Warranty Week Industry Headlines

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

Auto Parts Supplier Warranty Report: Suppliers of engines and transmissions keep larger warranty reserve balances and pay higher warranty expense rates than do suppliers of other automotive components. But those other suppliers have done a better job of cutting their warranty expenses over the past decade, though they've lost ground recently.
April 7, 2016

Auto Parts Supplier Warranty Report: Turns out it's the large truck and bus manufacturers and their engine, axle and transmission suppliers who haven't done much to reduce their warranty expenses over the past decade. Passenger car makers and suppliers of auto parts besides drivetrain components have done a much better job of cutting costs.
April 24, 2014

Aerospace Warranty Report: The makers of the actual planes and helicopters haven't done much to reduce their warranty expenses but their suppliers have done a remarkable job with their cost-cutting efforts. In this week's report, we look at both groups together and separately.
April 3, 2014

Semiconductor Warranty Report: Unlike in most industries, with integrated circuits the production machinery generates most of the warranty cost while the actual products made by those machines generate less. However, the machinery makers have done a much better job of reducing their warranty expenses over the past decade.
May 2, 2013

Computer Warranty Report: In terms of streamlining the warranty process so it can be as efficient as possible while making more reliable products, computer manufacturers and their suppliers are doing a great job. But at the same time, they went from spending the least on warranty in 2009 to the most ever in 2012. How can both statements be true?
March 28, 2013

Security Equipment Warranties: The systems that scan baggage, cargo and passengers have to detect every single threat, every single time. And while these systems may require a lot of routine maintenance and warranty work to keep up with the heavy usage, they should never fail to do that job flawlessly. Lives literally hang in the balance.
November 11, 2010

Warranty Work: Sometimes you don't know the value of something until it's gone. Automakers measured the value of warranties by their absence. And as retail sales slow and job losses deepen, warranty professionals may appreciate hearing that recruiters are back at work.
January 8, 2009

Warranty Management: Value and price are affected by product quality, which can be measured by fluctuations in warranty cost. But warranty is too often treated as merely a cost that must be reduced, without heeding its link to quality, price, and ultimately profits. And warranty is very different from accounting in that a big part of the job is using probability functions to predict the future.
October 16, 2008

The Chief Warranty Officer: Having detected something of a plateau in warranty activity, one speaker at the WCM Conference calls for the creation of a job position that cuts across the many departments with interests in warranty.

Yet some top executives still see warranty as nothing but a cost that needs to be reduced, and pay little attention to its potential to increase customer loyalty or build a brand's image of quality. Perhaps that's why a warranty champion is needed?
March 20, 2007

Who Are You? Warranty Week reader profile provides some answers based on location, employer, and job title.
February 1, 2005

Is the TREAD Act Working? It may still be too early to say for sure, but recent auto safety-related announcements have been filled with specific quantitative data about warranty claims and failure rates. Could it be that the TREAD Act's Early Warning Reporting system is really doing its job?
March 16, 2004