Refer to documentation Implementation
The basics of a service contract template are defined over three tabs.
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Code
This field is by default associated with an automatically functioning sequence number counter. Consequently, the user should not normally concern him/herself with its contents.
Currency
This field is used to define the currency to be applied to all the financial fields for the service contract template. This same currency is also used to determine the charges for services for product coverage.
Description
This field must contain a short description used to determine in a non-equivocal fashion the nature and object of the contract that will be created when using this template.
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Fields
The following fields are present on this tab :
| This field is by default associated with an automatically functioning sequence number counter. Consequently, the user should not normally concern him/herself with its contents. By default, the contract template code will be composed of a sequence number of 15 characters generated in an automatic fashion. |
| This field is used to define the currency to be applied to all the financial fields for the service contract template. This same currency is also used to determine the charges for services for product coverage. |
| This field must contain a short description used to determine in a non-equivocal fashion the nature and object of the contract that will be created when using this template. |
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Presentation
Contract statistics groups
The statistics groups are notably used in the statistical processes or in the selection criteria in numerous objects.
Category
This field is used to declare the service contract template category type. If the template is of the Maintenance category, then the service contract created from this template will inherit the specified category. This field can take one of three values in local menu 2976 :
All skills
This field is used to determine the access to the skills coverage management function.
If this field is ticked, the coverage management function is inaccessible because all the skills described in the application are considered in accordance with the contract. It is therefore of no use to enter them one by one.
If this field is not ticked, only the skills entered in the Skills covered menu (Menu Function - Skills covered) are covered by the contract created on the basis of this template.
NB: In this function, the level of the skills group covered is entered. This means that when a skills group is entered, all the sister groups are coveredby the contract.
If this field is not ticked and no skills group is entered, the contract will be almost unusable. No customer problem will be able to be taken into account by this contract.
All products
This field is used to declare whether the contract template covers all the products at the customer. If this field is ticked, then the Priority to installed basefield becomes inaccessible. If this field is ticked, the product coverage function is inaccessible. This signifies that the contract created from this template applies to all of the products ordered by the customer.
If this field is not ticked, two options are possible :
NB: For a service contract with points template, the three flags All skills, All products, Priority to installed base, are ticked but not accessible.
Priority to the base
This option concerns the warrantee and maintenance contracts for which the coverage is by Installed base type (and not all the installed base) has been defined.
It is used to completely automate the definition of the combined coverages (Installed base + Skill) for all the coverages of the type Installed base. This field is used to combine the financial coverage of a service contract template with the equipment base and skills coverage. Within the framework of the combined financial coverage, any modification to the coverage in one will be passed to the other.
The service contract category determines the use of three flags (All skills, All the installed base, Priority to installed base). If this field is ticked, priority is given to the customer installed base during the definition of the rules for the combined financial coverages.
Technical notes
This field is used to enter notes with a limit of 235 characters.
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Fields
The following fields are present on this tab :
Statistical groups
Use these fields to enter the statistics group codes for the service contracts. Codes can be selected and initialized from the service contract template. You can define up to 5 statistical groups. The number of groups and their names can be set up when installing the application. These groups are used in statistical processes and as selection criteria in many programs. |
Contract category
| This field is essential to determine the functional category of the service contract:
This triggers various processes: the points management rule, the contract revaluation, the invoicing, etc. |
Coverage
| This field is used to determine the access to the skills coverage management function. If this field is ticked, the coverage management function is inaccessible because all the skills described in the application are considered in accordance with the contract. It is therefore of no use to enter them one by one. If this field is not ticked, only the skills entered in the "Skills covered" function (Menu "Function - Skills covered") are covered by the contract created on the basis of this template. Warning: In this function, the level of the skills group covered is entered. This signifies that when a skills group is entered, all the sister groups are taken into account by the contract. If this field is not ticked and no skills group is entered, the contract will be almost unusable. No customer problem will be able to be taken into account by this contract. |
| This field is used to determine the access to the product coverage management. This field can be accessed only for "Maintenance" contracts. If this field is ticked, the product coverage function is inaccessible. This signifies that the contract created from this template applies to all of the products ordered by the customer. In this way a sort of super contract is obtained. If this field is not ticked, two options are possible: 1/Do not enter any product reference in the function "Covered products" (in menu "Functions - Covered products")– and wait for the creation of the contract before completing the entry of the serial numbers to be covered. 2/ Enter one or more product references in order to automatically cover the serial numbers for this product reference with the customer. |
| This check box is only used on warranty and maintenance contracts with a coverage According to base (not All the base). It is used to automate the definition of combined coverages (Installed base + Skill) for all coverages set According to base. If this check box is selected, the creation, modification or deletion of this type of coverage will immediately apply to the associated cross-referenced coverages. |
Mnemonic notes
| This field is used to edit all the information that is used to better understand the service contract template within the framework of the after-sales strategy for the organization. |
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Duration
This field represents the contract duration.
