Archived Copies of Warranty Week

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December 2002 to Today

Tavant Signs Kubota: The second time around, experienced customers will perform sophisticated analyses of warranty claims processing platforms before making their choice. One company graded vendors on 350 different metrics before deciding which platform they were going to buy.

September 20, 2018

ServiceBench Signs HomeServe: When it came time to upgrade its field service management system, the home warranty company turned to Asurion's ServiceBench unit for a cloud-based service platform that could connect its customers, contractors, and service center team, helping them to make sure that the right contractor is assigned for the job and that they show up at the appointed time.

August 23, 2018

Commercial Truck Service Contracts: At roughly one percent of revenue, commercial extended warranties for trucks represent more of a convenience for customers than a major additional source of profits for manufacturers. Still, we know they bring in more than a billion dollars a year just in the U.S., even though only a handful of truck manufacturers report the relevant metrics.

Semiconductor Warranty Report: In this industry, the makers of the factory machinery that fabricates and tests the actual products seem to have much higher warranty expense rates than their customers. But they also have reduced their expense rates significantly over the past 15 years, while the expense rates of the device makers have remained more or less the same.

Commercial Service Contracts, Part 1: The importance of extended warranties sold to commercial customers is steadily increasing, as measured by the percentage of revenue they represent for manufacturers, and by the amount of business they represent for insurance companies. And in response, industry leaders have launched a new trade association for commercial service contracts.

December 7, 2017

Civilian Aircraft Warranties: The manufacturers of large commercial airliners seem to have lower warranty expense rates than the companies making smaller business jets or regional jets. Is that because their products are built better or is it a function of how most aircraft warranties are provided to customers in sections?

Semiconductor Warranty Report: Though the companies making capital equipment that's used to fabricate and test semiconductors and printed circuit boards continue to pay more warranty expense than their manufacturing customers, the gap has narrowed considerably over time. Some companies have cut their expense rates in half.

WCM Preview, Part Two: Given that so much of the knowledge and wisdom in the warranty management profession is passed on verbally, this annual gathering of product protection industry experts is an unrivaled opportunity to hear both vendors and their customers tell the stories of their journeys.

WCM Preview, Part One: Given that so much of the knowledge and wisdom in the warranty management profession is passed on verbally, this annual gathering of product protection industry experts is an unrivaled opportunity to hear both vendors and their customers tell the stories of their journeys.

February 23, 2017

Planning and Structuring a Successful Warranty Transformation Program: One of the biggest mistake companies make is failing to consider the needs of customers and stakeholders in other departments. Others fail to articulate the business benefits internally, or they fail to consider industry trends that will impact the warranty process.

Semiconductor & PC Board Warranty Report: For most of the companies making microchips and printed circuit boards, sales are up and warranty expenses are down. But expenses have fallen far more dramatically for the suppliers of the chip manufacturing equipment, who used to spend a far higher share of their revenue on claims than their customers did.

FAST Act Lightens Delivery of Privacy Notices Burden for Service Contract Industry: Service contract providers, already entangled by a web of state and federal insurance laws, must now navigate the ramifications of new privacy regulations. But if they call themselves financial institutions and follow some other rules, they could also free themselves of the need to send out annual privacy notices to their customers.

January 14, 2016

Semiconductor Industry Warranty Report: While the companies making semiconductors and printed circuit boards have kept their warranty expenses below one percent of revenue, the companies that make the machinery that actually manufactures the products pay much more. Even so, over the past decade the machinery makers have been much more successful at cutting their warranty expenses than their customers.

Warranty Workshops: Warranty can have a massive effect on customer satisfaction. And the loyalty of the customer can have a massive effect on future sales and profitability. So how to balance the protection of a company against the contentment of its customers?

Warranty Year in Review: While some companies enjoyed record highs on the stock market, others suffered as rising warranty costs cut into profits. Some even went out of business. And top automakers once and for all proved how useless the TREAD Act is when it comes to protecting customers.

