Beverage Industry logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Beverage Industry logo
  • NEWS
    • R&D News
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Products
    • Reader's Choice Poll
  • CATEGORIES
    • Alternative Drinks
    • Beer
    • Bottled Water
    • Cannabis Beverages
    • Carbonated Soft Drinks
    • Energy Drinks & Shots
    • Juice & Juice Drinks
    • Plant-Based Beverages
    • Sports Drinks
    • Tea and Coffee
    • Wine & Spirits
  • R&D
    • Beverage R&D Features
    • Ingredient Spotlight
  • PACKAGING
    • New Packages
    • Packaging Equipment
    • Packaging Material
  • OPERATIONS
    • Distribution
    • Plant Focus
  • TOP LISTS
    • Beer Market Report
    • Executive of the Year
    • State of the Beverage Industry
    • Top 100 Beverage Companies
    • Truck Report
    • Wholesaler of the Year
  • MEDIA
    • eBook
    • Podcast
    • Polls
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • DIRECTORIES
    • Annual Manual
    • Contract Packaging Guide
    • Take a Tour
  • MORE
    • Classifieds
    • Channel Strategies
    • eNewsletters
    • Events
      • Membrane Technology Forum
    • Interactive Product Spotlights
    • Market Insights
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • Archived Issues
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Distribution

Warranty administration through technology

Software tracks opportunities for fleet advantages

By David Kolman
David Kohlman
April 16, 2012

Warranty administration involves the tracking and recovery of all vehicle expenses related to manufacturer recalls and vehicle warranty-covered repairs. Although it can be a time-consuming and complex task, warranty recovery also can be one of the quickest ways to improve a fleet’s operational bottom line.

Because warranty coverage is part of the price paid for a new vehicle as well as for certain parts — whether from the manufacturer or an aftermarket supplier — to ignore warranties and recovery options is throwing money away.

By carefully defining warranty coverage and monitoring warranty matters, fleets should be able to recover a significant amount of these expenses. Many fleets typically rely upon the expertise of the service manager to identify potential claims and, therefore, often miss many claim opportunities. However, a powerful tool to help manage warranties is a good information management system that automates many of the warranty recovery tasks as well as provides real-time coverage analysis and identifies all potential claims.

The biggest challenges fleets face regarding warranty claims are identifying whether a part is eligible for warranty reimbursement, preparing the claim information and tracking the recovery. Without an effective management system, identifying a part that is still under warranty usually requires wading through a lot of paperwork for parts invoices, work orders and claim forms. A shop management system solves these issues and is able to manage all warranty requirements by using an unlimited amount of user-defined warranty schedules for all types of equipment.

Electronic records

Many fleets have found advantages in using a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to handle warranty management and administration. These systems help control, optimize and verify maintenance activities.

Computerized electronic records lay the foundation for automated warranty identification and warranty alerts in real time, whereby a fleet can optimize a repair solution. In general, a CMMS allows the user to carefully record all available warranty coverages on each vehicle and also on aftermarket parts.

Once this data set is established and applied, the system should identify all potential claims in real time. For vehicles, the user simply tells the program what warranty the vehicle has, for example: time, miles, etc., and then instructs the program whom it should notify as the expiration date approaches. When the user sets up a part in the inventory file, he or she defines its warranty. Whenever that part is used on a work order, the warranty attaches itself to the equipment that has been repaired.

If the same equipment comes in for repair and that same part is placed on a work order, many systems will warn the user that the particular part number was used on a previous work order and might still be under warranty.

Automatic identification

Another big issue that fleets face is not always submitting work and reconciling payments received for repairs made on warrantied vehicles; software programs can help with this as well. A good CMMS should automatically identify all possible claims based upon the established warranty for the vehicle. Once identified, the claim can be reviewed for accuracy and edited if needed. Some systems can even generate a fileable claim from the data provided.

Additionally, a quality system will track and apply claims recovery for each individual vehicle. Reports showing warranty claim history by vehicle and system will assist a fleet in purchasing and specification decisions.

Without a CMMS, the time and resources required to maintain a warranty recovery program can be overwhelming. What’s more, all that has to be accomplished very quickly after the repair is completed, and most fleets do not have dedicated people to track and file warranty claims.

