Last week, Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) announced the publication of its service scheduling process standards API.

STAR highlighted the approved service scheduling API provides a domain model that maps automotive service scheduling process. Included in this are industry standards related to the dealership’s identifier and vehicle information.

Vehicle mileage, appointment history, service advisor availability, recommended service list, transportation options and more are included in this release.

“It’s 2023 and customers expect the convenience of being able to schedule their service visits online”, said JP Garvey, owner of Garvey Auto Group and vice president of STAR. “Until now there hasn’t been a standard by which technology companies could build around for interoperability. This has hurt innovation and led to a worse customer experience- especially in complicated scenarios such as multi franchise, single rooftop dealerships.

“With the launch of this service scheduling API, STAR is once again leading the pack when it comes to providing tools for manufacturers, dealers, and technology companies to come together and provide the best possible experience,” Garvey continued.

STAR explained this API standard can assist dealers, software vendors and OEMs in creating interoperability between consumer websites, mobile apps, and dealership systems to offer seamless online scheduling options for consumers.

This release is a continuation of STAR’s ongoing efforts to release more API standards for the automotive industry throughout the year. The approved API standard is already in use at Nissan North America and Toyota Motor North America.

“At Reynolds and Reynolds, we strive to help dealerships achieve exceptional outcomes through a great consumer and employee experience, but we are one player in a field of many,” noted Shawn Leibold, director of industry relations at Reynolds and Reynolds and co-chair of STAR. “This API standard is a great example of collaboration that puts the success of dealers in the forefront and helps our entire industry grow.”

As with all of STAR’s standards, these launches are the result of collaborative efforts and best practices across STAR’s members- OEM executives, retail automotive Dealer Principals, representatives from the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA), and leading technology providers.

STAR’s service scheduling process standards API is free and available for download to businesses worldwide.

To learn more, visit starstandard.org.