At Electrolux Home Products Inc., incomplete or inaccurate claim forms submitted by warranty service providers hindered the company’s ability to pay those third-party providers in a timely manner””and consequently keep customer-service levels high. The company began taking steps to address that in 2000 and is plotting the next phase of its service strategy: letting consumers schedule service calls themselves through the Web.
ServiceBench Inc., which supplies a Web-based supply-chain-management system that processes service-call dispatching, parts ordering, and warranty claims among manufacturers, distributors, and authorized service centers, is working with Electrolux and its internal development team on the self-service scheduling project. The feature would be added to ServiceBench’s DispatchCenter suite, which Electrolux Home Products, a division of Electrolux Group, uses to more efficiently process service claims forms.
Before the maker of Eureka vacuum cleaners and Frigidaire refrigerators began using ClaimCenter, the error rate for incomplete or inaccurate claims forms exceeded 65% of all submissions. Electrolux had required service providers to mail paper forms to Electrolux, where the data would be rekeyed into a database. But that process lacked speed and efficiency.
“We rely on more than 5,000 individual service companies employing 2,700 technicians” to provide service to customers, says Mark Newell, head of communications and training for the consumer-services group of Electrolux Home Products. “To maintain high service standards [for consumers], you need a good relationship with the service company, which means we need to pay them on time.”
The automated system in place today lets Electrolux customer-service reps issue service orders to warranty providers via DispatchCenter. The providers now can fill out warranty claims and reimbursement requests online through ServiceBench’s ClaimCenter Web application, speeding the payment process. Error rates have since dropped to between 3% and 5%.
Electrolux says it’s reaping other benefits by using ServiceBench’s software. For instance, it uses the vendor’s PerformanceCenter app to analyze data collected during the service cycle, and SurveyCenter, an application to track service levels through customer surveys and feedback.
By automating its services supply chain, Electrolux says it now has access to information to help it keep service levels high and lower costs, too. For instance, Electrolux can analyze data from service calls to spot reoccurring problems in specific appliances. The insight helps the company forecast the need for specific parts and lets it help warranty providers correct problems more quickly. AMR Research estimates companies that diagnose problems at initial contact reduce overall costs of service and inventory by more than 60%.
Automation also enables Electrolux to monitor for duplicate claims. “Having the ability to detect fraudulent claims provides us a return on investment that is significant enough to cover the cost of the software and service,” Newell says. The suite of applications costs less than $500,000. Monthly service charges depend on transactional volume and the number of dispatches or claims processed.
In conjunction with the launch of high-end Electrolux Icon appliances in the United States next month, ServiceBench says Electrolux plans to use new features of its Report Card service-quality-assurance program to rank the performance of appliance servicers. Those providers that rank highest will be first in line to receive service calls in their service areas.
From Information Week