Warranty Fraud Management

Chapter 12Implementing a Warranty Control Framework

What should a manufacturer do to improve its warranty fraud management capabilities? Naturally, this depends on the current status of the capabilities, and this in turn determines the type of improvement initiative that is appropriate. We look primarily at the service agent and customer fraud scenarios. However, the approach is applicable to other cases and setups as well.

The typical structure of any warranty control improvement initiative includes the following steps:

1. Assess the current situation.
2. Craft an improvement plan.
3. Define policies and rules.
4. Build the capabilities.
5. Deploy the change.

The following two issues need to be taken into account:

• Business case considerations
• Challenges in implementation

These are important, as improving warranty control and tackling warranty fraud is difficult and needs to be financially justified. We discuss the steps and the issues in a warranty control improvement initiative in this chapter and conclude with recommended principles for achieving a successful warranty transformation.

ASSESSING THE CURRENT SITUATION

Like with any roadmap, the manufacturer needs to know the current situation and the desired targets in order to develop a plan for a successful warranty control transformation. When assessing the current situation, key questions need to be addressed:

• Is there evidence or suspicions of fraudulent behavior?
• What are the potential root causes and motivations for suspected ...