As mentioned previously, one of the primary purposes of CAR is recording the details concerning a service activity. These details can be broken down to the call line level. For example, you can have several lines on a call. Even though the items all belong to one end user, the service activity may be performed at different times.

Call Activity Recording enables you to track details separately for each line.

There are a number of related setup and supportive functions that can be performed prior to using Call Activity Recording. Not every business will require all the different kinds of processing defaults.

However, once the setup is complete, the system automatically suggests default values for most fields, so that data entry is minimized.

As this figure illustrates, the system analyzes the coverage for the call item and, based on this information, suggests an appropriate code for managing the financial impact of the service.

As shown in the above figure, Call Activity Recording provides many other features important in streamlining the process of recording service details and meeting special business requirements.

Other features of SSM are used in conjunction with Call Activity Recording to manage service inventory. For repetitive service functions, it is not necessary for the operator to manually key in the items used and operations performed. These can be defined in service BOMs and routings and automatically loaded into CAR as usage detail records.

Material Orders are another important feature that facilitate the management of service inventory. Engineers can obtain the parts they need for service activities by ordering them with a Material Order (MO). The MO effectively transfers the required inventory to the engineer’s site/location in preparation for its use on a call.

Processing in CAR can update the installed base in three ways: the call line item, any items issued to repair it, any items returned. All updates to the installed base in CAR depend on setting the Update ISB switch to Yes for the call line.

Call Activity Recording eventually produces a standard invoice, just as a sales order does. It builds on the processing logic of sales orders and work orders and provides the features that are familiar to users of other parts of the system.

Other standard features you will see in CAR are shown in the figure.