August 12, 2026 Newsletter
AI-SWLM • Leadership Xchange Groups • Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit
New Summit Voices and Warranty Questions That Refuse to Stay in One Department
MAPconnected CONNECT 24 follows warranty decisions as they move through software, customer care, financial products and peer benchmarking.
Warranty work does not stay politely inside warranty.
It moves through software, customer care, technical assistance, quality, finance, field service, supplier recovery and decisions made long before a claim appears.
This week’s CONNECT follows that movement. We begin with a short 2025 Summit excerpt from Jose Clemente of General Motors on EV warranty and software updates. We introduce the next four leaders joining the 2026 Summit. We also look ahead to the Xchange Groups where OEM peers are comparing how work is actually being done—not simply how a process map says it should be done.
When the Vehicle Changes Without Entering the Service Bay
Software updates can correct conditions, alter performance and change the ownership experience without a traditional repair visit.
That creates a difficult operational question: can warranty documentation, responsibility and decision-making keep pace?
In a selected excerpt from the 2025 Summit, Jose Clemente of General Motors examines the relationship between EV warranty and software updates. Watch the clip and continue into the MAPconnected News Hub for more conversations from service and warranty leaders.
Four More Views of the Service and Warranty Lifecycle
The next 2026 Summit speaker group crosses global customer care, heavy-truck warranty operations, a new vehicle company and automotive solutions:
Tim Turvey, former Global Vice President, Customer Care & Aftersales, General Motors
Peter Dentler, Warranty Program Manager Lead, Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks North America
Bryan Tracy, Warranty Manager, Slate Auto
Wayne Mitchell, Global Senior Vice President, Business Development, Sedgwick
Their experience connects directly to an agenda spanning warranty improvement, technical assistance, field service, quality, recall, metrics, diagnostics, connected fleets, legal and regulatory questions, and financial and insurance products.
Financial Products: Is the Program Designed, or Did It Just Happen?
The Financial Products & Insurance Xchange Group has been examining the decisions underneath product performance: risk ownership, obligor models, governance, attach rates, portfolio mix, lifecycle profitability and alignment across stakeholders.
Participants include leaders from AGCO, Cummins, Gibson, Mitsubishi Logisnext, Polaris and other participating organizations.
Their benchmarking work has been moving toward a completed structured maturity assessment. On October 19th at the Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit, Jimmy Bynum of Garde Solutions will also be hosting a similar experience with a 3-hour Guided Warranty & Service Contract Maturity Assessment workshop, where participants will leave with a completed set of recommendations for a fictional organization and a practical framework they can take back and apply within their own organizations.
August Xchange Groups
August 11, 11:00 AM ET: TAC (Technical Assistance Centers) Xchange Group Meetup 3
August 13, 3:00 PM ET: Warranty Administration Xchange Group Meetup 3
August 18, 11:00 AM ET: Parts Return & Quality Analysis Xchange Group Meetup 3
August 20, 11:00 AM ET: New! Field Services Connected Data Xchange Group Meetup 1—soliciting additional OEM participation
Members attend free with code: MemberXchangeGroup. Attend as non-Members $295.
Benchmarking Programs That Deliver Greater Customer and Business Value
MAPconnected’s benchmarking programs create a structured environment for industry peers to compare challenges, share practical experience and identify opportunities for measurable improvement.
The work goes beyond collecting numbers. It connects shared insights, peer comparison and actionable improvement across the service and warranty lifecycle.
Stay Connected
Want the week’s service and warranty conversations in one place?
Subscribe to MAPconnected CONNECT for new Summit announcements, peer-group findings, event invitations and practical ideas from across the lifecycle.
SUBSCRIBE OR CONTACT MAPCONNECTED
Follow MAPconnected for speaker announcements, Xchange Group updates and new Service & Warranty Lifecycle resources.
