Warranty Fraud Management

Chapter 11Structures Influencing Warranty Fraud

With Maximilian Kammerer

In Chapter 5, we discussed warranty management in general, and in Chapters 7 to 10, we discussed in detail the methods to detect and prevent warranty fraud. For crafting and implementing suitable strategies to reduce warranty fraud and the associated costs, the manufacturer needs an effective process and a proper organizational structure. This in turn requires a holistic view of the customer service process and the service organization that takes into account the key factors, when and where to influence warranty. In this chapter, we take that view and discuss the ways to influence warranty management in general and warranty fraud management in particular through the processes and organization of a company.

In the following sections, we will first discuss an effective service process that looks at the different relevant factors. We then look at the organizational structure and issues such as the roles and responsibilities of different units, the mindsets, ethics, and attitudes, and their impact on warranty fraud reduction. To improve warranty fraud management, companies need to compare their service processes and organizations with what is proposed in this chapter. Without this, the manufacturer cannot achieve the goal to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, warranty fraud. This will then be the focus of Chapter 12.

EFFECTIVE SERVICE PROCESS

In general, avoiding warranty fraud is often seen as a reactive task ...