Warranty Management: Completing the Loop for the Entire Warranty Chain

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - June 10, 2010) -  The latest research report published by the Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS) entitled Warranty Management: The Bridge to Future Revenue Creation found that top performing companies are looking to implement an end-to-end workflow process to handle claims and product returns. The importance of the warranty chain has historically centered on the desire to reduce and / or contain costs and, as a by-product, keep customers more satisfied through a more structured warranty processing relationship. In recent years, leading organizations have found that effective warranty management not only helps to accomplish the historic goals of cost containment and enhanced experience, but can also be counted on to generate an incremental revenue stream supported by a more aggressive program of extended warranty sales.

"The warranty chain is a fertile ground for service firms to drive future recurring revenue streams when positioned as a strategic aspect of an enhanced service offering and not just a way to reduce costs," said Aly Pinder Jr., Strategic Service Management Research, Aberdeen Group. "The ability to provide all required parties with ready access to warranty specific information to resolve a service issue is integral to enhancing the overall service experience."

Research findings in the Warranty Management report indicate that while all companies are looking to streamline the parts return process to improve overall efficiency, leading businesses are also utilizing analytics to support key processes, regularly and systematically measuring performance, and incentivizing employees to foster improved performance and a stronger end result. As such, these firms exhibited the following:

* A 2.0 days warranty claims processing time, in contrast to 7.2 days for all others
* A 19% reduction in warranty-related repair / return costs over the last 12 months, as opposed to a 1% increase for all other firms
* A 30% decrease in length of time to process a warranty claim over the previous 12 months, when compared to a 4% decrease in performance for all other organizations

To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=6331&camp=2

Visit Research.Aberdeen.com for additional access to complimentary Service Management Research.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

(C) 2010 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com