A warranty cost model is a business tool that is used by a manufacturer of goods to predict the total expense associated with a given product resulting from warranty claims. Typically, warranty cost is expressed as a percentage of sales in dollars of a given product. The associated models are relatively simple in the amount of variables that are analyzed to arrive at the total expected warranty cost. For example, if there are an anticipated $2 billion in sales of Product X, $40 million or roughly 2% of sales is allocated for warranty expenses related to Product X. However, during times of general economic downturn, lower than expected sales may not be sufficient to cover actual incurred warranty expenses. Thus, a single parameter based solely on expected sales of a product is insufficient to conduct accurate warranty cost modeling. Current warranty cost models are further limited in that they estimate warranty costs during a particular financial period without considering warranty claims of products sold (i.e., installed at a customer facility or otherwise “in the field”) during a previous financial period.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds