SERVICE MAN AGE MENT 21ADVICE. Improving the warranty and maintenance services after the sale NOTES FROM THE FIELD PIECES

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1 NOTES FROM THE FIELD VOLUME 5 SERVICE MAN AGE MENT Improving the warranty and maintenance services after the sale PIECES OF PEER 21ADVICE PRACTICAL ADVICE from manufacturing experts on solving critical issues.

2 WHAT IS NOTES FROM THE FIELD? To help manufacturers with some of the key industry issues Columbus has asked the Manufacturing Community What advice would you give your peers to improve the warranty and maintenance services after the sale? Experts from our manufacturing customers, our employees, analysts, consultants and partners from all over the globe have fed back either directly to Columbus or via our social media channels to give their Notes from the Field. We received hundreds of responses which were distilled into this document which we hope you will find useful and interesting. SERVICE MANAGEMENT Customers today are more demanding than ever. This poses challenges as well as opportunities. If discrete manufacturers aren t up to the challenge, they will face a customer that demands more visibility, more collaboration, quicker lead times and higher quality products with no ability to deliver on these new requirements. For those discrete manufacturers that are up to the challenge, they will be able to win a greater share of key customers business and become trusted partners. They will also be given the opportunity to create new service offerings for their customers beyond their traditional products. In fact, coupling service offerings with design and manufacturing to create complete solutions is one of the leading trends for revenue growth in the discrete manufacturing sector.

3 NOTES FROM THE FIELD Q:What advice would you give your peers to improve the warranty and maintenance services after the sale? Applications such as Asset Service Management allow you to track warranty and plan servicing of customer items. This will give you the ability to extend the services provided to your customers and manage the products they have purchased from you. JOHN ROBINSON, United Kingdom Many manufacturing companies neglect business opportunities related to aftermarket warranty and maintenance services sales after the initial sale of their manufactured products. Deep, always current operational insight is incredibly valuable to turn those hidden opportunities into continuous services revenue streams, all managed in an ERP solution: Services contracts, accounting, CRM and Business Intelligence. Business Intelligence is an important part of improving warranty and maintenance services after the sale. Being able to slice and dice what work was done, on what products, how often, etc. has the potential for delivering a number of benefits to your business. For example, being able to identify if a specific part that has a high repair rate will allow you to improve the design of that part, leading to fewer warranty/service repairs and in turn leading to improved profitability and customer satisfaction. If you can be proactive in TOM NALL, United States contacting a customer BEFORE there warranty is expired. Remind them of the value you have provided. Always send invoices for FREE work reminding them of the value. MIKE MAKELA, United States NIELS SKJOLDAGER, United States

4 Many companies were not focused on servicing their equipment in the field letting partners perform that work. Since the economic shifts worldwide we are seeing that being able to provide a more efficient and effective warranty service as well as other value added services to customers can drive a significant revenue improvement and a diversification of manufacturing through services. The ability of handling and upselling service contracts in an easy way is critical to being able to make that service business successful. It is also key to be able to have an integrated system that can plan both resources and material requirements that are needed to perform the work. LUCIANO CUNHA, United States Integrated and easy to use service system including a combination of spare parts and service sales. Easy access to historical data and tracing possibilities in the ERP-system will help in serving the customer. RUNE KINDEN SJURSEN, Norway JØRGEN GJERDE, Norway After the sale, it is a need to track warranty information and provide aftermarket services, including the sale of spare parts that may constitute a significant share of our company s business. Use serialization of item orders to identify more expensive items like electronics, automobiles, and so on. Serial numbers also allow you to keep detailed records about an item s warranty and, if necessary, recall information. KURT HATLEVIK, Norway ANTONY PRABHATH, UAE

5 Some systems allow you to identify serviceable objects on your project structure. You identify the object information on the project and/or associated item within the structure and can automatically create the Object from the project. Assign the warranty program that applies and you are off to letting the system manage when charges are in warranty or not. DEBORAH VERMILLION, United States After delivering we send a spare parts list (packaged) from our ERP solution to our customer, so they can choose what they want. KEN JARLFORT, Denmark Set up a service contract with the original equipment manufacturer. Expensive, but good value in the long run. ANONYMOUS, United Kingdom If sales are made through a dealer network, it is important to properly track the actual sales dates from the dealer which in turn provides accurate warranty validation. JEFF POWELL, United States The manufacturing companies need to have full control of the customer installed base and the relevant information such as service frequency, warranty and service agreements. This will improve the customer service greatly. OLAV BÆKKEN NATVIK, Norway Implement a solution for managing all sales orders, service orders, contracts, service objects and maintenance jobs. JON ANDERS HAUGLAND, Norway Furniture manufactured by OrangeBox, a Columbus customer

