May 7, 2026
Newsletter 24-7 Members Hub • Leadership Xchange Groups • Service & Warranty Lifecycle
The Gap isn’t Data, it’s Action: What OEMs Are Doing About It
Dealer-level insight, early warning in action, and how OEMs are turning warranty signals into coordinated response…. Find it all in this week’s newsletter edition.
You’ve been hearing about it, anticipating it—and the wait is over. Introducing the 2026 Warranty Management Study: a first‑of‑its‑kind, dealer‑level look at true warranty performance, paired with interviews, screen captures of claim entry screens from over 30+ Automotive, RV, Powersports & Motorcycle, Agriculture, Industrial and More.
You’ll also find the next AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase session, featuring Toyota and Pegasystems on May 12, focused on early warning detection and coordinated response, plus highlights and recording access from the previous Stellantis + ServiceNow session on reducing warranty leakage.
We WANT YOU In The Room for the Spring Club Study June 17-18 —so far bringing together five OEMs for a working session inside Mitsubishi Logisnext’s Customer Experience Center in Houston—focused on real-world workflows, failure analysis, and targeted AI applications across the repair-to-claim lifecycle.
See how peers are approaching these topics in practice and bring back ideas you can apply right away. Join today!
Read on for:
- 2026 Warranty Management Study Released!: From Operational Burden To Strategic Advantage – Dealer-level & OEM insights
- AI-SWLM Think Tank Series: Where AI is working now… with Toyota, Pegasystems, Stellantis and ServiceNow
- Spring Club Study Preview: OEMs, real workflows, and AI use cases in practice
- Summit Perspective: Ford’s Lisa Sheth on peer exchange and open discussion
Warranty Management: From Operational Burden to Strategic Advantage
How do your warranty processes actually perform at the dealership level?
MAPconnected’s latest study answers that question with a dealer-perspective view of how warranty operations function in real-world environments—highlighting what’s working, where friction exists, and how your organization compares.
Built from input across 30+ OEMs and informed by dealers, suppliers, and industry practitioners, the study delivers practical benchmarking and operational insight across automotive, RV, powersports, agriculture, and industrial sectors.
What’s inside:
- Benchmark comparisons across 30+ OEM claim processes
- 34+ claim entry and workflow screenshots across industries
- Insight into where friction occurs—and how leading organizations improve outcomes
- Analysis of workflows, approvals, documentation, and system usability
Who it’s for:
- Warranty leaders & experienced professionals – benchmark performance, validate processes, and identify improvement opportunities
- OEM & manufacturer teams – align internal strategy with real-world dealer execution
- Dealer operations – understand where requirements create friction and impact performance
- Suppliers, consultants & technology providers – gain visibility into operational realities to better support the ecosystem
Whether you’re refining an existing strategy or building foundational understanding, this study connects warranty strategy to real-world execution.
Why it matters:
Identify dealer-level friction, benchmark against peers, and uncover opportunities for measurable improvement in performance, compliance, and efficiency.
Study leadership:
Led by Mike Roberts, MR Insights LLC (former Global Warranty Strategy Manager, Ford), and powered by MAPconnected’s Survey & Study Services.
Pricing:
$495 MAPconnected Member Price
$695 Non-Member Price
Members: use code for $200 discount – MemberPriceStudy
AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase Series: Where AI is Working Now
Free and open to all the AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase Series focuses on where AI is being applied in practice across the service and warranty lifecycle—not as a concept, but through real execution in claims, quality, and operational workflows. With four case-based sessions, OEMs and industry leaders are working through what is delivering measurable impact today, and there is still time to join the remaining discussions.
Next Up: Turning Warranty Data Into Faster, Smarter Decisions
Toyota and Pegasystems are leading the next MAPconnected AI-SWLM Think Tank Sponsored Showcase—focused on a critical challenge in warranty today: Turning signals into action.
Warranty teams are not short on data. Warning signs exist across claims, field reports, and quality alerts—but converting those signals into timely, coordinated response remains the gap.
From Warning Signs to Action: Warranty Early Warning Detection
📅 May 12 | 3:00–4:00 PM ET | Open to All
Speakers:
- Mike Mora Sr. Manager | North America Quality Systems – Toyota
- Luis Izarra Sr. Manager | Cloud Solution Architect – Chief Product Owner – North America – Toyota
Moderator: Ed Allen Industry Market Leader – Pegasystems
Discuss with industry leaders how to:
- Identify true warning signals vs. background noise
- Prioritize and route issues across warranty, quality, and engineering
- Reduce time to action with clearer ownership and workflows
- Move from detection to prevention—not just faster resolution
🔗 Reserve your spot and join the discussion
From Signals to Action: What We Learned About Early Warning Systems
The Stellantis & ServiceNow AI-SWLM Think Tank session highlighted a consistent reality across warranty operations: Execution, not visibility, is where most leakage occurs.
Across claims processes, the same pressure points continue to show up—manual validation, fragmented systems, delayed recovery, and disconnected feedback loops between quality and service.
