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April 8, 2026 Newsletter
From Ownership Gaps to AI Execution Across Warranty and Recall
This week highlights Vehicle Buyback Xchange Group insights on accountability breakdowns plus AI-SWLM Think Tank case studies on claims leakage and quality intelligence
One theme coming through in recent discussions is ownership—specifically where it’s missing and how that impacts outcomes. The latest Recall, Customer Campaigns and Legal Xchange recap highlights how buybacks often become a preventable problem when responsibilities, KPIs, and training aren’t clearly aligned across teams. The next step for the group focuses on sharing performance metrics, benchmarking approaches, and continuing the conversation in the April 21 session.
At the same time, attention is shifting toward how AI is being applied in real workflows. Two upcoming AI-SWLM Think Tank Sponsor Showcases on April 23 and April 30 will highlight how organizations are using automation and decision support to address claims leakage, workflow efficiency, and lifecycle visibility.
This week’s MyWarrantyNetwork Connect brings ownership, performance, and practical application into one place—along with a clear lineup of April–October sessions so you can see exactly where to be.
There’s still time to jump in, catch up, and tap into the conversations already in motion. Join today!
Read on for:
- Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal Xchange Group Insights
- Next Up: AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcases on 4/23 and 4/30
- MAPconnected Current Events Lineup
- Member Spotlight: Cummins’ Sarah Huff, Director of Global Warranty Systems Shares What’s Working
The Buyback Problem No One Owns
From Buybacks to Recall Decisions: Turning Insight into Action
Buybacks continue to surface as a preventable issue—but only when ownership, KPIs, and execution are clearly defined. In the latest Recall, Customer Campaigns and Legal Xchange Group session, facilitated by Wayne Mitchell of Sedgwick, OEM leaders moved beyond policy to examine where breakdowns actually occur across dealer communication, escalation, and case management.
What attendees gained from the discussion:
- Clearer visibility into where buyback processes break down across OEM, dealer, and partner workflows
- Peer perspectives on ownership models, escalation paths, and accountability gaps
- Real-world approaches to improving resolution speed and reducing repeat issues
What members are doing next in the June meetup:
- Sharing service advisor training materials across organizations
- Aligning on KPIs to measure buyback drivers and resolution effectiveness
- Expanding input through broader surveys and peer collaboration
April 21: Recall Strategy On Your Radar? Join 3-4pm where the group will benchmark recall decisions—connecting warranty claims, field data, customer complaints, and regulatory inputs into more structured, defensible frameworks.
🔗 Read the insights and join the next discussions
AI-Service Warranty Lifecycle Management Think Tank Sponsored Showcase Series
AI-enabled transformation across the service and warranty lifecycle is reshaping how OEMs detect risk, manage claims, and move from reactive resolution to continuous intelligence loops powered by AI-driven insights and workflow automation.
Fix the Leak: Reducing Warranty Costs and Reclaiming Margin Across the Claims Lifecycle
Stellantis & ServiceNow Case Study | Sponsored by ServiceNow
April 23 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET | Virtual | Open To All
Warranty leakage remains one of the most underestimated margin drains for OEMs, with many organizations still relying on fragmented legacy systems, manual reviews, and reactive workflows that allow costs to accumulate unnoticed. The gap between what OEMs pay out and what they should pay out is often measured in percentage points of revenue.
This AI-SWLM Think Tank case study brings together industry leaders to explore how manufacturers are applying AI and workflow automation to transform claims processing, reduce leakage, and improve supplier recovery across the full claims lifecycle.
Speakers:
- Jerome Clerc, IT Domain Manager, Aftersales – Warranty & Recall Campaign, Stellantis
- Abhi Rele, Head of Product, Manufacturing, ServiceNow
The discussion will explore how OEMs are connecting claims data, supplier accountability workflows, and AI-assisted review to reduce leakage and improve decision speed across the warranty lifecycle.
Key questions include:
- What are the key challenges OEMs face when addressing growing warranty costs?
- How are leading organizations deploying AI and workflow automation to accelerate claims resolution and close leakage gaps?
- What does a realistic 12-month path to reducing warranty leakage look like—and what does “good” look like in practice?
This session offers actionable insight into how OEMs are leveraging AI-powered workflow solutions to strengthen warranty performance and protect margin.
