24-7 Members Hub • Leadership Xchange Groups • Service & Warranty Lifecycle
March 18, 2026 Newsletter
Where Warranty Gets Complicated – Administration Burden…………Open Spots Remain for March 24
Join together with Toyota, GM, Volkswagen, Bridgestone, Cummins, Stellantis and others.
Momentum is picking up across the Leadership Xchange Groups as the first sessions of the year turn into sharper, more unfiltered conversations. Leaders are swapping playbooks on best practices for supplier cost sharing, claims automation, recall calls, and tech‑support strategy—because none of this is getting simpler as systems, rules, and expectations keep shapeshifting.
The real magic is still the peer exchange. Hearing how someone else cracked the same problem, poking holes in old assumptions, and comparing what actually works in the wild often lands better than any policy update or system tweak.
This week’s MyWarrantyNetwork Connect pulls together what’s rising to the top: the agenda themes everyone’s circling, the insights bubbling up from recent sessions, and the meetups, webinars, and industry events keeping the momentum rolling.
And because the energy is real, we’re continuing to spotlight the key member goals powering these conversations—short, sharp, and straight from the groups.
And if you haven’t jumped in yet, it’s definitely not too late—there’s plenty of room to plug in, catch up, and benefit from the conversations already underway.
Read on for:
- Member Key Priorities
- Warranty Administration Xchange Group Blog
- Still spots open 3/24: Purchasing & Supplier Cost Sharing Xchange Meetup
- March Events- Happening Tomorrow!
- Register to attend April’s Fix the Leak webinar hosted by Stellantis & ServiceNow
- Round #2: Virtual Xchange Group Meetups
- Launch of AI-SWLM Think Tank 2026 Agenda
- First Look To 2026 Industry Study: Warranty Through the Eyes of Your Dealers
- MAPconnected Supports the SAA Society of Automotive Analysts Recall Summit
- Member Experience
Member-Driven Agendas, Real Industry Priorities
Each group’s agenda is shaped by member‑identified needs—keeping discussions anchored in the issues that matter most to today’s service and warranty leaders.
In addition to emerging AI-enabled efficiencies, these Key Member-Driven Goals have been aligned within these groups:
Parts & Parts Return Analysis Xchange:
- Navigate global tariffs, logistics costs affecting parts return operations
- Identify opportunities to streamline parts return operations across multiple factories and distribution networks
- Evaluate parts return policies and ensure operational effectiveness
- Assess ROI of end-to-end warranty parts return programs and supplier participation in failure analysis
- Improve service libraries and documentation to support diagnostics and repairs
- Strengthen processes for identifying and resolving repeat part failures
Warranty Admin Xchange:
- Compare approaches for managing third-party labor time guides and associated audit workloads
- Explore the balance between automated claim rules and targeted manual oversight
- Address governance challenges around chargebacks and unrestricted claims
- Navigate legal and compliance considerations affecting warranty policies and claims
- Modernize policy management and supporting technologies within warranty systems
- Establish methods for validating third-party labor standards and ensuring claim integrity
New members are still welcome to join and begin benefiting from this executive benchmarking community.
ICYMI: Read the Post-Meetup Blogs
🔗 TAC Xchange: TAC Strategy & Technology Enablement | Why Technical Support Is Becoming an Operations Discipline
🔗 Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal Xchange: Navigating OTA Updates | When Should You Issue a Recall? Navigating OTA Updates & Regulatory Risk
🔗 Parts Return & Quality Analysis Xchange: Parts Return Strategy & Cost Optimization | Turning Parts Returns Into Quality Intelligence
Learn more about Xchange Group meetups and reserve your spot!
Peer Perspective
Key Takeaways: Warranty Administration Xchange Group: Managing The Impact Of New State Laws on Warranty Reimbursement Processes | February 26
Benchmarking Claims, Compliance, and Operational Reality
The inaugural Warranty Administration Xchange Group brought together OEM leaders responsible for claims operations, dealer support, and compliance to compare how organizations are managing an increasingly complex landscape. Participants discussed operational realities, automation thresholds, state reimbursement laws, and the challenges of validating third-party labor time submissions.
This peer-driven session highlights the practical strategies and benchmarking conversations that are helping teams navigate claim volume, efficiency, and compliance challenges.
