Elkhart, Ind.-based Heartland RVs is entering into a partnership agreement for warranty fulfillment with NTP-STAG. Heartland is a division of Thor Industries.
Heartland will link future warranty claim fulfillment orders directly to NTP-STAG, leveraging the distributor’s inventory, warehouse locations and company-owned fleet to improve the time it takes to process claims and get customers back on the road. A pilot program is set to launch with select dealers as soon as early April, according to the RV maker.
“Distributing parts in an efficient manner is critical to improving customer care,” said Chris Hermon, president of Heartland RV/Cruiser RV LLC. “NTP-STAG’s ability to work with manufacturers to help reduce the amount of time it takes to get warranty parts to the field is something we desperately need more of on the OEM side of the industry, and we are excited to be a leader in this.”
The goal, according to Hermon, is to reduce the Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT), a pressing issue that is being championed by RVDA and RVIA.
“The Repair Event Cycle Time issues are a real challenge for the long-term health of our industry,” Hermon said. “Having the right items in stock or available next day can have a dramatic impact on repair times and customer satisfaction. We, as an industry, need to reduce repair times, and Heartland is taking a huge step in the right direction.”
Herman noted that Heartland has been a long-term proponent of providing care for its customers after the sale to ensure they have a great experience with their products and remain active in the RV lifestyle.
“We want to develop lifetime champions of our brands and know that their ownership journey requires us to provide exceptional service,” he said. “We have been successful doing that by evolving our products and processes to better serve them where they are today and will be tomorrow.”