Chapter 1: Early Stage Issues

Title: Warranty Management with PLM systems

Author(s): Abhishek Singh

Address: Tata Consultancy Services Limited B Quadrant, 1&supst; Floor, C Block, 1 Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Vadapalani, Chennai.

Reference: International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management 2006 pp. 329 - 337

Abstract/Summary: There is a growing pressure on the Original Equipment Manufactures (OEMs) to deliver high quality products with least or no defects. This demands a system to track and manage information that will lead to a defect free product. It becomes increasingly important to capture information during the product's development that will be helpful in case of a warranty, and the remedy to inefficient warranty management is the presence of an established warranty management system within the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system. In the product's lifecycle, where tracking and capturing of information related to the product plays a significant role, Warranty Management becomes critical for defining the success of the product in the market. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) initiatives today are trying to capture the product's lifecycle and thus helping manufacturers to reduce lead time, and enabling them to have a better market share and good quality product. But there is a missing component in the PLM system, a component that captures various warranty related information during the product's development. Thus it becomes essential to build Warranty Management module inside the PLM system that fills that void. This paper discusses the introduction of Warranty Management within PLM as an additional module inline with existing modules like content management, change management, and so on. This will help an organization to not only track warranty related information but also provide pertinent and accurate data that is useful during reengineering or during the launch of a new product. This will enhance an organization's image as the organization will be in a better position to deal with warranty claims.

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