🔗 Read the full Warranty Admin Xchange blog.
Join the Conversation Next Week!
Purchasing & Supplier Cost Sharing Xchange: Reducing Supplier Administrative Burden | March 24 | 3-4:15pm ET
Supplier cost sharing remains one of the most powerful levers for controlling warranty and quality costs—but many OEM teams are finding that execution breaks down in the details. Administrative burden, fragmented systems, and cross-functional ownership are creating new challenges. Our latest release explores how OEM leaders are benchmarking solutions through MAPconnected’s Purchasing & Supplier Cost Sharing Xchange Group.
Join leaders from Toyota, GM, Volkswagen, Bridgestone, Cummins, Stellantis, and more in MAPconnected’s upcoming meetup. Pressure-test ideas and leave with practical strategies you can apply immediately.
🔗 Read more and reserve your seat for the March 24 session.
Happening in March
Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal Xchange | March 19 | 3-4pm ET
Vehicle Buyback Management & Accountability
Facilitator: Wayne Mitchell, Global Vice President of Automotive Solutions, 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.
Join conversations with GM, Ford, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mazda, Slate...
Purchasing & Supplier Cost Sharing Xchange | March 24 | 3-4:15pm ET
Reducing Supplier Administrative Burden
Facilitator: Jim Holloway, Former General Manager of Purchasing, Toyota
Benchmark how OEMs streamline supplier interactions, reduce duplication and manual work, and balance control, compliance, and usability through optimized portals, submissions, and feedback mechanisms.
Join conversations with Bridgestone, GM, Kia, Cummins, Stellantis, Toyota, VW…
Fix the Leak: Reducing Warranty Costs Across the Claims Lifecycle
Warranty leakage continues to impact margin across many OEM organizations—not because policies are unclear, but because execution breaks down across systems, approvals, and supplier recovery workflows.
In an upcoming MAPconnected webinar, sponsored by ServiceNow, we’ll examine where warranty claims processes lose efficiency and how leading manufacturers are improving control without slowing operations.
Topics include:
• Where leakage occurs across the claims lifecycle
• Connecting claims, supplier recovery, and root cause data
• Using AI-assisted review to reduce manual effort
• Automating decisions while maintaining governance
• What a realistic improvement path looks like over the next 12 months
Featuring Speakers:
• Jerome Clerc, IT Domain Manager, Aftersales – Warranty & Recall Campaign, Stellantis
• Abhi Rele, Head of Product, Manufacturing, ServiceNow
April 23 | 11am – 12pm ET | Virtual
🔗 Learn more and reserve your spot.
Virtual Xchange Group Meetups (Second Round!)
April 14 | 3-4:15pm ET
- Financial Products & Insurance Xchange
Product Performance, Penetration & Profitability
Join us to benchmark product performance, penetration, and profitability across OEM financial product portfolios—looking closely at attach rates, margins, and lifecycle profitability, with a focus on strengthening extended protection program engagement and results.
April 16 | 3-4:15pm ET
- Warranty Administration Xchange
Optimizing Warranty Claims: Efficiency, Accuracy and Fraud Prevention
Join this peer benchmarking session to explore strategies for reducing manual claim assessments—particularly for claims paid using outside labor guides—while improving efficiency in reviewing labor rate and parts mark-up increase requests, including potential AI applications.
April 21 | 3-4pm ET | Free Event
- Recall, Customer Campaigns & Legal Xchange
Exploring The Decision To Recall
Join us in a benchmarking session that takes a qualitative and quantitative look at how organizations incorporate regulatory actions, warranty claims, field incidents, customer complaints, technical investigations, and other emerging risks.
May 14 | 3-4pm ET
- Technical Assistance Centers (TAC)
TAC Strategy & Technology Enablement
Join this peer benchmarking session to explore technician certification requirements for TAC access, the integration and use of scan tool and diagnostic data, TAC’s role in dealer diagnostics and workstations, and how organizations measure issue resolution rates and involve TAC teams in OEM prior approval decisions.
May 19 | 11am-12:15pm ET
- Parts Return & Quality Analysis
Defining A Robust Parts Analysis Process & Logistics Cost Control
Join this peer session to explore ownership and escalation models, link parts analysis to engineering and warranty actions, improve first-time fix rates, benchmark logistics strategies, and review advanced approaches for complex assemblies.
