Warranty Council Members Gain Insight on OEM Warranty Processes
Greg Janicki, OESA

The Sept. 15, 2011, OESA Warranty Management Council meeting featured presentations from OEMs and industry experts.  Dale Zajac, supplier quality engineer, purchasing and supplier quality, Chrysler Group, LLC, led off the meeting by sharing an update on the Chrysler warranty program.  Zajac walked council members through the Supplier Associated Warranty Reduction Program (SAWRP), the new Chrysler warranty system.  Zajac also spoke about the External Balanced Scorecard.

Warranty Management Council Chairman Michael Hirt, manager warranty and quality systems, ADAC, led a discussion surrounding the warranty terms comparative analysis document, which the council is updating for 2011.  The document, Comparative Analysis of OEM Warranty Programs, provides a reference to help suppliers in their warranty management efforts. 

Tim O’Connor, principal, and Ronald Harbour, partner, Oliver Wyman, gave a presentation on warranty trends, which focused on how the increased burden of warranty has shifted from the OEMs to suppliers.

Jason Payne, warranty intelligence engineering manager, Schrader Electronics, gave an overview presentation of the Nissan Warranty Action Teams.  In his presentation, Payne identified areas the joint Nissan-supplier group is focusing on and action steps that are emerging on how to collaboratively attack warranty issues.

Finally, the member roundtable provided an opportunity for council members to discuss critical issues facing their companies. Topics included the latest action on the OESA-CLEPA-JAPIA Warranty Principles and Protocols document and various warranty processes issues and changes with North American OEMs.

The Warranty Management Council is open to senior executives or functional managers responsible for warranty or the warranty process from OESA regular member companies.  The council’s purpose is to identify and address strategic issues, share best practices, recommend solutions and promote the welfare of the supplier industry by supporting the effective implementation of warranty practices.  For more information, contact Keiyania Mann at 248.952.6401 ext. 236 or kmann@oesa.org.