To Infinity (Loop) and Beyond: Advancing Continuous Quality Diagnostics
Upstream Case Study | Sponsored by Upstream
April 30 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET | Virtual | Open To All
This webinar explores how AI-enabled quality systems are evolving from reactive, post-claim diagnostics toward continuous, data-driven intelligence loops that improve margins, reduce time-to-resolution, and strengthen brand trust.
Vehicle functionality is increasingly defined by software, with updates and improvements deployed in weeks rather than years. As a result, traditional field quality processes—still heavily dependent on repair orders and warranty claims—introduce inherent delays in how issues are detected, understood, and resolved.
Speaker: Arnon Shafir, VP of Automotive Data Intelligence & AI, Upstream
The session focuses on the shift toward continuous quality intelligence spanning production through real-world vehicle operation, enabled by AI-driven pattern detection, risk prioritization, and cross-functional data integration.
At the center of this transition is data. OEMs generate vast volumes of information across telemetry, warranty, service, and production systems, but it often remains fragmented. A unified data layer that connects and contextualizes vehicle, component, and service data is key to enabling enterprise-wide quality intelligence.
Only then can AI be effectively applied to:
- Identify emerging patterns and systemic risks earlier across fleets and components
- Accelerate root cause analysis across production and field data
- Enable targeted countermeasures and feed validated insights back into engineering and production
This enables a more continuous quality loop, shifting from post-claim visibility toward earlier risk detection, faster resolution, and stronger alignment across after-sales, quality, engineering, and production teams.
MAPconnected Events: April – October
April 16 | 3:00–4:15 PM ET
Warranty Administration Xchange Meetup — Optimizing Warranty Claims: Efficiency, Accuracy and Fraud Prevention
April 21 | 3:00–4:00 PM ET
Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal Xchange Meetup — Exploring the Decision to Recall
April 23 | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM ET
AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase — Fix the Leak: Reducing Warranty Costs | Stellantis & ServiceNow Case Study
April 23 | 3:00–4:15 PM ET
Financial Products & Insurance Xchange Meetup — Product Performance, Penetration & Profitability
April 30 | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM ET
AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase — To Infinity (Loop) and Beyond: Advancing Continuous Quality Diagnostics | Upstream Case Study
May 12 | 3:00–4:00 PM ET
AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase — Pegasystems Case Study
May 14 | 3:00–4:00 PM ET
Technical Assistance Centers (TAC) Xchange Meetup — TAC Strategy & Technology Enablement
May 19 | 11:00 AM–12:15 PM ET
Parts Return & Quality Analysis Xchange Meetup — Defining a Robust Parts Analysis Process & Logistics Cost Control
May 20 | 3:00–4:00 PM ET
Purchasing & Supplier Cost Sharing Xchange Meetup — TBD by participants
June 9 | 3:00–4:00 PM ET
AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase — CARS Protection Plus & Circuitry.ai Case Study
June 17–18
Spring Club Study & AI-SWLM Think Tank Meetup in Houston — Modern Warranty Decision-Making: Manual Foundations to AI Diagnostics
October 19–21
Service & Warranty Lifecycle Annual Summit 2026 — Detroit
Member Experience: Cummins Shares What’s Working
Real progress in the service and warranty lifecycle comes from leaders willing to share how operational change actually happens—not just what worked in theory, but what worked in practice under real constraints.
Last year, leaders like Sarah Huff, Director, Global Warranty Systems at Cummins, shared how her team’s Integrated End-to-End Warranty (IEEW) Program connected parts return, supplier recovery, engineering, and quality functions. The initiative challenged long-standing process boundaries, clarified ownership across teams, and delivered measurable savings within 12 months. Hear what worked in the video.
That type of cross-functional, execution-focused learning is what MAPconnected Summit sessions are built around: practitioners sharing real-world experience with peers navigating similar operational challenges across claims, recovery, diagnostics, and lifecycle performance.
Applications are now open for the 2026 Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit in Detroit for leaders interested in contributing to these peer discussions.
🔗 Submit to speak at the 2026 Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit
Why Join Xchange Groups
Leadership Xchange Groups are now active across six focus areas—Parts Return & Quality Analysis, Warranty Administration, Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal, TAC, Financial Products & Insurance, and Purchasing & Supplier Cost Sharing—bringing together peers to assess what’s working, challenge assumptions, and solve real operational problems.
Peer benchmarking. Member-driven agendas. Real operational insight.
| I’m happy to answer any questions as you consider which membership is the best fit for your organization. Email me at info@mapconnected.com or fill out an online form. |
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