Better follow the Parts Purchase Verification procedure if you want to get paid.
By Janice Salmon, JustPressOne
The following is the first in a series of monthly blogs by the Warranty Claims Knowledge Center of JustPressOne, a BrandSource service partner. Based on our experience processing thousands of warranty claims for our home appliance service provider clients, our blogs are intended to provide you with informative tips and other knowledge to ensure you receive full payment for the warranty services you perform for all job sources.
This month we will discuss the use of truck stock parts on service calls and how this may prevent the payment of your claims if your technicians do not follow a standard procedure.
First, let’s take a look at how warranty claims with parts are processed. The Parts Purchase Verification process (“PPV”) originally developed by KeyPrestige for Frigidaire in the mid-1990s separates the labor from the parts in each warranty claim. Prior to implementing PPV, parts and labor were paid together by the warranty provider. The PPV process requires your company to include the OEM authorized parts distributor number, part number, purchase price and the purchase invoice number on each part line in the claim. This allows your parts distributor(s) to verify that any given part was purchased by your company for service jobs or stock. The parts distributor then either credits your parts account or reimburses you for the part(s) separate from the labor.
Our experience, gained from providing claims adjudication services, shows that rather than provide actual part numbers when using truck stock parts, technicians all too often write explanations on service orders, like “Used actuator from truck stock.” In situations such as this, your claims administrator must access your parts account or inventory management system to search for the actuator by part number and apply the part number along with the purchase price and invoice number and apply this information to the claim.
How can this be simplified you may ask? When ordering parts for truck stock, add the words “truck stock” to the comments area of the order. For all special-order parts, include the customer’s last name. You may also wish to write the part distributor invoice number directly on the part box so the technician can add it to the service order when used in a repair.
Janice Salmon is the founder and CEO of JustPressOne, a business process outsourcing company and AVB partner that provides claims administration services for independent service companies and self-servicing dealers in the home appliance industry. For more information call (877) 311-6602 or visit JustPressOne.com.
