iTECH: Fleets Increase Payments With Warranty Software Rich

When Asif Rizvi, vice president of maintenance at Crete Carrier Corp., switched to a warranty software management program last year, he not only cut his time to file a claim to a day and a half from several weeks, but he also increased the amount of warranty payments he was able to capture. Now, he expects to see payments increase 80% to 85% in the current fiscal year.

Rizvi isn’t alone. Todd England, executive vice president, maintenance, of C.R. England Inc., Salt Lake City, also has seen a significant increase in his warranty capture — 40% to 50% over the past year — thanks to warranty software from TMW Systems.

“By setting up templates in our system of what warranties exist on certain vehicles, the system will come back and tell us when a repair should be covered under warranty,” England said. “There is a lot of upfront work, but if you’re willing to do that with the appropriate software, it helps with flagging repairs that should be covered under warranty.”

England said the true value of the system lies in getting the warranty information into technicians’ hands. “If you leave it to the warranty guy to get it after the fact, you’re going to be missing things,” England said.

Warranty management software houses data which fleets either enter manually for each asset or download from the manufacturer. The systems rely on VMRS codes, the nine-digit, vendor-neutral numbers that allow fleets and software providers to identify parts and repairs across manufacturers. When mechanics enter a VRMS code that is associated with a part under warranty, the software alerts technicians that it is a covered item, typically with a pop-up window.

“The system is going to remind you every single time. It is software. It doesn’t take coffee breaks, and it isn’t indifferent to the job. It does what it’s supposed to do,” said Jack Boetefuer, chief executive officer of transportation software maker Arsenault Associates. “As long as they don’t ignore the pop-up, they’re going to get a significant savings from the warranty.”

Dave Walters, a solutions engineer for TMW Systems, said warranty software helps carriers identify every potential opportunity, including the original equipment manufacturer’s warranty, the extended component warranty on a vehicle and the aftermarket parts warranties. “Any good information system needs to be able to identify those three warranty opportunities,” he said. “Next, you need a system that makes it a normal part of the work process, so when a technician pulls open the software, something lets him know the part is warrantable.”

Crete uses software from Cetaris, and mechanics use wireless handhelds to type in repair information. “As soon as a warrantable item is added, it would flag that it was on warranty, and the technician would go in and be prompted to write the complaint, cause and correction,” Rizvi said.

When the technician finishes the work order, the system automatically prompts the shop supervisor to review the repair and mark it as complete. Next, the warranty department receives an alert to file the claim in the OEM system. “Then we close the work order and basically wait for the reimbursement to come in and apply it to that asset,” Rizvi said. “The goal is to recoup every last cent you spent.

“That pays for itself, but we don’t see it as a payment. It is something we’re entitled to and something we were able to get it back,” he said. “You’re basically recouping the money you spent for this very reason.”

Prior to Cetaris, Crete used a laborious and paper-oriented system, Rizvi said. “You would lose track of what was done or not done and it didn’t have sound metrics.”

Ric Bedard, president of Cetaris, said, “The biggest thing the system does is organizes information to make it easier for the customer. It is a tool to manage the process.” He added that the software lets carriers drill down into how many days the warranty has been due, who paid it and who didn’t and why they rejected the claim.

Rizvi reviews his metrics regularly, including the aging metric that lets him see how long claims have been open. “That prompts discussion on just about a monthly or daily basis with the OEM, and we have a pretty candid discussion to ask if a claim was rejected and why,” he said.

Decisiv Inc., Glen Allen, Va., helps its customers identify warrantable repairs by integrating with Volvo, Mack, Daimler Trucks North America and Cummins to give fleets real-time data tied to each individual asset.

“We can identify a service event, what the warranty is and if there are any recalls,” said Michael Riemer, vice president of product and channel marketing at Decisiv. “For the components and parts guys, we can provide reporting back on those types of campaigns,” Riemer said.

Glen McDonald, director of maintenance for Ozark Motor Lines, Memphis, Tenn., said warranty software is particularly helpful when you consider how many companies a carrier may file warranty claims with. “Off of one tractor, there are probably eight companies with different warranties, and you have to file each one with that vendor,” he said, adding that he uses software from TMW Systems.

While warranty claims obviously add up on big-ticket items, McDonald finds that small items matter as well. “Any time a driver replaces a light on the road, we ask them to bring it back to us. One light that we use has a one-year warranty, and another has a two-year warranty,” he said. “The LED lights we use on our trailers come with a 10-year warranty.”

Walters said, “All fleets do a halfway decent job of capturing the major items, but if you don’t have an information system, there is no way you can capture the aftermarket parts.”

Scott Kessinger, shop manager at Haney Truck Line’s Yakima, Wash., headquarters, said that with 500 tractors and 1,700 trailers, his eligible warranty capture is in excess of $1 million a year. He manages those claims with Dossier from Arsenault Associates.

Before using software to track warrantable repairs, Kessinger said, the process was hit-or-miss, particularly with aftermarket parts. “If a mechanic noticed that the part looked fairly new, he’d bring it up to a supervisor, and then the research would be done. Each piece of equipment had a file folder in a file cabinet, and you had to pull it out and start reading each and every one. It was a long tedious process,” Kessinger said.

Like the other systems, Dossier uses VMRS codes to flag work orders with warrantable repairs. As manager, Kessinger also receives automatic notices about a warranty before closing out a work order. “It is a backup to the backup, so multiple people are seeing what is going on,” he said.

Entering parts information can be tedious the first time, Kessinger said. “You input the part number, description, vendor and VMRS code, your pricing information and your warranty information.”

Kessinger keys in his warranty information manually, which takes about 15 minutes for the first unit in a batch and one minute for each additional unit. “If we’re doing the first truck and we have 40 to enter, you enter all that information one time — your unit number and serial number, engine manufacturer, license and warranty information — then you hit save and copy. On the next screen, you only have to enter the unit number, serial number and the mileage.”

J.P. Venezia, maintenance systems and food-compliance manager at Venezia Bulk Transport Inc., has been using TMW’s system for more than 10 years and said warranty capture has increased 300%. Technicians input repairs and receive warranty notices on a touch-screen computer in the shop or a laptop or tablet in the field.

“They don’t have to be here in front of a foreman to know if a part is covered under warranty. The system generates a warranty tag that you put on the part itself. The claim gets generated, we file the claim and if the manufacturer asks for the part back, we go and pull it and send it back,” Venezia said.

Not only does Venezia capture more warranty, he uses the data from the system to shape future purchases. “You can look at it by year, component, by group and determine if you need any type of extended warranty in the next go-around,” he said.

Rizvi uses the data to calculate the true cost per mile associated with a unit, which is why he also tracks warranty work done outside of Crete’s shops. To keep track of warranty work done at a dealer, Crete creates a work order showing it was a warrantable repair and receives a no-charge invoice detailing the work.

That is a step some fleets skip, Walters said. “Even though that was zero dollars, we need to know the alternator failed and was repaired,” Walters said.

England said that, even with software, capturing warranty can be difficult. “All of the t’s need to be crossed and i’s dotted with respect to making sure your people are generating the proper reports,” he said. “It is important to have someone in the organization who knows and understands the different warranties that you’ve got.”