WARRANTIED COMPONENT COST OPTIMIZATION

• US 20170046718A1
• Filed: 07/14/2016
• Published: 02/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wonderly, Kyle, Atkins, Robert G., Scanzano, Francis X.
• Application Number:
  US15/209,794
• Publication Number:
  US 20170046718A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/012 Providing warranty services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination

Abstract

A method of managing a component manufacturer warranty information is provided. The method may include collecting vital product data (VPD) of an array of components in a server into a database, where the VPD includes at least one of a component manufacturer name, a component manufacturer part number, a component serial number, a component firmware level, a component manufacturer warranty length, a warranty begin date, a warranty end date, a component replacement cost, monitoring the array of components for a failing component, confirming the failing component is covered under the component manufacturer warranty, determining a cost effectiveness for a repair action and a delay repair action, and initiating a service call based on the determined cost effectiveness.

Claims

1. A method of managing manufacturer warranty information comprising:

collecting vital product data (VPD) of server components in an array of components into a database, wherein the VPD comprises a component manufacturer name, a component manufacturer part number, a component serial number, a component firmware level, a component manufacturer warranty length, a warranty begin date, a warranty end date, and a component replacement cost, for each of the one or more components;

storing a minimum threshold service call cost in the database, the minimum threshold service call cost comprises a cost of travel by a support site manager and a cost of work to be performed by the support site manager;

identifying one of the server components in the array of components as a first failed component, wherein the first failed component has experienced one or more soft fails;

creating a log entry in the database, wherein the log entry comprises the VPD of the first failed component and a failure date of the first failed component;

confirming the first failed component is covered under a manufacturer warranty in response to determining the failure date of the first failed component is earlier than the warranty end date of the first failed component;

determining a first service call cost to replace the first failed component, wherein the first service call cost comprises the component replacement cost of the first failed component;

delaying a service call based on a determination that the service call cost is less than the minimum threshold service call cost;

sending a delay notification to a computer datacenter manager and a service vendor, the delay notification comprises the VPD of the first failed component and the first service call cost;

identifying another one of the server components in the array of components as a second failed component, wherein the second failed component has experienced one or more soft fails;

creating a log entry, wherein the log entry comprises the VPD of the second failed component and a failure date of the second failed component;

confirming the second failed component is covered under a manufacturer warranty in response to determining the failure date of the second failed component is earlier than the warranty end date of the second failed component;

determining a second service call cost, wherein the second service call cost comprises the component replacement cost of the second failed component and the component replacement cost of the first failed component;

initiating a service call based on a determination that the second service call cost is greater than the minimum threshold service call cost; and

sending a service call notification to the computer datacenter manager and the service vendor, the service call notification comprises the VPD of the first failed component, the VPD of the second failed component and the second service call cost;

wherein the method is run on at least one of a server, a centralized workstation, a computer datacenter, and an external machine.