Advancing After Sales Operations through Technology

For Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the Equipment, Transportation, and Powersports industries, it is vital to establish effective systems for managing after sales services processes such as warranty, parts ordering, and service repairs to customers.

A strong reputation in Service among dealers as well as end customers helps influence significantly the customers’ decision to purchase your products. Having an effective after sales operation leads to customer loyalty, a better overall customer experience, a positive word-of-mouth, and reoccurring sales opportunities.

Four pillars to After-Sales success

Creating a better process through technology

Using technology as enabler, manufacturers can implement streamlined & user-friendly systems for managing parts orders, repair orders and warranty claims. Such systems help create processes that not only benefit their dealers and customer but also make their internal teams more efficient, automating manual tasks and eliminating the need for time consuming follow-up calls to dealers and customers.

Parts order management: Implementing a comprehensive online system to manage parts orders will allow dealers and customers to accurately search and conveniently order parts while providing visibility into order status and shipment information. An order acceptance process allows OEM users to confirm, edit and accept parts orders for processing.

Integration with an OEMs ERP system provides up to date parts availability and inventory information. Additionally, system generated analytical and operational reports can help identify trends and opportunities to increase parts sales and profits.

Warranty claims management: According to an article in Warranty Week dated February 25th, 2021, when looking at 20 quarters of claims payments reported by nine U.S.-Based Truck & Heavy Equipment Manufacturers nothing really looks unusual. Claims payments remain close to the $850-$900 million range where they've spent the last nine quarters, and the shares of the individual companies haven't changed much either. As warranty volumes remain fairly stable, effective warranty claims processing remains an important area where efficiencies can be gained through automation.

OEMs who can offer dealers and customers an easy way to register warranty information, submit claims, and track claims information can earn a competitive advantage when competing for new fleet business or retaining existing business.

Having a fully online system for managing warranty claims also allows OEM to streamline their internal warranty claims processes, removing cumbersome paper or semi-automated procedures. OEM users can electronically record product details, pre-authorizations and policy information in one easily accessible platform. Users can review submitted pre-authorizations & claims electronically submitted by dealers and customers and make adjustments (in labor hours / parts quantity) if required, they can approve, deny, or request clarifications through the system itself. Supplier recovery claims can also be generated by the system.

Parts can be flagged off for return and RMAs can be tracked until parts are received by the OEM. Payment requests can also be generated and posted to accounts payable systems. Finally, analysis and reporting capabilities can display claims history information and identify trends to help improve quality and reduce warranty cost.

Service repair management: Managing service operations effectively can have a significant impact on an OEM’s bottom line. A system that can prepare Repair Orders (ROs) for customer pay and warranty work and generate ROs to record multiple complaints, record root cause & cure for each complaint, record labor operations as well as technician time spent, and associated parts used can significantly affect the productivity of a service team.

A system that can then generate an invoice for the customer with all the details regarding the repair, including repair description, associated parts, etc. can help elevate the customers’ perception of the brand.

Capturing various types of service issues such as customer complaints and field reports electronically along with having the ability to track all feedback, replies, and comments on each service issue can help OEMs improve product quality, mitigate risk, and work towards creating a better customer experience with their product. Campaigns can also be managed effectively with a system.

Finally, providing a common place to upload and share various service documents with service teams, dealership technicians and fleet managers can help to ensure that the latest up-to-date service information is available when and where it is needed.

Enduring benefits

Using technology to enhance after sales processes increases an OEMs productivity and improves collaboration with its partners. It also helps provide a better customer experience and inspires confidence in the brand long after a purchase is made.