ecosystem develop the efficiency, speed and agility necessary in today’s competitive landscape to provide the retail experience customers are demanding today.”

Reynolds uniquely understands how to accomplish this goal, due to its experience building the Reynolds Retail Management System.

“As we continue to strengthen ties with industry groups and associations, it is our pleasure to share our extensive experience as we work together for the benefit of the industry as a whole,” said Walsh. “Increasing the profitability and long-term success of dealerships and OEMs is paramount to our philosophy, and the standards we create must share that goal.”

According to Maldonado, it just makes sense to have Reynolds involved when discussing standards for the industry. “Frankly, I don’t think we can be successful without industry leaders like Reynolds being part of this effort,” said Maldonado.

MCLEAN, Va., June 23, 2022– The Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), automotive’s leading IT standards organization, announced today the addition of Accelerate2Compliance^TM (A2C) to its association. This addition to STAR’s membership base is in direct response to the upcoming compliance deadlines facing automotive dealerships nationwide. STAR’s members- OEM executives, retail automotive Dealer Principals, representatives from the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA), and leading technology providers, all recognize the impact of compliance regulations in the industry.

Greg Pleider, A2C’s chief executive officer, noted “STAR provides a much-needed platform for businesses serving the automotive industry to discuss and refine the complexities of automotive retail; through standardized best practices and technology.”

A2C has been chosen by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) as a NADA Affinity Provider for its members. A2C delivers easy-to-use information security compliance solutions through the A2C Portal^TM, a turnkey cloud-based subscription to achieve, manage, and help maintain information security regulatory compliance requirements with a full suite of necessary tools. A2C also offers users a detailed dashboard identifying areas of potential risk and offering remedial solutions for any identified compliance deficiencies.

“As we are all well aware, there have been significant changes to the GLBA Safeguard Rules. Automotive dealers must comply with these changes within the next six months. The first step to compliance with these new rules is an assessment of your business’s current compliance status. This is where A2C will help dealers right away” said Rafael Maldonado, chairman of STAR Standard. “Including A2C as members of STAR enables their compliance expertise to benefit multiple aspects of the automotive industry,” Maldonado added.  

“We look forward to contributing to STAR as it continues to tackle standards and guidance on consumer data privacy, security and cyber security while considering the regulatory and statutory requirements- both domestic and foreign,” stated Tony Haux, CiSO and CTO of A2C.

About Accelerate2Compliance

Accelerate2Compliance (A2C) offers a cost-effective and easy-to-use information security compliance solution designed to help small to midsize businesses – and their vendors – achieve and maintain regulatory compliance requirements. A2C delivers this through the A2C Portal, a cloud-based subscription software solution to provide auto dealers with the most simple and efficient assessment process, robust tools and reports, and best business practices to guard against ever-increasing information security threats, all in one place

About STAR

Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) is a nonprofit organization whose members include dealers, original equipment manufacturers, retail system providers, and automotive-related industry organizations. STAR uses non-proprietary technology (IT) standards as a catalyst in fulfilling the business information needs of dealers and manufacturers while reducing the time and effort required to support related activities. Collectively, STAR develops industry standards and emerging technologies for the benefit of retail automotive dealers. Incorporated in 2001, STAR defines industry standards for automotive retail, standard architecture that supports global data interoperability, and standardizes the dealership IT infrastructure.

MCLEAN, Va., March 07, 2022– The Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), automotive’s leading IT standards organization, announced today the launch of STAR6 for the Parts domain of retail auto dealerships. This launch is based on a year-long collaborative effort to consolidate best practices established by STAR’s members- OEM executives, retail automotive Dealer Principals, representatives from the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA), and leading technology providers.

“As we look towards developing the next generation of automotive technical standards, we must improve our existing ones,” noted Rafael Maldonado, chairman of STAR Standard. “There’s a vital need to help businesses with this, especially as new requirements emerge in the ever-changing industry landscape. This is exactly what the next generation of the STAR XML is all about. We are excited to provide this new standard to the ecosystem and look forward to hearing from members and other organizations as they collaborate to help dealers deliver the best user experience to their customers.”

STAR6 removes deprecated and duplicate attributes commonly found, while harmonizing design patterns and components for use across various BODs. It is the result of 35 refactored XML BODs and the optimization of STAR common components. Among the refactored automotive XML BODs that will now be using STAR6 are: acknowledge parts, get parts, change parts, cancel parts, notify parts, process parts, propose parts, respond parts, show parts, and sync parts across all actions of related codes for: inventory, invoices, orders, price lists, master lists, and shipments.

