Warranty Week unveils ‘Top Warranty Providers of 2012’

Keeping warranty costs low is a top priority for companies when it comes to managing their budgets, and Warranty Week recently released its list of the top warranty providers of 2012 in terms of their ability to reduce these expenditures.

According to the publication, Santa Clara, California-based technology firm Nvidia Corporation showed the largest year-over-year warranty cost reduction in 2012, and it wasn’t even close. Nvidia, which manufactures and supplies computer graphics cards, saw its annual warranty bill for 2012 drop to $36 million, or just 0.24 percent of its overall revenue. That number was down significantly from just a year prior in 2011, when warranty claims amounted to $114 million and accounted for 1.1 percent of the company’s yearly revenue. 

Lennar Corporation, Western Digital and United Technologies also earned high marks from Warranty Week, while real estate firm Hovnanian Enterprises rounded out the top five. 

At the other end of the spectrum, major corporations like Garmin, Johnson Controls and Apple did not fare as well. Apple, for instance, saw its percentage of overall revenue as warranty claims rise from 0.92 percent in 2011 to 1.3 percent last year. For a giant like Apple, this rise amounts to an additional $776 million on warranty costs for 2012. 

Apple’s warranty program has made headlines recently for other reasons as well. According to Apple Insider, the company recently extended its hardware warranty from one to two years in Australia in order to comply with Australian regulations. The reported shift comes as the technology giant has received criticism over its standard 12-month product warranties in the past, the news source said.

One of the most effective ways to reduce warranty costs can be through the use of technology that allows companies to test their products in a smarter, more efficient manner. This can extend product life by reducing the risk of defects and malfunctions.