Transforming Dealer Service Operations for a Global Equipment Manufacturer

Background

A leading global manufacturer of industrial equipment relied on an extensive dealer network to provide service and support for customers around the world. With thousands of installed products in the field, ensuring consistent, efficient, and transparent service across dealers, subcontractors, and customers was becoming increasingly complex.

Challenges

• Fragmented Processes: Each dealer operated with different workflows for managing accounts, work orders, and invoices, creating inefficiencies and delays.
• Limited Visibility: Service teams struggled to track installed products, warranty entitlements, and service contract details across multiple systems.
• Invoicing Complexity: Manual claim validation and dealer invoicing led to errors, rework, and delayed reimbursements.
• Loaner & Rental Management: Handling short-term equipment needs for downed units lacked a standardized process.
• Contract Alignment: Managing both customer-facing service contracts and dealer subcontracts was error-prone, risking misaligned pricing and entitlements.

Solution

The company implemented a centralized service management platform integrated with SAP, designed to unify dealer, customer, and equipment data in one system of record.

Key capabilities delivered included:

• Work Order Automation: Automated creation, entitlement checks, and dispatch of work orders directly to the appropriate dealer branch or technician.
• Dealer Service Teams: Service Teams ensured work was auto-assigned to the correct dealer branch and visible to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Invoicing Workbench: Introduced dealer invoice validation, batch claim processing, and business rules to reduce errors and speed approvals.
• Loaner & Rental Tracking: Enabled full lifecycle management of loaner and rental equipment tied directly to work orders.
• Warranty & Contract Integration: Pulled entitlement data from SAP and warranty systems into ServiceMax, streamlining coverage validation and subcontract creation.
• Analytics & Reporting: Provided dashboards for tracking work order status, estimates, invoices, and preventive maintenance activity.

Results

• Greater Efficiency: Reduced manual work and standardized dealer processes across regions.
• Improved Accuracy: Automated validation reduced errors in warranty, contract, and invoice management.
• Stronger Dealer Collaboration: Dealers gained visibility into accounts, products, and contracts, ensuring alignment with corporate policies.
• Faster Service Response: Auto-dispatch and loaner/rental tracking minimized downtime for customers.
• Scalable Architecture: The new platform supported global operations and could adapt as new regions, dealers, and equipment lines were added.

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