Manufacturing companies are increasingly looking to warranty management processes in order to enhance both bottom and top line performance. The resulting investment in technology is creating a significant opportunity for technology vendors. However, vendors will need to be able to offer well-defined and cohesive technology solutions that meet the precise needs of the manufacturer.
Investment in warranty management technology solutions in the manufacturing sector is set to grow, as manufacturers globally seek out additional cost and revenue opportunities, according a new report by Datamonitor. The most common benefit associated with warranty management solutions is their ability to increase the visibility of warranty claims and the impact they have on current and future business imperatives. While almost all manufacturing companies will have some degree of warranty management established within their businesses, Datamonitor has identified a renewed focus on streamlining processes and technology functionality in the discipline.
Warranty management is nothing new for a large number of manufacturing companies. For many, however, associated processes are often disjointed, inefficient and to a degree ineffective. As the costs of production and competition increase, these companies are having to identify business processes that can yield financial benefit through re-engineering or enhancement. In this sense, warranty processes represent an area of untapped opportunity.
Post-sales support has become an important competitive differentiator for manufacturing companies, as they seek to grow revenues and protect margins. If warranty management and customer interaction are optimized, manufacturers can maximize satisfaction, reduce costs, drive repeat business and leave their competitors behind.
The sophistication of in-house systems varies greatly in terms of technology and process support. Some manufacturers might rely solely upon the use of Excel spreadsheets to track financials, customer interactions and fulfillment. For others, a hybrid approach may have been taken, whereby Excel supports some warranty sub-processes, while others rely upon specifically coded applications. While these systems can be effectively developed to support business processes specific to individual manufacturing companies, they are often difficult to re-engineer or adapt to support new functionalities. As such, the logic associated with claims can often be trapped. This can drastically hinder a manufacturer's 'warranty agility' and inhibit efforts to extract benefit.
What is now becoming evident within the industry, however, is a shift towards the adoption of warranty solutions offered by technology vendors. These solutions include functionalities that support claims processes and, importantly, warranty analytics.