Service/Support Management sets up and manages the interactions required for supporting, maintaining, or repairing items, whether they are covered by warranty or service contract. The User Guide is organized around the primary functions of service and support: setup, warranties and contracts, calls, and service activity.

Setting up SSM depends on your implementation decisions. The three main areas are:

Service types and warranties define basic relationships with your customers. The terms and conditions associated with service types drive service activity. Limits and levels of coverage determine how much you charge for service.

Service contracts define a particular relationship with an individual customer. The terms and conditions of the contract are based on a contract type, but you can tailor them for an individual customer. The contract’s life cycle may begin with a quote, move to the contract, involve billing and invoicing, and continue with contract renewal or delete/archive functions. Contracts control the automatic scheduling of preventive maintenance calls.

The service organization typically uses calls to manage customer contact and track service activity. Call management functions include engineer scheduling, escalation sequences to ensure timely response, and creating service requests for managing long-term product design issues.

Designing a pending call system and managing call quotes can also be part of the call process.