Whether it be your fixtures, furniture, IT equipment, machinery, or even vehicles, it is plausible that your assets break or get damaged ahead of their useful lifetime. However, nowadays, most goods sold come with a vendor warranty. In case of a product damage, you will definitely want to stay aware of whether your items’ warranties are still valid and active. The above is true especially if the items you purchase are for resale – when you sell these items to your customers and transfer the warranty, you need to be certain of the warranties’ validity as an insurance for yourself. Tracking warranties for all your purchases can be a headache if you’re not systematic and organized. Luckily, you kept the warranty documents and information… Did you not?
If your company uses Oracle NetSuite, whether you sell inventory, serialized, lot, or assembly items, you should be aware of the existence of the Warranties and Repairs bundle. The Bundle enables you to register warranties for items sold, process them, and track customer claims. It also streamlines your refund, repair, and replacement processes – if you have those in your company. With this bundle installed in your account, you’ll be able to increase your operational efficiency by automating tasks that you’re most likely completing manually today.
One of the main benefits of the Warranties and Repairs bundles is that its setup is uncomplicated and can be achieved fairly quickly. You simply start by defining the default warranty terms and conditions, then link those parameters directly to specific item records. If you wish to do so, the items then sold to customers can automatically generate warranty registration records based on your preferences, greatly reducing the manual work required, and increasing your sales team’s performance.
If a client calls about a defective item, your support or customer service team can find out if the item’s warranty is still active by looking up the warranty registration record. The employee can promptly find the warranty record based on multiple information; either using the warranty number, the item’s serial number, the invoice number, or by looking at the customer record. If the warranty is active, creating a claim can be done directly through the warranty record. Claims are always linked to a warranty, allowing multiple claims for the same item over the length of the warranty.
In the case that you receive a claim, it is processed independently and follows a standard procedure. You must simply create a Return Management Authorization (RMA) from the claim record, and wait for the receipt of the item from your customer. The RMA allows for a greater flexibility of the Warranties and Repairs bundle – You have the option of repairing the item in-house, replacing the returned item, or simply refunding the customer for their purchase. You can also customize around the bundle to support an additional process for third-party repairs. This fourth option is useful if you’re unable to repair an item in-house, or if you specialize in resales and simply prefer to outsource the task to the appropriate vendors.
In conclusion, tracking your customer warranties will save you money in the long run. Companies that don’t do it properly end up paying for, or replacing defective items when they don’t need to. However, it is important to remember that, while this can be viewed as an astonishing customer service, your company no longer has a legal obligation if the item’s warranty is expired.
For more information on the Warranties and Repairs bundle or to help on how to best implement it in your account, you can contact our Big Bang experts.
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A Senior Consultant at Big Bang, Louis-Philippe is remarkably detail-oriented. He is dedicated to his work and to the success of his customers. Holding multiple certifications, he has worked on numerous complex ERP implementations for both local and multinational corporations.