Because of the lag caused by the research time and the possibility that the part has already been scrapped, many shops have come to think that trying to recover the warranty on lower cost parts doesn’t pay off. A CMMS can provide in-system alerts when a part is eligible for warranty, tag the failed parts, save the information for a more convenient time to process the claim, and easily look up previous work orders and supplier invoices for a specific part or job. BI


Software Considerations

Officials with Paccar Parts, which operates a network of parts distribution centers that offer after-sales support to Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF dealerships around the world, offer this advice for shopping for a computerized warranty system:

• Get your people involved before the system is purchased, especially those who are expected to use it.

• Make sure that the system you are considering meets your key performance indicators, quantifiable measurements used to define and gauge performance factors in terms of meeting strategic, business and operational goals.

• Determine whether the system provider offers training and continuing support, and at what cost.

A good computerized warranty system should provide the following, according to TMW Systems, a leading supplier of solutions covering the transportation services sector:

• Ability to compile and track all potential warranty opportunities.

• Provide alerts when a warranty-eligible repair — both internal and external — should be performed.

• Generate a warranty claim that can be filed with the warranty provider.

• Alert technicians in real time to save warranty-eligible repair parts.

• Generate warranty core tags.

• Automatically apply negotiated warranty labor rates and parts mark-ups to confirmed warranty claims.

• Apply warranty experience to vehicle lifecycle history costs.BI

 

KEYWORDS: beverage fleet trucks

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

David Kolman is a veteran truck communicator, keynote speaker and long-haul trucker. Commissioned as an Honorary Colonel on the Kentucky governor’s staff for his work promoting traffic safety, he actively participates in trade associations and reports news and information about the trucking industry for broadcasting and print media.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla shakes

    Classic flavors provide reliable, consistent results for beverage-makers

    Classic flavors of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry...
    Ingredient Spotlight
    By: Chloe Alverson
  • Free Spirits Instant Bar Bundle

    Lifestyle trends drive growth for non-alcohol category

    As lifestyle trends continue to drive growth for the...
    Alternative Drinks
    By: Lauren Sabetta
  • Younger generation displays unique habits when it comes to beverage consumption

    Generation Z shakes things up in beverage

    Experts share that Gen Z is changing the standard on what...
    Beverage News
    By: Chloe Alverson
Manage My Account
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine Subscription
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Beverage Industry audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Beverage Industry or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Fourpeople toasting with cocktails made with low-sugar ingredients, celebrating healthier drink options.
    Sponsored byCargill

    What’s Hot in Sugar Reduction: Beverages

  • chocolate milk
    Sponsored byCargill

    Sweetening the Future for Dairy and Dairy-Alternative Beverages

  • woman pouring a drink
    Sponsored byFFP

    Building a Beverage System: Meeting Consumer Demand for Precision Wellness

Popular Stories

Sting Energy

PepsiCo, Sting Energy unveil global partnership with Formula 1

PepsiCo + poppi

PepsiCo completes acquisition of poppi

people drinking Wynk

Mindful drinking prompts growth for THC beverages

Vote for your favorite new product

Have your say in what makes it to the top this month!
Vote for your favorite new product and help us celebrate excellence.


VOTE NOW!

Events

April 16, 2025

2025 State of the Industry Series: Alcoholic Beverages

On Demand In Beverage Industry’s annual State of the Industry: The Alcohol Beverage Market, analysts at S&D Insights LLC delve into these trends and how they’re shaping the industry.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Retail Coffee Segment

What retail coffee segments will fare well into the next year?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

Milk and Dairy Foods Nutrition, Processing and Healthy Aging

Milk and Dairy Foods Nutrition, Processing and Healthy Aging

See More Products

Related Articles

  • Matrix Siping Tread Block

    Efficiency through tire advances

    See More
  • Distribution: Safe driving through work zones

    See More
  • New technology increases communications

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • 144433381X.jpg

    Chemistry and Technology of Soft Drinks and Fruit Juices, 3rd Edition

  • brewing.jpg

    Handbook of Brewing, Third Edition

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • March 9, 2010

    Food Plant of the Future: Advancing Food Safety through Sanitary Design

    AVAILABLE ON DEMAND   Food and beverage companies work hard to consistently deliver safe products because they understand that the stakes are extremely high – for the public and for their companies. 
View AllSubmit An Event
×

Elevate your expertise in the beverage marketplace with unparalleled insights and connections.

Join thousands of beverage professionals today. Shouldn’t you know what they know?

JOIN NOW!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing