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Process documentationService Recall Processing: Exchange of Defective Products

 

This process enables you to execute recall actions between the manufacturer and the customer, for defective parts of an object to be exchanged with service parts. An object is a special product, for example, a car or a computer. You use this process to offer your customer a defined list of service parts and the maximum permitted quantities for each object.

For example, you execute a recall action due to a high number of warranty claims and complaints received for laptops with serial numbers ranging from 1000 to 2000. Defective hard disks need to be replaced. To avoid further complaints, you inform your customer about the exchange of the defective hard disks. The customer orders the new hard disks from you, and has them delivered free of charge in exchange for the defective ones.

Recalled parts that are still in the customer's stock are processed in a separate returns process. For more information, see Service Recall Processing: Returning Service Parts.

Prerequisites

In Customizing for Customer Relationship Management, you have made the following settings:

  • To use reference objects and enter the product IDs of the objects in the service recall order, you have created a subject profile with subject profile category Y Individual Object (Sales Order). For more information, see Customizing for SAP CRM at Start of the navigation path Customer Relationship Management Next navigation step Basic Functions Next navigation step Catalogs, Codes, and Profiles Next navigation step Define Subject Profiles End of the navigation path.

  • You have created a separate transaction type for service recall processing, and have assigned this subject profile to it under External Reference Objects. You do this in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management, by choosing Start of the navigation path Transactions Next navigation step Basic Settings Next navigation step Define Transaction Types End of the navigation path. Under Assignment of Business Transaction Categories, select the Sales transaction category for your transaction type in the dialog structure. Now choose Customizing header and enter the subject profile.

Process

The manufacturer runs product analyses, and discovers that repeated complaints point to a defective part as the cause of a problem. These defective parts have to be exchanged for new parts. To solve the problem, the defective part has to be exchanged in all objects in which it was fitted.

  1. To guarantee delivery of the service parts, you create a sales order template. The sales order template contains a list of the parts to be exchanged, and the required quantity for each object.

    Use transaction type SALT, provided in the standard delivery, as a template.

  2. Customers are notified via a product service letter. For this, you create a product service letter and first enter a list of customers affected that should be notified of the recall campaign (Target Groups assignment block). In addition, the product service letter contains the list of objects affected by the recall action, as well as a reference to the sales order template that lists the products, with the corresponding quantities that should be exchanged for an object. The product service letter contains details about the following:

    • Validity area

    • Status of the document

    • Target group

    • Product IDs of the affected objects

    • Link to the sales order template

      Note Note

      You must release the product service letter for use in the recall action.

      Use transaction type PSLS, provided in the standard delivery, as a template.

      End of the note.

  3. The customer receives the message about the recall action via his or her chosen communication channel, for example e-mail, and creates a service recall order with regard to the manufacturer's recall (product service letter) in the customer portal. Alternatively, you can also create the service recall order for your customer. The service recall order comprises the following details:

    • Sold-to party

    • Product service letter ID

    • Product IDs of the objects

      In addition, the service recall order includes a list of the affected objects, for which parts are to be exchanged. The entry takes place in the Reference Objects assignment block.

  4. The system checks the validity of the product service letter and the product IDs of the objects. The service recall order is valid if the following points are fulfilled:

    • The status of the selected product service letter is Released.

    • The order date is within the validity period of the product service letter's date.

    • The sold-to party is entitled to make a claim for the product service letter.

  5. After the data entered has been validated, the system automatically creates the corresponding order items, which are not invoiced, in the service recall order. The quantities for each of the items in the service recall order are calculated by multiplying the quantity for each of the items in the sales order template by the number of objects entered in the service recall order. The order items are only copied once for a given product service letter. If you add or remove objects, the system redetermines the quantities accordingly. You are allowed to reduce the quantity. If you want to reduce the quantity determined by the system, the determined quantities are overwritten by the quantities entered manually.

  6. The system checks the products and quantities.

  7. The customer posts the service recall order.

  8. The system updates the status of the objects in the product service letter.

See also: Example of Service Recall Processing.