“At Volvo CE, we have already begun using STAR6 for new dealer integration services we build. After actively participating in the development of STAR6, we are excited to see its simpler and more consistent BODs cut development time both for us and our DSP partners”, said Anders Puwant, Head of APIs and Integration Framework at Volvo Construction Equipment. “Feedback collected while working with our first full implementation of STAR6, for a parts ordering project in India, has also shown it to provide better support for global implementations. The new version comes with improved localization handling and also uses the latest versions of OAGIS and UN/CEFACT.”

The new STAR6 XML release is now available worldwide to any businesses who want to download it. STAR is continuing similar collaborative work on refactoring efforts across automotive credit, vehicle, and sales codes throughout 2022. For more information on joining STAR or to learn more about accessing STAR6, contact Paco Escobar, Enterprise Data Architect, at: pescobar@starstandard.org.

About STAR

Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) is a nonprofit organization whose members include dealers, original equipment manufacturers, retail system providers, and automotive-related industry organizations. STAR uses non-proprietary technology (IT) standards as a catalyst in fulfilling the business information needs of dealers and manufacturers while reducing the time and effort required to support related activities. Collectively, STAR develops industry standards and emerging technologies for the benefit of retail automotive dealers. Incorporated in 2001, STAR defines industry standards for automotive retail, standard architecture that supports global data interoperability, and standardizes the dealership IT infrastructure.

Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), the global information technology (IT) standards body for retail automotive and related industries, has released the new major version of its 2020 Business Object Documents repository.

STAR has worked with its members to develop and enhance over 200 XML message formats covering over 35 business areas from customer relationship management to fixed and variable operations.

The STAR XML repository continues to be actively modified and developed by the membership.

This year STAR and its Members are focusing efforts on two core strategies that are part of the STAR 2020 project – refactoring the existing STAR standard XML BOD architecture and in parallel, plans for completion of the first STAR JSON open API interfaces

STAR’s original charter was to support the retail automotive industry, however, in recent years it has expanded its support effectively demonstrating value in related industries including:

Marine

Medium & Heavy-duty Trucks

Powersports

Construction Equipment

Enhancements to Business Object Documents (BOD) were made in the areas of Parts Order, Parts Pricing, CRM, Sales Lead, and Finance. You may download the 2020 STAR BOD Change Report for details.

STAR and its Members have also continued making improvements to the Dealer Infrastructure And Security Guidelines.

For more information about the latest release, please visit the STAR XML Release page.

If you have any questions about this release or would like to learn about the benefits of becoming a STAR, please contact:

Paco Escobar at pescobar@starstandard.org

Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), the global information technology (IT) standards body for retail automotive and related industries, has released the new major version of its 2019 Business Object Documents repository.

STAR has worked with its members to develop and enhance over 200 XML message formats covering over 35 business areas from customer relationship management to fixed and variable operations.

The STAR XML repository continues to be actively modified and developed by the membership.

This year STAR and its Members are focusing efforts on two core strategies which are part of the STAR 2020 project – refactoring the existing STAR standard XML BOD architecture and in parallel, plans for completion of the first STAR JSON open API interfaces

STAR’s original charter was to support the retail automotive industry, however, in recent years it has expanded its support effectively demonstrating value in related industries including:

Marine

Medium & Heavy-duty Trucks

Powersports

Construction Equipment

Enhancements to Business Object Documents (BOD) were made in the areas of Parts Inventory, Parts Order, Vehicle Specifications, Repair Order, Service Appointment, and Vehicle Incentives. You may download the 2019 STAR BOD Change Report for details.

STAR and its Members have also continued making improvements to the Dealer Infrastructure And Security Guidelines.

For more information about the latest release, please visit the STAR XML Release page.

If you have any questions about this release or would like to learn about the benefits of becoming a STAR,  please contact:

Paco Escobar at pescobar@starstandard.org

This year the group has combined the DIG and Dealer Security Guidelines into one document. 

Two documents are available for download on the STAR Website. 

1. 2019 Dealer Infrastructure Guidelines and Dealer Security Guidelines combined document. 
2. 2019 DIG Quick Reference Guide.

We kindly encourage you to make these documents available to your dealers, and any other individuals that may benefit from the DIG.

2019 Dealer Infrastructure Guidelines Home Page

If you have any questions please contact:

Daniel Hoban – Nuspire Networks at dan.hoban@nuspire.com

Paco Escobar  –  STAR at pescobar@starstadard.org