For the contracts with tacit renewal, this is the frequency on which the contract will be automatically renewed.
For the contracts that have no tacit renewal agreement, it is the frequency on which the contract should be renegotiated by the two parties.
Agreed renewal
This field specifics whether the contract will be subject to an automatic renewal at the end of its term. Essentially this signifies that there will be no gap in the invoicing chain that will continue to be executed at the desired frequency.
The following three fields only concern contracts with points :
Points credit
This field is used to define a default point credit value at the level of the contract with points template.
Necessary tokens
This field is used to determine the number of tokens necessary to obtain a free contract of this type.
Points tolerance (%)
This field is used to define the threshold that is used to close or not the contract.
The following fields only concern the maintenance contracts. These fields are not available to warranty contracts or contracts with points.
Frequency of re-evaluation
This field is used to enter the frequency with which the contract must be re-evaluated.
Re-evaluation method
There are two re-evaluation methods :
Contract with a duration of three years, with annual invoice for the term to be paid. The contract is to be re-evaluated once a year by pre-re-evaluation :
1st March 2004 | 1st March 2005 | 1st March 2006 | 1st March 2007 |
Annual basis : 1000 | Annual basis : 1100 | Annual basis : 1200 | Annual basis : 1300 |
Next invoice amount : 1000 | Next invoice amount : ??? | Next invoice amount : ??? | Next invoice amount : ??? |
Index 1000 | Index 1100 | Index 1200 | Index 1300 |
Creation of the contract |
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Invoice amount : 1000 | Invoice amount : 1100 | Invoice amount : 1200 |
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Contract with a duration of three years, with annual invoice for the term to be paid. The contract is to be re-evaluated once a year by post-re-evaluation :
1st March 2004 | 1st March 2005 | 1st March 2006 | 1st March 2007 |
Annual basis : 1000 | Annual basis : 1000 | Annual basis : 1100 | Annual basis : 1200 |
Next invoice amount : 1000 | Next invoice amount : 1000 | Next invoice amount : 1100 | Next invoice amount : 1200 |
Index 1000 | Index 1100 | Index 1200 | Index 1300 |
Creation of the contract |
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Invoice amount : 1000 | Invoice amount : 1000 | Invoice amount : 1100 |
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Contract with a duration of three years, with annual invoice for the paid term. The contract is to be re-evaluated once a year by pre-re-evaluation :
1st March 2004 | 1st March 2005 | 1st March 2006 | 1st March 2007 |
Annual basis : 1000 | Annual basis : 1000 | Annual basis : 1100 | Annual basis : 1200 |
Next invoice amount : 1000 | Next invoice amount : 1000 | Next invoice amount : ??? | Next invoice amount : ??? |
Index 1000 | Index 1100 | Index 1200 | Index 1300 |
Creation of the contract |
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| Invoice amount : 1000 | Invoice amount : 1100 | Invoice amount : 1200 |
Contract with a duration of three years, with annual invoice for the paid term. The contract is to be re-evaluated once a year by post-re-evaluation :
1st March 2004 | 1st March 2005 | 1st March 2006 | 1st March 2007 |
Annual basis : 1000 | Annual basis : 1000 | Annual basis : 1000 | Annual basis : 1100 |
Next invoice amount : 1000 | Next invoice amount : 1000 | Next invoice amount : 1000 | Next invoice amount : 1100 |
Index 1000 | Index 1100 | Index 1200 | Index 1300 |
Creation of the contract |
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| Invoice amount : 1000 | Invoice amount : 1000 | Invoice amount : 1100 |
Re-evaluation support
There are two types of re-evaluation support :
Index
This field is only accessible for a re-evaluation support of the type Evolution of the index. It is used to declare the index used during the comparison of the values on a date, from amongst those in miscellaneous table 410 : Indexation basis. The evolution of the values of the different indexes can be recorded in the Index evolution function.