Coming Soon: AI-SWLM Think Tank Sponsored Showcases
As automated solutions and technological aids take center stage, stay tuned for more details from these sponsors for virtual webinars and further discussions to explore how advanced AI systems can streamline claim reviews and fraud detection.
ServiceNow | April 23: Warranty leakage quietly drains OEM margins—and most manufacturers don’t see the full extent until it’s too late. Join a conversation with Jerome Clerc, IT Domain Manager, Aftersales – Warranty & Recall Campaigns at Stellantis for a practical discussion on how AI and workflow automation are helping manufacturers close claims gaps and protect margin across the full warranty lifecycle.
Upstream | April 30
Pegasystems | May 12
Circuitry. ai | June
These key AI providers will also be on-hand at the Club Study June 18 at Mitsubishi Logisnext Houston as we walk through the full Repair to Claim lifecycle and seek out actionable AI use cases.
🔗 Submit your interest to join AI-SWLM Think Tank.
Industry Study Coming: Warranty Through the Eyes of Dealers
Launching in April, the study analyzes dealer-facing warranty claim entry processes across more than 30 OEMs, including:
- Claim entry screens and required fields
- Prior approval workflows
- Documentation requirements
- Dealer portal experiences
The study spans multiple industries—including automotive, powersports, heavy truck, RV, and construction equipment—providing a rare cross-industry view of how warranty administration is experienced by dealers.
The goal is simple: understand warranty processes from the dealer’s perspective—whether or not that aligns with how OEMs believe the process works.
🔗 Contact us for sponsorship information, interviews and inclusion opportunities.
Featured Partner Event
13th Annual Automotive Recalls Summit hosted by SAA – Society of Automotive Analysts
April 28 | 12:30pm – 3pm ET | Hyatt House Royal Oak, MI | Join In-Person or Virtually
MAPconnected is proud to extend a free invite for this year’s summit, presented in collaboration with SAA and Stout and sponsored by LexisNexis Risk Solutions. This one‑day program on April 28 brings together leaders across safety, compliance, quality, and recalls to discuss the shifting landscape of defect trends, campaign profiles, and the impact of rapidly advancing vehicle technology.
As the industry continues to see rising recall activity and evolving risk patterns, this summit offers data‑driven insights and practical perspectives on what’s changing—and what’s coming next.
MAPconnected members can attend for free, either online or in person, using Sponsor Code: YTRNNNO0.
🔗 Click here for the full speaker list and agenda and to register.
Member Experience: Peer-to-Peer Insight Starts with Leaders Who Step Forward
“Staying ahead of warranty trends isn’t optional—it’s how you protect the customer experience.”
-Jose Clemente, Manager, GPSC Warranty Performance, GM
In this interview, Jose Clemente, Manager of GPSC Warranty Performance at General Motors, highlights how MyWarrantyNetwork helps companies stay ahead of the curve and continue driving innovation in warranty management. As a five‑time Summit speaker, Jose plays an active role in the dialogue that helps professionals adapt to shifting customer expectations and evolving industry standards—ensuring the entire sector moves forward together.
Apply to be a speaker and receive a $6,000 Speaker Reward Package including:
- $2,000 MAPconnected Annual Network Membership
- $2,000 full 2‑day Summit pass
- $2,000 co‑worker Summit pass
- Invitation to an exclusive Speaker Event
🔗 Submit-to-Speak for the 2026 Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit is now open. Showcase your thought leadership and apply today!
Why Leaders Participate in MyWarrantyNetwork Events & Engagement Tools
- Role-specific peer benchmarking across the service & warranty lifecycle
- Facilitated, executive-level discussions with direct peers
- Ongoing collaboration through the MyWarrantyNetwork Members Hub
- Access to session insights, recordings, and Think Tank initiatives
Looking Ahead: Key Events
Upcoming MAPconnected Events
- June 17-18 | Spring Club Study & AI-SWLM Think Tank Meetup | Houston
Modern Warranty Decision-Making: Manual Foundations to AI Diagnostics - Oct 19-21 | Service & Warranty Lifecycle Annual Summit 2026 | Detroit
Analytics, Data, and Service: Fuel For A Customer-First Connected World
| 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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