Enabling Best-In-Class Performance in Warranty Management

EAST MOLINE, Ill., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- 4CS, the leader in Warranty Lifecycle management software, today shared how organizations can leverage 4CS iWarranty software as the key enabling technology to get to the next level of performance in warranty management by taking the steps to success identified in the latest research report by the Aberdeen Group entitled Warranty Management: The Bridge to Future Revenue Creation.

Research findings in the Warranty Management report indicate that Best-In-Class Service Organizations are:

• 2.3 times more likely than laggard firms to have a closed-loop warranty system in place
• 1.3 times more likely to have warranty reporting software in place

"4CS iWarranty is the closed-loop warranty lifecycle management system that improves the efficiency of claims processing, parts returns and supplier recovery," said Ashok Kartham, President of 4CS. "Warranty analytics based on the 4CS Service Intelligence platform enable companies to contain warranty costs and improve quality by reducing the detection-to-correction cycle time."

According to Bill Pollock, author of the Warranty Management report and Principal Analyst for Aberdeen's Strategic Service Management Practice, "The two greatest warranty-related market pressures facing service organizations today are post-sale customer satisfaction issues and escalating warranty-related costs. However, Aberdeen research has revealed that leading firms are able to outpace all others in these areas through the implementation and use of warranty claims processing systems, warranty reporting software and warranty analytics software. In fact, the use of these technology solutions, coupled with the regular and systematic measurement of warranty-related metrics, is what ultimately helps to propel these firms into industry-leading performance."

Some of the key steps identified in the report to drive performance improvement in Warranty Management include:

• Close the warranty loop by introducing more automation into the system
• Create a centralized data warehouse for product performance and warranty information
• Establish an end-to-end workflow process to manage warranty claim and product return operations
• Increase the use of regular, systematic, measurement of key warranty-specific metrics, such as claim rates, claim processing time and overall warranty costs

"As the Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America case study in the report indicates, companies can decrease claims processing time by as much as 75% using automation," said Ashok Kartham. "The Service Intelligence solution from 4CS includes the centralized warranty warehouse and powerful analytical tools to enable companies to easily monitor key warranty metrics."      

About 4CS:

4CS is a leading provider of intelligent service software solutions. 4CS iWarranty software helps to significantly reduce product warranty costs by improving quality and reliability, sharing cost and information with suppliers and partners, and automating the warranty management processes. The iWarranty product directly connects manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, partners and customers in a service network and optimizes the entire warranty cycle through the integration of the following applications: eClaims, Parts Return, Supplier Warranty, Extended Warranty, Warranty Analytics Powered by Cognos, and Warranty Center. For more information, www.4CS.com or call 800.709.8773.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

SOURCE 4CS