Agenda Live • Warranty Administration Xchange Group • 30 Confirmed Speakers • Research Pathways
The Agenda Is Where the Connections Become a Working Plan
The 2026 Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit Agenda Is Live
The agenda is now available for the 2026 Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit, bringing together leaders across warranty, quality, technical assistance, field service, purchasing, customer care, data, analytics, and technology for three days of learning, benchmarking, and collaboration at The Westin Southfield Detroit, October 19-21.
More than a conference, the Summit delivers a connected working experience featuring:
- Interactive Workshops & Leadership Sessions
- Real-World OEM & Industry Case Studies
- 7 Dedicated Xchange Group Meetups
- AI-SWLM Think Tank Discussions
- Cross-Functional Roundtables
- High-Value Peer Networking & Benchmarking
- 30 Confirmed Speakers and Growing
In This Issue of CONNECT 27:
✅ Explore the newly released 2026 Summit Agenda and confirmed speaker lineup
✅ Discover fresh insights from the Warranty Administration Xchange Group
✅ Learn about new MAPconnected Research Initiatives and Benchmarking Pathways
✅ Find opportunities to connect with peers before arriving in Detroit
Whether you’re focused on warranty operations, technical support, service performance, quality improvement, AI, dealer relations, or customer experience, the Summit provides a practical roadmap for benchmarking, innovation, and cross-functional collaboration.
200+ Attendees - 50+ Speakers - 80+ Companies
Industry’s Blind Spots: What We’re Still Getting Wrong About Quality, Recalls, Warranty and Customer Trust
Big-picture thought leadership on connecting quality, warranty, recalls and customer experience.
The Curse of AI Island: Do the Treasures Promised by AI Really Exist?
A candid real-world AI journey—from experimentation and failure to practical value.
The Warranty Model Was Built for Hardware. What Happens When the Vehicle Becomes Software?
Exploring software-defined vehicles, OTA updates, diagnostics, cybersecurity and changing warranty responsibility.
A Connected, Self-Correcting Ecosystem
A future-state vision for connecting customer concerns, diagnostics, coverage and claims into a more proactive lifecycle.
Who Owns the Customer After the Sale? The Battle for the Automotive Aftercare Relationship
Examining the future of customer ownership across warranty, service, parts and connected aftercare.
Across the wider program, leaders will examine AI in warranty and quality, connected and software-defined vehicles, warranty as strategic intelligence, dealer capability, recalls and customer trust, technical assistance, supplier recovery and the future of aftercare.
Tickets: Designed For Teams and The Complete Summit Experience
Get the most value from your Summit investment with the 3-Day Best Value Bundle, created for leaders and teams who want more than just an event. This package combines the full in-person Summit experience with a full year of ongoing benchmarking, networking, and collaboration through MyWarrantyNetwork.
Your registration includes:
- October 19 Workshop & VIP Dinner
- October 20-21 Leadership Summit, Roundtables & Networking
- 1-Year MyWarrantyNetwork Hub & Marketplace Membership
- Virtual benchmarking events and Xchange Groups
- Featured webinars and peer-to-peer collaboration
- Online member profile and direct messaging
- Exclusive coworker ticket discounts throughout the year
INDIVIDUAL BEST VALUE BUNDLE
3-Day Summit + Annual Membership
$2,495 – $2,995
TEAM BUNDLE
Three 2-Day Summit Passes
$4,495 – $4,995
Bringing Your Team?
Extend the learning, align strategies, and maximize ROI with the dedicated 2-Day Group-of-3 Offer for October 20-21, designed for organizations sending multiple attendees. Together, your team can divide and conquer sessions, compare insights, and return with a broader set of actionable ideas.
Get a change to attend the Leadership Xchange Group activities and experience MyWarrantyNetwork Hub & Marketplace through December 31. Participate in benchmarking discussions, peer networking, and member engagement tools while evaluating the value of full membership for 2027 and a year-round calendar of benchmarking and collaboration opportunities.
30 Confirmed Speakers—and 6 More Perspectives to Meet
The current 30-speaker community connects experience across OEM warranty operations, dealer service, customer care, research, quality, compliance, technology and analytics.
The latest 6 introductions are:
James Nardini Warranty Operations National Manager – Kia America
Kristin Kolodge Former VP Research Product Development – JD Power
Jose Clemente Manager GPSC Warranty Performance – General Motors
Paul Whitworth Chief Operating Officer – WarrCloud
Tim Kellogg Service Manager – DeNooyer Chevrolet
Victor Garcia Deputy GM Warranty Group America – Nissan North America
Warranty Administration: From Claim Review to Claim Integrity
The 3rd Warranty Administration Xchange Group meetup moved beyond processing efficiency to a harder question: how can warranty teams identify claims that do not look right, and what should happen when they find them?
Participants from Cummins, General Motors, International Motors, Volvo Trucks, Rotobec and others compared practical methods for detecting unsubstantiated, unsupported or anomalous claims.
Mileage history, repair and failure dates, VIN activity, claimed parts, labor hours, dealer peer groups and behavioral patterns all contribute to a stronger claim-integrity view.
The strongest shift was from reviewing individual claims to identifying patterns across dealers, technicians, administrators, customers and service providers. Advanced analytics and AI can help direct human attention toward the claims and behaviors that deserve deeper review.
The Warranty Administration Xchange Group will continue onsite at the Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit.
Featured sessions include Warranty Auditing & Controls, Service & Labor Time Trends, Dealer Capability and Warranty Accuracy Training, and an AI-SWLM end-to-end process walkthrough.
The October 19 pre-Summit workshop, Warranty Management: From Operational Burden to Strategic Advantage, will be led by Mike Roberts, President of MR Insights.
Workshop participants will receive a complimentary copy of the 2026 Warranty Management Study.
Research That Supports the Next Decision
The 2026 Warranty Management Study provides 30+ claim-entry and workflow screenshots across Automotive, RV, Powersports, Motorcycle, Agriculture and Industrial OEM environments, with Dealer, Warranty Administrator and OEM insight into claim submission, prior approval, support, DMS integration, reporting, training and processing.
The AI OPPORTUNITY MAP identifies 10 practical AI projects across the service and warranty lifecycle and helps leaders compare ROI potential, ease of implementation, data availability, organizational readiness and strategic value.
MAPconnected Survey & Study Services provide a third pathway for organizations seeking structured surveys, peer benchmarks and customized research.
Stay Connected
MAPconnected CONNECT brings the week’s most useful service and warranty conversations into one place, including Leadership Xchange Group findings, Summit updates, research, case studies and practical perspectives from across the lifecycle.
This community matters because warranty, quality, technical assistance, customer care, field service, purchasing, data and technology do not operate independently. MAPconnected gives leaders a place to compare approaches, learn from peers and make better-informed decisions across connected teams and responsibilities.