January 8, 2015

Apple's Warranty & AppleCare Programs: It's not the kind of thing the consumer advocates like to report, but one of the world's leading electronics manufacturers and retailers is giving its customers a break, paying more warranty claims, keeping extended warranty prices steady, and giving customers a better value proposition on their product protection plans.

October 30, 2014

Mobile Phone Service Contracts: Electronics retailers can't sell insurance, so instead they sell service contracts that cover just defects, malfunctions and some damage. But customers are realizing they also need loss and theft insurance for their smartphones, which only the wireless phone companies currently sell.

November 21, 2013

Mobile Phone Insurance Market Shares: The top four wireless carriers in the U.S. collect more than $7.8 billion in protection plan premiums from their customers, and top electronics retailers collect an additional $4.3 billion for mobile phone service contracts. A handful of administration and insurance companies work with them.

November 14, 2013

Extended Warranty Image Problems, Part 1: Service contract professionals, their customers, and the media can't seem to agree on what to call these warranty extensions. And the terms the experts prefer to use are far from the most popular. Even the regulators aren't very consistent with their language and terminology.

September 19, 2013

Assurant Expert Services: While repairs are a huge part of aftermarket services, so are installations, assemblies, configuration and preventative maintenance. Assurant Solutions is putting them all under a single umbrella that it can offer to its retail clients who can in turn sell service to their end user customers.

August 30, 2012

Warranty Software Report: IDC Manufacturing Insights has documented the spectrum of claims processing tools available to warranty providers and extended warranty administrators. And like it did in March with its warranty analytics vendor assessment, the crew once again looked at each company's current capabilities, target customers, industries served, and future strategies.

50/50 Warranties: Dealers who sell used vehicles sometimes can't afford or won't risk the cost of a limited warranty policy. So they ask customers to split the cost of repairs for the first 30 or 90 days. Some regulators say these types of warranties are unfair or misleading, but others say all that's needed is adequate disclosure.

Additive Product Warranties: They may have found a loophole that allowed them to evade most service contract industry rules, but they couldn't escape the wrath of the customers they swindled, the regulators they duped, or the competitors their antics tarnished. Now a consensus is forming around the idea that everybody should play under the same set of rules.

Design for Warranty: Products can be designed so that not only can they be fixed faster, but also so they can be fixed by customers themselves. Given that labor is the major component of warranty claims, product designs that plan for customer self-repairs can cut costs.

Vehicle Service Contract
Attachment Rates: Has the chaos of the Great Recession actually increased the appeal of vehicle service contracts? Auto dealers aren't selling as many as they used to, but for at least the past five years roughly one out of every three customers has bought one. And the recent trend seems to have been upwards, as unlikely as that sounds.

January 28, 2010

Computer Industry Warranties: For most of the major players, sales declines caused relative warranty costs to increase. Turmoil in other industries caused a major PC maker to become the biggest warranty provider in the U.S. And for the lucky few, sales rose and warranty costs fell, despite a tough market full of customers still reluctant to spend.

September 17, 2009

NEW's Smart Procurement: By taking advantage of ServiceBench's connectivity with servicers and parts distributors, NEW is hoping to speed up repairs by helping servicers to find and order parts. The resulting reduction in turnaround time should make NEW's retail clients happier and its service contract customers less unhappy.

Warranty Insurance: Properly insured and administered, an extended warranty can survive the bankruptcy of a retailer, dealer, or manufacturer. And in cases where customers doubt the survivability of a manufacturer's product warranties, insurance can reduce uncertainty and build confidence. Could this also work in Detroit?

Warranty Experts: It's one thing to hear software salesmen talk about the benefits of their products. It's something else when that company's own customers stand up and say how happy they are, despite the challenges they had to overcome. And when warranty professionals gather next month in Orlando, multiple warranty experts from major manufacturing companies will do just that.

February 20, 2009

Green Warranties, Part Three: To help the environment, extended warranty administrators are stepping up to offer customers gift cards in return for their waste computers and cameras and more energy-efficient replacements for their unrepairable home appliances.

