AGCO Licenses 4CS iWarranty Service Intelligence and Supplier Warranty

EAST MOLINE, Ill., Aug. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- 4CS, Inc., a leading provider of Customer Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions, is pleased to announce AGCO Corporation as its newest global iWarranty customer.  AGCO Corporation has licensed the Supplier Warranty and Warranty Analytics (Service Intelligence) applications of 4CS iWarranty.

AGCO Corporation is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of agricultural equipment, through a global distribution network of more than 2,600 independent dealer/distributor locations in over 140 countries. AGCO products include well-known brands, such as Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra.

Technical diversity, multiple brands, and global distribution strength are important components of AGCO's growth strategy. Major market share positions in key agricultural markets of the world have been achieved by their strong focus on customer service, leading edge technology and an independent dealer network.  AGCO's innovative products continuously receive recognition and awards at international exhibitions, but their most coveted award is the recognition of their wide-range of products by farmers and dealers across the globe.

Melissa Girt, AGCO Manager, Global Warranty Administration, shares:  "AGCO's vision is to provide high-tech solutions for professional farmers feeding the world.  Technical services play a key role in this vision; we must provide accurate and timely global machine performance metrics to the appropriate consumers in our company.  Engineering, manufacturing, and purchasing are all areas that rely on machine performance metrics to enhance product functionality, quality, and reliability.  Additionally, this information must be directed back to our supplier base to assist in the resolution of any component issues and to request reimbursement for warranty expenses incurred."  

"After an in-depth review of competitive solutions, 4CS Supplier Warranty module matches AGCO's business requirements out-of-the-box by 90%," noted Melissa.  "Our desire is to standardize our global supplier recovery efforts while utilizing a solution that has a continual development plan.  We believe we will benefit from the always evolving best practices in place with the current and expanding 4CS customer network.  4CS has demonstrated their product will enable us to meet our business needs.  We hold ourselves and our suppliers accountable for providing quality products to customers."

Melissa also commented:  "Our current supplier recovery process ranges from automated to manual at the varied warranty processing locations.  The 4CS Supplier Warranty module will allow us to automate supplier attribution globally; speed up the time between dealer claim settlement and supplier claim nomination; and gain efficiencies in our ability to communicate effectively with our supplier base.  Our warranty recovery will increase and positive cash flow will result."

Melissa also stated:  "Our current knowledge management database is SOURCE - a 4CS iSupport product.  We will ultimately provide management with leading and lagging indicators of machine performance by reporting from both iSupport and iWarranty applications.  This will provide a full circle view of problem identification; root cause analysis; product resolutions; impact to warranty claims processed; final attribution and ultimate recovery collection when appropriate.  We look forward to another successful implementation with 4CS as we continue to build upon our global technical support strategy."

Gene Weber, 4CS Partner, Automotive and Aerospace, stated: "AGCO is a global leader in the agricultural equipment industry and is committed to enhancing their collaboration with their Suppliers to further improve overall quality and reduce mutual warranty costs.  Leveraging both 4CS iWarranty and iSupport via 4CS Service Intelligence will enable the combined use of call center and warranty data enhancing early warning capability preventing costly campaigns and avoiding warranty costs."  Ashok Kartham, 4CS President, noted:  "Together we feel we are well positioned to affect positive change.  AGCO teamed with 4CS and our service suite solutions is an excellent combination to enhance supplier collaboration along with dealer and customer satisfaction now and in the future.  We are pleased to have this opportunity to help bring enhanced value to AGCO's dealers, customers and suppliers."

AGCO Safe Harbor Statement 

Statements which are not historical facts, including expectations regarding the development and sales of the products produced by the joint venture, are forward-looking and subject to risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the statements. These risks include possible declines in demand for products as a result of weather, demand and other conditions that impact farm income, actions by producers of competitive products, and the general risks attendant to acquisitions. Further information concerning these and other factors is included in AGCO's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. AGCO disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.

4CS is a leading provider of Service Lifecycle Management software solutions. 4CS Service Suite includes iWarranty, iSupport, iParts, iService, iOwn and iFleet software which all enables companies to profit from service.  4CS software directly connects manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, partners and customers in a service network to reduce the cost of warranty and service fulfillment while growing service revenues and profitability. Many global companies in a diverse range of industries have implemented 4CS software to optimize warranty, support, service parts and customer service processes. For more information, www.4CS.com or call 800.709.8773.

CONTACT: Philip Cunningham, 1-309-278-4144, [email protected]

SOURCE 4CS, Inc.