Formula
This field is only accessible for a re-evaluation support of the type Mathematical support. This field is used to declare the mathematical formula to be used, from amongst those in miscellaneous table 427 : Re-evaluation formulas. The execution of these calculation formulas is carried out by means of the entry point RVACON_ followed by the formula code. For example, the entry point RVACON_ A1 launches the calculation of the simple formula A1.
Notice of termination
As a function of the activity sectors, this field can have the following meanings :
In all cases, the termination is a manual operation that must be carried out directly in a contract record.
Fields
The following fields are present on this tab :
Renewal
| This field indicates the contract duration.
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| This field specifics whether the contract will be subject to an automatic renewal at the end of its term. Essentially this signifies that there will be no gap in the invoicing chain that will continue to be executed at the desired frequency. If this is not the case, the contract will be the object of a renegotiation and a manual renewal in the function provided for this |
| This field concerns only contracts with points. You use it to enter the total number of points awarded to the customer for this contract. |
| This field is used to indicate the minimum number of tokens that allows a customer to be offered this service contract. This information is analyzed by the system only if no equivalent information has been entered for the customer in question. Remember, the tokens are the bonus that each customer can be credited on the occasion of their successive orders. |
| This field only applies to contracts with points. In this process, contracts can be fully "consumed" based on a ranking system with points and a tolerance threshold. As the rules for consuming these points can be quite complex, it is usually unlikely to fully consume all the points awarded for a given contract. For example, a contract has a 100 points and a consumption rule for 30 points by service request with a tolerance threshold of 10%. The fourth service request from this customer leads to issuing a quote for subscribing to a new service contract. However, in the meantime, the customer still has a contract with 10 points. If this contract had been assigned a 20% tolerance, this fourth request would have followed the standard process and the contract would have been closed automatically once the service request had been processed. |
Revaluation
| This field is used to enter the frequency on which the annual charge basis of the contract must be re-evaluated. The automatic re-evaluation can always be carried out on the basis of the evolution of a chosen index. |
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| Specify a contract revaluation method. Maintenance contracts can be revaluated in two ways:
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| This field specifies which type of revaluation is used on the service contract. Two options are available:
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| This field is only accessible if the Evolution of an index revaluation has been selected. You use it to enter index to be used at each contract revaluation. A revaluation is done by comparing the index value used during the last revaluation and the last value saved in the system for this index. |
| This field can only be accessed if the Mathematical formula revaluation has been selected. Enter the formula code, selected from the 427 - Revaluation formulas miscellaneous table. |
Termination
| Depending on your activity sector, this field can have the following meanings:
In both cases, the termination has to be done manually from the contract record. |
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Presentation
Invoicing frequency
This field indicates the frequency on which the customer will receive the invoices related to the receipt of services covered by their contract.
Invoicing method
There are two methods of invoicing :
Example of a contract with a duration of three years, invoiceable once a year, with the invoicing method being pre-invoicing or in terms of being payable :
1st March 2004 | 1st March 2005 | 1st March 2006 | 1st March 2007 |
Contract creation and invoicing | Invoicing | Invoicing | Invoicing |
Due date no.1 | Due date no.2 | Due date no.3 |
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Example of a contract with a duration of three years, invoiceable once a year, with the invoicing method post-invoicing or in terms of being payable :
1st March 2004 | 1st March 2005 | 1st March 2006 | 1st March 2007 |
Contract creation and invoicing | Invoicing | Invoicing | Invoicing |
| Due date no.1 | Due date no.2 | Due date no.3 |
Increase/decrease coefficient
Certain operations increase or decrease the open item amount when they are applied over the long term. This field is used to define the size of this increase or decrease should it be required.
