The automotive industry finds itself today faced with serious challenges. Competition in the marketplace has never been tougher. There are new products coming to market every month. The price of gas, and the debate around alternative fuels has added complexity to an already complex landscape. Brand loyalty is at an all time low. It has never been more important for dealers to run their business efficiently than it is today.
This difficulty of course carries over to the suppliers of goods and services to automotive dealers, namely the retail system providers (RSPs). The RSPs today are asked to find ways to help their customers leverage their investment in technology to achieve great efficiency.
At the same time, the RSPs must find ways to improve their efficiency in a technical environment that is growing more complex, to maintain their profitability.
The organization we know today as Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) was incorporated in 2001, but actually it began much earlier when a group of automotive manufacturers got together to discuss how they could collaborate to reduce the cost of Information Technology for their dealers.
TAR has worked diligently over the past seven years to develop standards for technology in the automotive industry designed to help dealers and manufacturers accomplish just this goal. Here's how you as a retail systems provider can assist and benefit from this work.
This difficulty of course carries over to the suppliers of goods and services to automotive dealers, namely the retail system providers (RSPs). The RSPs today are asked to find ways to help their customers leverage their investment in technology to achieve great efficiency.
At the same time, the RSPs must find ways to improve their efficiency in a technical environment that is growing more complex, to maintain their profitability.
The organization we know today as Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) was incorporated in 2001, but actually it began much earlier when a group of automotive manufacturers got together to discuss how they could collaborate to reduce the cost of Information Technology for their dealers.
TAR has worked diligently over the past seven years to develop standards for technology in the automotive industry designed to help dealers and manufacturers accomplish just this goal. Here's how you as a retail systems provider can assist and benefit from this work.