Repair service satisfaction. Check.

Repair service
satisfaction. Check.
Company Name
Toronto, Ontario
Sony of Canada Ltd. (Sony Canada), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, is
a world leader in high definition, delivering entertainment experiences through its
products that include Blu-ray DiscTM players, televisions, camcorders, computers, video
conferencing systems, and digital, broadcast and security cameras.
Industry
Summary
Sony of Canada Ltd.
Head Office
Electronics
Benefits
• Sony Canada’s new repair program,
Fastrac Service, integrated with
Purolator E-Ship Web Services,
doubles customer satisfaction
ratings in one year.
• Fastrac Service reduces repair costs
for consumer products, while
Purolator Express® speeds electronics
shipments, cutting repair time from
weeks to days.
Sony Canada’s Fastrac Service integrates its enterprise software with Purolator E-Ship®
Web Services to reduce costs while delivering enhanced customer satisfaction following
a product repair. And, Purolator’s nationwide network gives Sony customers more
choices for parcel pickup and drop off.
Challenges and solutions
Historically, when customers needed to get select Sony products repaired, they
dropped it off at an authorized repair shop and waited patiently while the repair was
completed. Junior Ali, Vice President of Service, Environment, and Customer Relationship
Management at Sony Canada, says the process took anywhere from a week to a month
to complete and customers had no way of tracking the status of the repair.
“About a year ago, we set out to enhance our customer repair journey to increase
customer satisfaction and decrease costs,” recalls Ali, adding that with price erosion in
consumer electronics, cost control is critical.
Sony Canada knew there had to be a better way than stretching resources across 110
Canadian repair locations. When meeting with courier companies to secure reliable
delivery of products to and from customers, Purolator presented a new idea that would
transform the “repair journey” for Sony Canada customers.
Purolator showed how Sony Canada could leverage technology to book repairs, ship
products and track every step of the repair using an integrated online portal, while
centralizing repairs in one location.
Sony Canada liked the idea and, with Purolator’s concept in hand, built a proprietary
repair service portal called Fastrac Service, which is integrated with Sony’s Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) and Purolator E-Ship® Web Services.
Case Study
Leveraging technology
Sony gains ‘promoters’
Customers can check warranty and troubleshooting tips by Globally, Sony tracks customer satisfaction using a “net promoter
entering their product make and model into Fastrac Service. score” system (NPS), which measures the customer experience at
Troubleshooting before booking the repair helps to eliminate every touch point, tracking the number of detractors, fence sitters
user-error issues before products are shipped. If a repair is needed, and promoters. When it came to repairs, Sony Canada’s NPS had
customers can choose to either drop off the product at a Sony historically been at 30%, which Ali says is high for the repair
Store or a Purolator location, or have Purolator
service industry. They nevertheless wanted
“Purolator came in as a
deliver a shipping box to their home or office.
to do better.
And, customers can track the status of their problem-solving team, not as
a company that moves boxes.” After rolling out Fastrac Service, Sony Canada’s
repair every step of the way in real time.
Junior Ali, Vice President of Service, Environment and NPS score hit 60% and continues to climb.
Customer Relationship Management for Sony
It’s a 200% improvement that hits the same
“Fastrac Service integrates a wide range of
different systems, including Sony’s knowledge database to high satisfaction rating as when customers make a purchase.
troubleshoot repair issues, Canada 411 to verify address formatting,
and Purolator E-Ship® Web Services to create waybills and order “We’ve taken an unpleasant or negative experience – the product
pickups,” says Ali. “It’s about giving the customer options and with you got is broken – and we’ve turned it into a real positive,” says
Purolator, we get about a thousand drop points across Canada. Ali. “We’ve reduced the whole repair journey to three days across
No other carrier (we met) had even close to the footprint and Canada. Customers are blown away by the speed and ease
of service.”
reach of Purolator.”
In six months, Purolator delivered more than 20,000 shipments
for repair for Fastrac Service.
Ali adds that when the repair is booked, the online system books
the job with the repair shop so they can plan staffing and parts.
The system also creates the waybills using Purolator E-Ship® Web
Services for both the delivery to Sony Canada and the return
shipment to the customer using Purolator Express® services.
Repair costs cut
In addition to happier customers, Sony’s Fastrac Service has also
saved time and money.
“Our costs have been going down and our customer satisfaction
is going up,” says Ali, noting since repair technicians know what
jobs are coming in advance, parts are on hand and often repairs
get completed the same day. “Where a customer previously had
to wait a week, the repairs now take, on average, three days
including shipping.”
Award-winning green programs
Sony Canada was recently recognized by Maclean's/
Jantzi- Sustainalytics as one of “Canada's top 50 socially responsible
corporations” for diverting more than 205,000 kilograms of
electronics from landfills and reducing use of conventional
plastics by incorporating vegetable-based raw materials into
product packaging. Sony Canada customers can drop off their
old Sony electronics at 21 Purolator retail locations across Canada,
expanding the reach of Sony Canada’s recycling program.
Focusing on Sony’s business
Sony Canada was impressed that, during the first presentation,
Purolator’s team focused on its business challenges and presented
a solution to improve its business process.
“Purolator said ‘let’s take a look at your business situation and see
how we can deliver a solution’,” says Ali. “It was out-of-the-box
thinking. Purolator came in as a problem-solving team, not as a
company that moves boxes.”
Blu-ray DiscTM is a trademark of the Blu-ray Disc Association.
“If you have an old Sony TV you want to recycle, you can drop it
off at one of the designated Purolator retail locations and have it
recycled free of charge in a responsible way,” says Ali. “Our
relationship with Purolator is not only delivering an enhanced
customer experience, but also supports our ‘green’ initiatives.”
What’s next
With stellar Fastrac Service results, Ali says Sony Canada will
expand the program to include new product categories including
computers and televisions, while continuing to leverage Purolator’s
speed and reach, as well as Purolator E-Ship® Web Services, to
continue enhancing Sony Canada customers’ repair journey.
Case Study