Warranty Management: Warranty management for manufacturing and sales organizations is becoming an intense focus area. Warranty spending by US-based companies surpasses the Gross Domestic Product of some nations. But warranty is an avoidable cost, if managed efficiently and judiciously. As warranty also involves customers directly, the larger imperative of organizational image is at risk. A prelude to warranty management is information stability, consistency and transparency.

The Chief Information Officer plays a pivotal role to iron out the initial impediments before laying out a smooth track for warranty management in any enterprise. This article brings out the different sources of warranty data, a collaboration model for warranty data, the business dynamics of multiple stakeholders with respect to warranty management and displays ways to assess and improve warranty information maturity.

November 14, 2007

Warranty Definition: Rather than counting what warranty costs a company internally, manufacturers should instead look at what it costs the customer and the brand image externally. Warranty is an opportunity for a company to listen to its customers, and improve the integrity of its brand image.

Changing the Way We Think About Warranty Management: Warranty is a critical element of new product strategy. It not only provides assurance to customers, but also serves as a very effective promotional tool. A change in the approach to warranty management is needed so that warranty related decisions are made in the context of the product life cycle and take into account the interaction between warranty and other decision variables. This new strategic approach is similar to that which has transformed supply chain management over the last 10 to 15 years.

Digital Projector Warranties: Engineers have known since the days of Thomas Edison that bulbs eventually burn out. For customers looking to buy a projector, however, the high cost of replacement lamps and the relatively brief warranties provided for them aren't always top of mind.

September 20, 2006

Fixing Computers: If it ain't broke but it won't work, making a warranty claim won't fix it. But some companies are now hiring "geeks" to sell PC tune-ups, or they're giving away free advice with their service plans, to help customers do everything from removing viruses to installing wi-fi modems.

January 31, 2006

Customer Recovery: While efforts to push warranty costs back onto suppliers have met with limited success, a handful of manufacturers have pushed most if not all of their warranty expenses back onto their customers.

January 24, 2006

Aerospace Warranties: The makers of airplanes and jet engines seem to spend much less on warranty than do the makers of automobiles, PCs, or appliances. Having airlines with their own mechanics as customers helps, but so does the emphasis on safety and schedules.

November 29, 2005

New Home Warranties: Is there any correlation between what a company spends on warranty and the satisfaction levels of its customers? For some, fewer claims equals happier customers, but for others, there does seem to be such a thing as not enough warranty.

September 20, 2005

Warranty Analysis: Rather than becoming another "accidental" warranty software vendor, SAS Institute was driven into the market by customers such as GM and Ford.

August 16, 2005

Warranty Conference,
Part Four: Your best customers buy extended warranties. And the proper administration of extended warranties can boost customer loyalty. Two top executives explain how it's done.

Warranty Promotions: Once an afterthought for both manufacturers and customers, warranty is becoming the simplest way to express the quality of a product. Lengthened warranties, which began as a bid for market share by certain auto importers, are now spreading to computers and home electronics.

September 21, 2004

Setting Warranty Policy for Products That Generate Annuity Streams: Most warranty-management analysis concerns warranty as cost, the effect of warranty on customer satisfaction, or the signaling impact of warranty on customers. This article describes a study where the focus was not on the product under warranty, but rather on the effect that warranty length might have on the sales of related peripherals and supplies. These sales generate annuity streams for the manufacturer as long as the product remains in operation. However, cost savings from a shorter warranty period must be weighed against potential lost profit from reduced annuity streams. A shorter warranty policy might cause products to drop out of active use sooner, and the cost savings from a shorter warranty policy therefore might be outweighed by the lost annuity profits.

Warranty Intelligence Software: How does one launch a warranty software company that attracts John Deere and Whirlpool as early customers? And how does one attract the CIA as both an end user and an investor? Perhaps it takes equal parts skill, spunk, and luck.

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