After-sales support for a distributor network

Before

The distribution network had forty dealers across the provinces. Failures were reported by phone. Support wrote the customer name on a sheet and the warehouse shipped a part from that description. Often the machine was not identified. Once an old-model pump went out for last year's unit and the dealer had to send the shipment back. The complaint repeated, and nobody was sure the warranty was still open.

Purchase history lived with the dealer, not at head office. When a dealer changed, the office did not know which parts that customer had already received. Every call started from zero, and the customer felt the company did not know its own machine.

What was built

The dealer file puts the serial number, the purchase history, the warranty, and the ticket side by side. Support types the serial and sees the model, the install date, and the parts already sent. The part request goes to the warehouse from that record, and the warehouse cannot ship a part that does not match the model.

The dealer reads the ticket on their own page and does not call again to ask if the shipment left. If the warranty has ended, the same page shows the part cost, so nobody promises it for free.

A working day

The Ahvaz dealer calls and gives the pump serial. Support opens the file: installed last year, two seal replacements, four months of warranty left. The seal request goes to the warehouse from that record. The warehouse picks the compatible part and the issue is posted against that serial.

The next day the dealer sees which route the shipment is on. When the part arrives, the ticket closes with a note, and the next call does not start from zero. At the end of the week the support lead sees which model comes back most, not only how many calls there were.

The result

The right part reaches the right machine. Returns caused by the wrong model dropped, because the warehouse picks the part from the serial, not from a phone description.

Repeat complaints dropped. A customer who calls a second time talks to someone who can see the machine's history. The network is still busy. Each dealer has a file, not a lost phone call.