6 Manufacturing by Wheelabrator, a Columbus customer Implement full controll of all warranties, serial numbers and maintenance intervals/plans. Better maintenance leads to happier customers who refer you to other customers. HENRIK DALL, United States To stay competitive manufacturers need to offer value- adds that their competitors are not. I have seen offering cost effective service contracts to do preventative maintenance for their customers sold up front increase quote to win ratio s. DEBORAH VERMILLION, United States Associate the warrenty with service objects that can be created automatically with the sale or purchase of an item. KEVIN BRANDT, United States Use quality products, competent resources, and professionally feed back and report to the customer. Reduce the variation of the production or service process so that warranty & maintenance services are rarely necessary. When they are necessary, arrive on-site with all available resources prepared for action. CHRISTOPHER JOHNSTON, United States TROELS KJEMTRUP, Denmark

7 HOW CAN COLUMBUS HELP? ASSET SERVICES MANAGEMENT As discrete manufacturers move toward becoming full-service, end-to-end providers for product lifecycles, they need resources and tools that can help them turn customer and company asset management into a potential profit center including warranties, spare parts, and cost-effective scheduling and dispatch for service calls. Columbus Asset Services Management, part of the ColumbusManufacturing ERP solution, provides all these capabilities and more, building on the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 data model to provide advanced capabilities that integrate fully with your total solution. BENEFITS 1. STRUCTURE SERVICE OBJECTS TO FIT YOUR BUSINESS PRACTICES. Create hierarchies that prioritize maintenance for equipment parts and maintain statistics that ensure objects are being managed appropriately. 2. SMOOTHLY MANAGE COMPLEX CONTRACTS AND WARRANTIES. Specify and execute on end-to end payment processes and accurately define contract and warranty obligations, using forms and notifications that adapt to specific needs. 3. INCREASE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND REDUCE DOWNTIME. Predefined, yet flexible workflows and automation cover all aspects of maintenance and repair, from accurate quotes, dispatch, and job processes through follow-up notifications. 4. MAINTAIN ONE COHERENT SCHEDULE FOR EQUIPMENT. Schedule multiple dates for maintenance of different parts within one calendar and quickly view and adapt general timelines and specific dates. 5. BRING TOGETHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES SCHEDULING AND MANAGEMENT. Establish recurring plant maintenance scheduling, incorporate ad hoc checks and repairs, and manage tools available for both internal and customer services. 6. MONITOR SPARE PARTS INVENTORY WITH CONFIDENCE. Track spare parts and eliminate disconnects to optimize inventory levels you ll have real-time visibility and service process integration with general inventory management. The full ColumbusManufacturing solution includes our best practice business process modeling with RapidValue, our own Advanced Discrete Manufacturing and Supply Chain Solution modules, Microsoft Dynamics AX, and our proven implementation methodology, SureStep+.

8 A big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to the Manufacturing Notes from the Field including: Aleksandar Jovanovic, Antony Prabhath, Ashley Doust, Christopher Johnston, Claudio Tirelli, Dave Ward, David Aronson, David Csordas, Deborah Vermillion, Desikan Srinivasan, Dex Rimington, Edvinas T, Emad Akhtar, Eva Foss, Helge Hansen, Henrik Dall, Jeff Powell, John Robinson, Jolanta Žalˉ udiene, Jon Anders Haugland, Jørgen Gjerde, Ken Jarlfort, Kevin Brandt, Kurt Hatlevik, Linas Tamkutonis, Luciano Cunha, Martin Burden, Mike Makela, Mike Wilson, Morten Skogbrott, Niels Skjoldager, Niraj Nanda, Norman Carmichael, Olav Bækken Natvik, Pål Linde, Rob Terry, Rune Kinden Sjursen, Sam Graham, Steve Weaver, Stuart Mackay, Thomas Hauge, Tom Nall, Troels Kjemtrup and Victor Waschtschenko. The ColumbusManufacturing Notes From The Field Series: Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4 Volume 5 Volume 6 Engineering Change Sales Quotations Advanced Projects Plant Maintenance Service Management Supply Chain For more information on Columbus, our clients experiences and our solutions, please visit ABOUT COLUMBUS: Columbus is the preferred business partner for ambitious companies worldwide within the food, retail and manufacturing industries. We exceed 20 years of experience and 6,000 successful implementations, and we re proud to offer our customers solid industry know-how, high performance solutions and global reach. Columbus is a part of the registered trademark Columbus IT