Selecting a Service Provider
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Successful service relationships are almost always based on solid planning. To be competitive, a well organized organization won’t wait for disasters to occur before they decide how to deal with them. Instead, they determine what type of service provider will best suit their needs for various failures—before emergencies are encountered. The goal is to ensure that repairs are performed in the most efficient way possible. In this section, we’ll take a look at some important considerations that should be taken into account when selecting a service provider.
Manufacturers vs. Third Party Service Provider
Many variables need to be considered when evaluating whether to use the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) service organization or to use another service provider. The first, of course, is whether or not the OEM is able or authorized to repair any other manufacturer’s equipment. Cost is also a consideration. OEMs are typically higher priced than other service providers; however, this is not always the case for their large or strategic customers.
Flexibility is another key variable to consider. For mixed equipment and/or mixed manufacturer environments, having a flexible or unique service plan is the most beneficial and most cost-effective way to ensure consistent up-time at a price that allows your operation to be competitive. Does the service organization you are considering allow you to design a service offering to meet your unique needs or do they require that you fit yourself into one of their pre-packaged plans?
Typically OEMs offer pre-packaged service options and in general cannot even consider repairing a product that is not already on their list of repaired products. A third party service organization is more likely to be able to work with you and investigate what it would take to repair the unit.
Multiple Vendors vs. One-Stop Shop
Determine if it makes sense to develop relationships with multiple repair providers –one for each brand of equipment you use—or if it makes more sense to establish a relationship with a service provider who can support all of your ADC and POS equipment. Many equipment manufacturers offer service and repair only for their own equipment. Yet, it is rare for warehouse or retail applications to have equipment from only one manufacturer.
When making this determination it’s important to understand how quickly your products need to be back up and running; and, it’s important for your staff to know who to contact for each type or brand of equipment you use. Sometimes it’s less of a hassle to use one vendor.
Time vs. Cost
Determine your budget and the priorities for your organization: time to repair vs. cost of repair. Obviously, the key is to balance these two often-competing goals.
It is good to be aware that faster turnaround often results in a higher repair cost. A competent service provider can work with you to find the best, most cost effective mix of service offerings to meet both your up-time demands and your expense pressures.
Quality Measures
It doesn’t matter how fast a repair is performed or how cheap it is, if the quality of the work is poor. Evaluate how the service provider monitors and ensures the quality of each repair and the quality process throughout their organization. Many external standards organizations exist today to ensure consistency and quality of work. If the service provider has an external registration or certification of their quality procedures you at least know that quality and consistency are things they value; and, you have the security of knowing that an external organization has verified their quality control procedures.
Apart from external certifications, it’s important to learn: how the service provider ensures that a repair is performed accurately; how they track your repaired item; and how they ensure that their technicians are qualified to work on the products they repair. Inquiring about the service provider’s warranty return rate for repairs will provide you with more information for your decision as well.
Service Provider Location
Evaluate the importance of geographic proximity of the repair facility to your operation. Many OEM service centers are sending their repair work out of the country, which causes delays in the repair process. Many others use third party repair centers and are reselling another company’s service; find out exactly where your equipment is being repaired.
Service Provider Certifications
Repairing POS and ADC equipment often requires intrinsic knowledge of each manufacturer’s design. Find out what accreditation or certification the service has to repair each manufacturer’s products. Obviously, if you are considering using the equipment manufacturer’s service organization this isn’t an issue; however, you do need to confirm whether the manufacturer is qualified to repair other manufacturers’ products.
Questions to ask of any potential service provider include:
- How many vendors’ products are they certified to repair?
- What is their relationship with the equipment manufacturer(s)?
- What other customers use them?
- What in-warranty and post-warranty affiliations do they have?
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