With evolving consumer behavior in the automotive industry, customers are making purchasing decisions that extend beyond the point of vehicle purchase. Today, their decisions are heavily influenced by after-sales services such as additional benefits and assurance provided by vehicle dealerships such as warranty.
After-sales service has proven to be a great source of revenue for dealerships and OEMs, and with a vast number of parts to work with, it is a no-brainer as to why the automotive parts industry is one of the top industries with high levels of warranty processing.
Businesses handling warranty for products understand that warranty management comes with major perennial pitfalls: bottlenecks, latency, miscalculations, transparency woes, and a magnitude of processing and tracking expenses. Today, these very businesses are grappling with another issue plaguing the industry: counterfeit products.
Coupled together, these challenges pose a detrimental threat to automotive businesses now more than ever. Customers are becoming more informed and tend to look for expeditious service and solutions throughout the entire claims process.
Ensuring they uphold their commitment to quality, automotive businesses must remain cognizant that quality does not stop the moment the customer leaves the showroom with a key in hand. This means businesses cannot afford to discount the importance of after-sales support, especially warranty claims, driving the need to deliver higher levels of after-sales customer service than ever before.
The Situation
With mountains of claims to process and paperwork to scheme through, the entire claims process is unfortunately a tedious one. This not only lengthens repair or replacement timelines but also incurs additional costs for the business, with more hands spent dealing with one issue that could be spared elsewhere.
For the customer, vague processes, complicated steps, confusing communications, and long waiting periods can be very off-putting. This will leave customers frustrated and can cause an inimical impact on the business and brand as a whole. Improper handling of warranty claims can result in the loss of customers and affect reputation.
The Problem
Most of the issues faced during the warranty claim process are age-old and most often attributed to the lack of inter-departmental integration. With communication flow interrupted between departments due to the absence of a holistic data view, decision-making becomes a bone of contention as various departments may be unaware of required actions and ownership.
Dealerships and OEMs also have to muddle through fraudulent claims, identifying and capturing information on product issues for improvement, as well as shoulder inventory management which takes up a sizable percentage of revenue and is relatively time-consuming.
The high time consumption and expenses of warranty processing largely stem from warranty processes being performed ad-hoc. When this happens, claims are processed manually which is inefficient and gives birth to a plethora of issues due to errors caused by lack of visibility.
The Need for a Holistic Solution
Archaic approaches were known to be tunnel-visioned and were not multi-dimensional, addressing only one particular problem at a time, offering short-term fixes instead of a holistic approach that provided long-term solutions. These fixes were typically implemented without taking into account other aspects of the business related to warranty management such as service quality, customer perception, and brand erosion.
So how exactly does a business overcome this warranty claim management hurdle?
The answer: A holistic warranty management solution.
The right automotive warranty management software is one that is comprehensive and addresses all levels of warranty claim management with strategic intent. It must also feature a solid combination of business processes that is customizable to the needs of the business, tailored to deliver more revenue and return on investment as well as flexible to accommodate future business advancements and integrations.
With a holistic automotive warranty management software in place, automotive dealerships, service centers, and OEMs can unlock greater value by mitigating issues around warranty intelligence, fraudulent warranty claims, counterfeit automotive parts, unjustified claims management, parts inventory, and supplier recovery.
Above all, implementing a comprehensive system offers prime customer experience, stronger supplier ties, a swifter turnaround time, and a reduction in expenses that supports after-sales service simply by automating the process in its entirety.
The Annata 365 Business Solution Suite Built for Warranty Management
Annata 365 is an industry tailor-made vertical solution that helps automotive businesses do just this. Developed on top of Microsoft Dynamics 365, the data-driven business platform covers industry-specific needs throughout the entire lifecycle of the vehicle and creates a customer-centric approach in all areas of the business.
The solution has a warranty claims management software that provides the structure needed to seamlessly exchange warranty information between Annata and OEMs’ warranty system or a third-party solution. There is also a web-based dealer portal that seamlessly integrates with Annata 365 and provides independent dealers with access to the portal for warranty and recall inquiries.
The Annata 365 Automotive Warranty Management Software Solution helps automotive businesses:
- Manage multiple brands
Set up and manage an unlimited number of brands, classes, or models. Multiple warranty terms can be set up to follow different rules based on the manufacturer.
2. Manage unlimited warranty types
Manage a variety of warranty types including standard, extended, parts, and used product warranties
3. Provide automated warranty updates
Create and maintain the device warranty registration data dynamically via batch uploads.
4. Manage communication on warranty extensions
Advanced notification framework automatically triggers E-mail/SMS notification to the customers upon warranty expiration/extension.
5. Offer warranty self-registrations
Specialized power tools enable customers to submit warranty registrations and extension requests.
The Annata 365 Warranty Management Solution
Click here to find out how Annata 365 can address your warranty management predicaments or contact us today.
About Annata
Annata is a business solutions provider that empowers businesses on their digital transformation journey. Annata’s global and industry expertise coupled with its strong partnership with Microsoft provides organizations with a business platform that offers innovative solutions, strong services, and unparalleled value to manufacturers, importers, distributors, dealers, service providers, rental companies, and fleet operators in the automotive, equipment, and medical device industries.
As a Microsoft GISV (Global Independent Software Vendor) since 2001, Annata delivers solutions that are deeply embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem, provides functionality that helps businesses deal with industry challenges, and transforms their existing operations and processes to adapt to and embrace new opportunities through technologies. Annata was awarded the Partner of the Year award by Microsoft in 2019 and emerged as a finalist in 2021. Microsoft has recognized Annata as an “Inner Circle” member, a status extended to the top 1% of Microsoft Dynamics partners worldwide.
Visit our website now to learn more.