Notice of invoicing
This field is used to define the notice from which a contract open item to be invoice will appear in the invoicing tools. From this moment, the invoice will be generated and sent to the customer.
The notice represents the number of days that precede the term for an invoicing open item.
Payment conditions
This field is used to enter the assigned payment conditions for the payment of the contract open items.
The list of the different dispute codes available must be described in the miscellaneous table no.315 : Accepted disputes.
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Fields
The following fields are present on this tab :
Invoicing
| This field indicates the frequency on which the customer will receive the invoices related to the receipt of services covered by their contract. It is also used to determine what fraction of the annual royalty must be allocated to the invoice. | ||
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| Use this field to enter the method used for invoicing the service contract.
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| When open items are collected several times a year, an increase or increase is often applied. You use this field is to define how important this increase or decrease is. | ||
| Use this field to define the notice from which a contract open item to be invoiced will be available in the invoicing tools. From this moment, the invoice will be generated and sent to the customer. The notice represents the number of days that precede the term for an invoicing open item. | ||
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| Use this field to enter the payment terms defined for paying the contract open items. |
Grid Litigations
| This field is used to enter the dispute codes that trigger the management of a customer problem if the payment has not been done on time in respect to the contract due dates. For instance, a customer's payment is two month late in respect to the contract due date. Moreover, this customer has declare a dispute with their supplier. When the customer call the customer support in order to solve a problem on one of the materials, the customer will benefit from the service if the dispute code of the due date corresponds to one of the codes mentioned on the maintenance contract. |
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This function is only accessible if the field All the installed baseis not ticked.
The top part of the window is used to enter a list of product references or commercial groups that are used to identify the covered installed base.
The lower part of the screen is used to exclude or include the components that can not be determined in the first screen, by means of entering exceptions. It is possible to only exclude a single component for a product reference entered in the upper part of the window.
This function is only accessible of the All skillsfield for the service contract template record is not ticked.
This function is used to enter all the skills group levelsrequired by the contract.
The term level indicates that all the lower levels of the skills group are taken into account if this latter is included in the covered skills. In fact, if the totality of the generic groups have been entered in this function the result will be equivalent to that obtained by ticking the field All skills.
Reminder: Once a skill is entered in a service request, the system searches for at least one contract ascribed to the customer, for the machine, for the skills group enterer of for one of the parent groups.
The quality constraints directly influence the resolution lead-times for the service requests as a function of the urgency level expressed by the customer.
Blocking and non blocking character of customer problems
A non blocking problem in general represents a nuisance for a user of the equipment or the system. But not withstanding the problem, the function requested by the system can globally be corrected with satisfaction.
A blocking problem makes it impossible to carryout critical work within the enterprise (for example, the entry of customer orders).
Intervention on site /During
The Intervention on siteindicates if the contract expected planned to take into account any visits to the customer site without additional charges. The During field indicates the duration during which the contract expects this service is to be counted at each start of the contract renewal.
Maximum intervention lead-time
In the case where the contract plans for visits to the customer site, this field indicated the maximum lead-time within which an engineer must be present to start the corrective work.
Maximum resolution lead-time
This field indicates the maximum lead-time within which the customer system must be returned to a correctly functioning system.
Penalty amounts
In the case where, at the end of the resolution lead-time, the customer system is still not operational, this field indicate the penalty amounts which the customer can pick up due to their contract.
These penalties can be either paid directly to the customer or be the object of credit memos etc.
Other constraints
This field is used to save the constraints specific to certain contract types. These are all the constraints that come from the defined in the previous fields (for example, the engineers must where white shirts when visiting the customer sites).
In addition to the generic error messages, the following messages can appear during the entry :
This message appears when the user attempts to enter the same dispute code more than once in the accepted dispute table.