IDC Manufacturing Insights unveils Warranty Management Maturity Model

IDC Manufacturing Insights’ product lifecycle strategies practice has unveiled an initiative to develop a Warranty Management Maturity Model, a proposed standard framework for companies to assess the maturity and capabilities of their warranty organization, benchmark against peers, and initiate a continuous improvement process. The first of its kind, this framework will provide manufacturers with standard language, metrics, maturity stages, and a basis for the best practices and technologies that improve performance and accelerate business transformation.

Technology and engineering oriented manufacturers will benefit greatly from this new model as, according to IDC research, these organizations spend an average of 2-4% of revenues on warranty.

“Warranty management is an area of great opportunity for cost reduction in the discrete industry,” said Sheila Brennan, Product Lifecycle Strategies program manager for IDC Manufacturing Insights. “Until now, there was no way for organizations to independently assess their ‘as-is’ state of warranty and determine their roadmap for incrementally moving forward. Standardization will provide a basis for a higher level of collaboration, resulting in streamlined operations and increased business decision agility.”

IDC Manufacturing Insights is working with key members of the Institute of Warranty Chain Management (iWCM), Warranty Week, and industry representatives to vet out the initial model. Other organizations, including OESA and AIAG, are supporting this initiative. Following the development of the model, IDC will launch a large industry assessment survey through Warranty Week (http://www.warrantyweek.com) that will be open to product quality and warranty executives worldwide starting at the end of September. The framework and study results will be presented at the Warranty Chain Management Conference in March 2011 in San Diego.

Once finalized, IDC Manufacturing Insights will release ownership of the model to the iWCM and its members for future maintenance. This will allow the iWCM to develop training courses, practitioner certifications and other mechanisms to support the advancement of the global warranty management profession, its mission since formation in 2006.