ERP Service Module – Planning, Warranties and Contracts

Service Planning - Attending of unscheduled maintenance tasks arising out of breakdown and faults both for internal and external customer is an important service activity of any organization. However, bulk of service activities arise out of planned service activities. For internal customers, this may be routine maintenance of plant and equipments, arising out of preventive maintenance schedule. For external customers also, majority of service activities arising out of service contracts and warranties, are regular in nature. Service module of ERP software enables proper planning and monitoring of such a routine service activities.

Maintenance Planning Procedure: This is best illustrated by the following diagram:

1. Reference Activities
   1. These are the basic elements which are used to create a maintenance prediction or a maintenance plan. Reference activity data consists of information about the reference activities performed on the objects/ component. These reference activities are used while creating the service orders. For example toner replacement. The materials and labor requirements for the service orders are attached to reference activities
   2. The reference activity is always linked to a service type such as external, internal, help desk.

2. Maintenance Concepts
   1. Here the activities that must be carried out and the number of times the reference activity must be carried out are specified.

3. Generate Predictions - This is the plan of activities that have to be carried out for the entire maintenance life cycle.

Warranties - Manufacturers often provide warranties to their customers that cover the correct quality and functioning of their product. A warranty is structured to contain warranty term and warranty period. This structure may be simple for a home appliance such as carry on/ on site full warranty for one year. But for situation such as supply of plant of equipment, this structure may be complex where extensive warranty term is needed to be in place and to be acted upon periodically, as shown in the following example:

Warranty functionality of service module provides configurable template for capturing complex warranty structure which can be fully tailored to meet the requirement of customers. This warranty structure links cost term, coverage terms as well as phasing of coverage terms. On attaching the warranty structure to an object, predictable service activities for the entire life cycle of the object is generated. The planned service order, thus generated, is subsequently converted to actual service orders.

Service contracts - Service contracts should be administered as professionally as possible. This is facilitated by contracts functionality of service module which specifically does the following:

1. Making service contract quotations with price simulation tools which help in arriving at a correct gross margin for the service quotation.
2. Generating service contracts out of various configurable templates which incorporate service types, pricing structure and validity.
3. Maintaining and working with service contracts which include monitoring of cost of material, labor, travel, subcontracting and help desk. All activities related to a service contract are tracked and logged in the system.
4. Creating contract installment which is used for phasing the service activities and progressive invoicing.

Contract Management procedure: This is best illustrated by the following diagram: