Design of differentiated warranty coverage that considers usage rate and service option of consumers under 2D warranty policy

Abstract

Warranty service providers usually provide homogeneous warranty service to improve consumer satisfaction and market share. Considering the difference of consumers, some scholars have carried out studies on maintenance strategies, service pricing, payment method, claim behaviour and warranty cost analysis in recent years. However, few scholars have focused on the differentiated coverage of warranty service that considers usage rate and service option of consumers. On the basis of previous classification criteria on usage rate, this paper divides consumers into heavy, medium and light usage rate groups with clear boundaries. To avoid discrimination in warranty service, this study divides 2D warranty coverage into disjoint sub-regions and adopts different maintenance modes in each sub-region. By formulating and calculating warranty cost model under warranty cost constraints, we can obtain the maximum warranty coverage under usage rate \begin{document}$ r $\end{document} . Therefore, differentiated warranty scope for consumers in the three groups can be proposed, whilst consumers can choose the most suitable warranty service according to their usage rate. Evidently, the proposed warranty strategy can provide flexible warranty service for consumers, meet the requirements of the warranty cost constraints of warranty service providers and enable enterprises to occupy a favourable position in the market competition.