Key Takeaways
- Claims software starts when something has gone wrong. It is built to move a complaint from inbox to resolution.
- A product record starts at the factory. It knows which unit shipped, to whom, with which parts, before anyone complains.
- If most of your claims time goes on working out what was shipped, a faster inbox will not fix it. The missing piece is the record.
- The two are not rivals. The best claims process runs on top of a record that already exists.
Two tools, two starting points
A pallet arrives at a customer's site with one carton crushed. The receiving clerk takes a photo and emails it to the supplier. From here, two very different things can happen.
With claims software, the email becomes a case. It gets a number, an owner, a status and a deadline. Photos are attached. Someone approves a credit or a replacement. The case closes. This is a real improvement on a shared inbox, and for a lot of companies it is the right first step.
With a product record, the clerk scans the code on the packing slip. The case opens already knowing the order, the lines on it, the date it left the factory and who packed it. The clerk adds a photo and taps what is wrong. Nobody has to ask "which delivery was this?"
Both end with a resolved claim. The difference is where the information comes from.
What claims software is good at
Claims and returns tools are built around the complaint. They tend to do these things well:
- Intake. A form or portal that collects the same details every time, instead of free-text emails.
- Workflow. Routing, approvals, deadlines and reminders, so nothing sits unanswered.
- Decisions. Rules for refund, repair, replace or reject, often with automation for the simple cases.
- Reporting. How many claims, how fast, how much they cost.
If your products are sold through retail, your volumes are high and each claim looks much like the last, this is often exactly what you need.
Where claims software runs out
Every claims tool has to answer the same question at the start of every case: what exactly is this?
Which order. Which unit. Which serial number, which build, which batch of parts. Is it still under warranty? Who sold it, and who owns it now?
Claims software usually gets those answers by asking. It asks the customer to type an order number, upload a receipt or read a serial off a label. Or it looks them up in another system after the case is open. When the answers are wrong or missing, a person chases them by email.
For a manufacturer of machines and equipment, this is where most of the time goes. The decision on a claim is often quick. Establishing the facts is slow.
What a product record does differently
A product record is created when the product is made or shipped, not when it breaks. Each unit, or each shipment, gets its own code. That code links to what your ERP already knows: the order, the lines, the serial, the build, the date it left.
Because the record exists first, everything that happens later attaches to it:
- The first scan can register the owner, with no form to fill in.
- A delivery problem opens a case that already knows what was shipped.
- A warranty claim checks cover against the real ship date, not a receipt.
- A spare part is matched to that unit's build, not the range.
- A change of owner moves the record to the new owner, so the history goes with the machine.
The claim is one event in the life of the product. The record is the whole life.
How to tell which one you need
Ask where the hours go on a typical claim.
| If most of the time goes on... | You probably need... |
|---|---|
| Chasing replies and approvals | Claims software |
| Inconsistent claim forms | Claims software |
| Working out what was shipped | A product record |
| Finding the serial and build | A product record |
| Checking who owns it now | A product record |
| Matching the right spare part | A product record |
If your answers sit mostly at the top of the table, start with a claims tool. If they sit at the bottom, a better inbox will make the chasing faster without removing it.
Why not both?
You can, and many manufacturers will. But the order matters.
Claims software on its own asks the customer for facts you already hold. A product record on its own can still feed the claims tool you use today, through the same code. Start from the record and the claims process gets simpler, whichever tool runs it.
Starting small
A product record does not mean a big programme. One leading European manufacturer is starting with packing slips. Their ERP already prints a slip for every shipment, so each slip will carry its own code. On the rare occasion something arrives not right, their customer scans it and the case opens with the shipment already attached. Nothing changes in how they pick, pack or despatch. The passport comes next, with its own code on each part, from the same ERP data.
From there, the same code can carry the owner's manual, the warranty, the parts list and, when the rules require it, the product passport.
The short version
Claims software makes handling a complaint faster. A product record means you already know the facts when the complaint arrives. If your claims are slow because nobody is sure what was shipped, start with the record.