Not tracking warranties leaves a lot of money on the table. But because it can be a logistical nightmare to track every warranty on every part or equipment unit installed, some contractors just accept a minor, but direct hit to profit margins. Still others cope with manually tracking service warranties and equipment/part warranties when customers have used other contractors in the past. Who fixed what?
Especially if you service residential customers, you already know warranties are key to being competitive. But how can you stay on top all the information, short of hiring a dedicated inventory person?
Serialized Warranty Tracking Grows Profit Margins
With serialized warranty tracking, contractors grow profits in multiple ways. First, by ensuring that equipment is installed based on warranty expiration (parts expiring sooner get installed first). No more expired inventory.
Second, by knowing which parts are going to expire and offering to replace them proactively. You tell customers it’s time: pay me a little now or a lot later when it breaks and creates an emergency.
Third, it almost totally eliminates any back-and-forth between field techs, the main office, and customers trying to protect their bottom lines.
Growing Customer Satisfaction
Tracking warranties from initial delivery of equipment through installation and maintenance also increases long term customer satisfaction. Not only can you charge back the manufacturer for early replacements, it doesn’t have to come out of the customer’s pocket, and you can show this savings to customers.
Cutting Inventory Costs and Reducing Loss
Whether you keep a large or small inventory, without a system, items go untracked and warranties can expire before the part is even installed. Equipment and parts get lost in warehouses and on trucks, or worse, they get installed at a customer site with no documentation. Now you have untracked parts and units that you need to replace or fix at unnecessary expense.
Are We at Risk?
Here are a few questions to ask yourself about your current inventory management systems or processes (or field service management system). Do your current system or systems enable you to:
- Inventory parts and equipment with manufacturer warranties?
- Install equipment in order of expiration date (first in, first out)?
- Track warranty information after installation on a site?
- Claim the warranty when a part fails within the expiration?
- Easily replace parts for customers which have had a warranty expire?
Our Solution
IndusTrack serialized inventory management lets contractors track warranties at multiple levels – per part, per equipment, per job or service, per customer site, and more. Just receive a part into the database by serial number and record the warranty info with that record of receipt. Once a part is recorded by serial, the warranty information stays with it as it moves through the system: from receiving inventory, onto an estimate, converted to a job, installed with a customer, and invoiced. The serial is assigned under the customer site where it was installed. This eliminates confusion and protects the info you need to support replacement or warranty claims.
Serializing Saves You on Multiple Levels
When you install a part, you want to invoice promptly. You might also provide your own warranty on the service. Now, you have two types of warranty to track. IndusTrack makes this simple and virtually automatic.
Now when it’s time to sell services to your account, you can upsell additional services or replacement parts because you know a part is past its expiration. The home office and technicians in the field can easily access job history under the customer’s information.
When a field technician is dispatched to a site to service a part, they also can access the entire history of field notes regarding work done on the piece. This can prevent multiple trips to and from the warehouse to pick up additional parts. IndusTrack serialized warranty tracking is just one of the many ways IndusTrack closes recordkeeping gaps in order to maximize company profit.
Don’t operate without a net to help you manage this aspect of your offerings.
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