February 4, 2026 Newsletter
What Changes When Service & Warranty Leaders Compare Notes?
Leadership Xchange Group Events Start in Two Weeks: Is your seat in the conversation reserved?
Leadership teams across service and warranty are being asked to make bigger decisions with less room for trial and error. Yet many of the most complex challenges—cost sharing, returns quality, recall readiness, financial products—are still being worked through in isolation.
MAPconnected’s Leadership Xchange Groups create a peer forum where senior leaders can compare approaches, pressure-test ideas, and learn how others are navigating the same constraints and risks. These are role-specific, member-driven groups, shaped by the participants—not a preset agenda.
The first session begins February 17, with ongoing virtual discussions and an in-person working session at the MAPconnected Service & Warranty Lifecycle Network Summit. See more details below.
Event Calendar
| Purchasing & Supplier Cost Sharing Xchange Group: Reducing Supplier Administrative Burden FEBRUARY 17 at 3-4:15pm ET Facilitator: Jim Holloway, Former GM Purchasing – Toyota Motor North America Benchmark how OEMs streamline supplier interactions, reduce duplication and manual work, and balance control, compliance, and usability through optimized portals, submissions, and feedback mechanisms. |
| Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal Xchange Group: Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates & Regulatory Management FEBRUARY 19 at 11-12:00pm ET Facilitator: Varun Jain, K&L Gates This session explores how automotive executives manage OTA software updates, focusing on defect identification, safety assessment, and regulatory engagement. Participants will benchmark practices around frequency, testing, and communication strategies, with insights on when to escalate issues to NHTSA. |
| Financial Products & Insurance Xchange Group: Program Structure Risk Architecture FEBRUARY 19 at 3-4:15pm ET Facilitator: Jimmy Bynum, Garde Solutions Benchmark how OEMs and dealers design and govern financial product risk across warranties, extended service contracts, and traditional insurance. In 75 minutes, explore risk ownership, governance, capital, and dealer alignment to uncover peer-tested best practices. Gain actionable insights to optimize program structure, manage risk, and strengthen customer experience. |
| Parts Return & Quality Analysis Xchange Group: Parts Return Strategy & Cost Optimization FEBRUARY 24 at 11-12:15pm ET Facilitator: Daryl Kreskowiak, Former Supplier Warranty & Cost Recovery – Stellantis Benchmark how OEMs define return vs. scrap decisions, govern return models, and balance cost, insight value, and executive trade-offs to optimize return volume without sacrificing quality intelligence. |
| TAC Technical Assistance Centers Xchange Group: Strategy & Technology Enablement FEBRUARY 24 at 3-4:15pm ET Facilitator: Mike Roberts, MR Insights *Founding group members (August 2025) include Bridgestone, Ford, Hyundai, Hyundai Canada, Kia, Toyota Benchmark lessons from 2025, explore build vs. buy TAC software, and discuss TAC’s role in dealer diagnostics, scan tool integration, and Prior Approval decision-making. |
| Warranty Adminstration Xchange Group: Managing Impact Of New State Warranty Reimbursement Laws FEBRUARY 26 at 3-4:15pm ET Facilitator: Mike Roberts, MR Insights Benchmark how OEMs are adapting claims, labor, and parts reimbursement models to comply with retail rate legislation—balancing automation, data access, governance, and payment consistency while redefining reasonable compensation and approval processes. |
| Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal Xchange Group: Vehicle Buyback Management & Accountability March 19 at 3-4:15pm ET Facilitator: Wayne Mitchell, Sedgwick Benchmark strategies, metrics, and tools used to prevent repeat issues, hold stakeholders accountable without friction, and leverage KPIs and analytics to accelerate resolution, strengthen support, and improve customer satisfaction across OEM, dealer, supplier, and field teams. |
| Annual Club Study & AI-SWLM Think Tank Meetup June 17-18 Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas has extended a warm invitation to host our 4th annual facilitated Club Study at their brand new Customer Experience Center in Houston, TX. Stay tuned for more details! |
| Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit Oct 19-21 6th annual hosted at Westin Southfield Detroit Join industry leaders to explore transformative strategies, breakthrough analytics, and real-world applications that move the needle—where customer focus meets operational excellence. |
MAPconnected Member Perspective
One of the most valuable aspects of MAPconnected is hearing directly from members about why they choose to stay active and engaged the past 6 years!
In a recent interview, Jennifer Jones, Global Lifetime Warranty Chief at Ford Motor Company, reflects on a broader shift she’s seeing in the industry—moving from managing warranty spend to focusing on lifetime product quality. She also shares what drew her to MAPconnected and why peer-to-peer dialogue matters at the leadership level. Read more about our conversation with Jennifer or watch the video below.
Your Direct Peer Community
Leadership Xchange Groups are part of the broader MAPconnected member experience, designed to support year-round peer exchange and practical collaboration.
Pay as you go for $295 per event or upgrade to a year-long membership with unlimited virtual sessions, direct messaging, and free & discounted tickets to Spring Club Study and Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit.
Membership includes:
- Xchange Groups: Three virtual, 75-minute facilitated peer sessions (February, May, August) and one in-person working session at the October MAPconnected Summit
- Opportunity to join June Club Study at Mitsubishi Logisnext Houston
- Ongoing conversations and knowledge sharing in the MyWarrantyNetwork Members Hub
- Invitation to AI-SWLM Think Tank and unlimited virtual events & webinars
| 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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