The discussion reinforced a shift already underway: moving from isolated processes to connected workflows that support more consistent, data-driven decision-making across the lifecycle.
While AI is part of the conversation, the emphasis is increasingly on operational alignment first—then scaling capability where it delivers measurable impact.
The full recap breaks down where leakage is occurring and how leading organizations are starting to address it in practice.
👉 Read the insights and download the session’s full recording & presentation
Explore How AI Is Being Applied Across the Warranty Lifecycle
To explore how OEMs and industry leaders are applying AI across claims, quality, and service operations, and to learn more about the current AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase Series sessions and their practical benefits, visit the full series overview.
🔗 AI in the Service & Warranty Lifecycle
Spring Club Study & AI-SWLM Think Tank Meetup
Modern Warranty Decision-Making: Manual Foundations to AI Diagnostics
📅 June 17–18, 2026
📍 Mitsubishi Logisnext Customer Experience Center — Houston, TX
We want you in the room! With the 5 OEMs already on board and the focus areas we’re diving into, these are the roles that will get the most value. Connect with your peers—participants will benchmark directly with others in:
Warranty & Claims
- Warranty Operations
- Warranty Claims / Adjudication
- Warranty Policy & Governance
- Warranty Analytics / Performance
Service, Quality & Technical
- Technical Assistance Center (TAC)
- Technical Service Operations
- Field Service / Regional Service
- Quality Engineering / Field Quality
- Service Operations / Aftersales
Data, AI & Transformation
- AI / Data Science / Digital Transformation
Work directly through end-to-end repair-to-claim workflows to evaluate:
- Where friction occurs across service and warranty processes
- How diagnostic and adjudication decisions are actually made in practice
- Where process design is driving rework, delays, and inconsistencies
- How upstream and downstream steps connect (or fail to connect) in real execution
The AI-SWLM Think Tank Meetup runs alongside the Club Study, focusing on applied AI opportunities across the service and warranty lifecycle, including:
- Improving symptom capture and diagnostic accuracy
- Strengthening claim validation and consistency
- Supporting decision-making across repair, approval, and adjudication workflows
- Identifying high-impact, practical AI use cases grounded in operational reality
Summit Perspective: Ford’s Lisa Sheth on Open Collaboration and Real-World Problem Solving
Rising repair costs continue to pressure OEMs, suppliers, and dealers—but this case study from Ford shows how collaboration changes the equation.
In this 2025 Summit discussion, Managing The Rising Cost Of Vehicle Repairs: A Warranty Perspective, Shannon Dare, Jennifer Jones, and Lisa Sheth of Ford explored how analytical decision-making, cross-functional alignment, and structured problem-solving (including the 8D process) are being used to reduce cost-per-repair while maintaining quality and customer trust.
Watch a short clip from the session to hear how this thinking shows up in practice.
What makes conversations like this valuable isn’t just the framework—it’s how openly leaders share what they’re learning as they apply it across real programs and operations.
These are the same types of topics that continue year-round inside the MAPconnected community—where OEMs and suppliers compare approaches, pressure-test ideas, and learn from how others are navigating similar challenges.
✨ Members get ongoing access to Summit sessions, speaker insights, and peer discussions that don’t happen in silos—plus year-round benchmarking across the warranty ecosystem.
🔗 Join the MyWarrantyNetwork
MAPconnected Events: May – October
Virtual:
May 12 3:00–4:00 PM ET (AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase)
From Warning Signs to Action: Warranty Early Warning | Toyota and Pega Case Study
May 14 3:00–4:00 PM ET
Technical Assistance Centers (TAC) Xchange: TAC Strategy & Technology Enablement
May 19 11:00 AM–12:15 PM ET
Parts Return & Quality Analysis Xchange: Defining a Robust Parts Analysis Process & Logistics Cost Control
May 20 3:00–4:00 PM ET
Purchasing & Supplier Cost Sharing Xchange: Recovery Models & Effectiveness
June 9 3:00–4:00 PM ET (AI-SWLM Think Tank Showcase)
Smarter Warranty Decisions: How AI Drives Claims Accuracy & Reduces Costs | CARS Protection Plus & Circuitry.ai Case Study
August 13 3:00–4:00 PM ET
Warranty Administration Xchange: Identifying & Managing Unsubstantiated Warranty Claims
In-Person:
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
Why Leaders Participate in MyWarrantyNetwork Events & Engagement Tools
- Access to session insights, recordings, and Think Tank initiatives
- Role-specific peer benchmarking across the service & warranty lifecycle
- Facilitated, executive-level discussions with direct peers
- Ongoing collaboration through the MyWarrantyNetwork Members Hub
Peer benchmarking. Member-driven agendas. Real operational insight.
🔗 Get Membership Benefits Today
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.
Subscribe to MAPconnected’s weekly newsletter to stay informed on upcoming peer sessions, benchmarking topics, and the industry signals service and warranty leaders are tracking inside MAPconnected.
