In brief
- The growth of smart appliances has changed the way domestic appliance and consumer electronics aftercare providers like D&G service customers. This has meant working with manufacturers, retailers and other partners to create an ultra-efficient, eco-friendly repairer network
- The D&G repairer network is driven by AI and ESG principles. Remote diagnosis stops trucks rolling unless absolutely necessary to minimize emissions. And soon, customers will be able to use a self-service app to diagnose and fix (some) faults themselves, further reducing engineer visits
- The digital world is changing so fast that organizations need to experiment with emerging tech right now, and it sounds like D&G has made great strides in that direction. Companies must be on point to take advantage of GenAI, anticipating and driving change rather than simply reacting to it
In this AI-driven world, standing still means going backward.
My work at Luxoft involves helping banks and insurers exploit GenAI, machine learning (ML), cloud and emerging technologies. I have 30 years of insurance sector experience, finding my way into the data and analytics department solely because I could type. (I learned on a typewriter — gasp!)
As you will appreciate, I’ve spent a long time working out the best ways to digitalize insurance processes and use data to drive decisions. And what’s impressed me recently is how progress has started to take off in two directions:
- Data and AI. The ability to deploy AI/ML and begin driving better decisions and customer outcomes has mushroomed over the last 4 or 5 years
- Digital experience. You can't buy a device now without its complementary app. Who’d have thought a washing machine would one day be capable of calling to tell you it's finished a load? Incredible. We knew my mom’s old washing machine was done when we heard her sobbing with the effort of lifting wet sheets from the twin tub
Technology and the digital world are advancing rapidly; it's a pleasure and a significant responsibility to be involved at the heart of it all.
Getting smarter all the time
On the latest Luxoft-sponsored podcast, I discussed this very topic with Hannah Kershaw, chief product officer of Domestic & General, a major domestic appliance and consumer electronics aftercare organization. Through its service network, D&G provides protection, maintenance and support for 21 million products and repairs/replaces 2.9 million appliances a year.
Hannah explained that the growth of smart appliances had changed the way they service customers. I asked her whether D&G was developing a proposition for the apps that control those smart devices. She said they were working with manufacturers, retailers and other partners to deliver service along those lines. Being at the center of this ecosystem enables them to get more data points and evolve those integrations — if they know what's broken, they can deliver a better repair service. Right?
People know best?
This issue struck a chord with me because of a story I once heard about the London Underground (Tube) system — not the one about one-legged “Bumper” Harris, hired over a century ago to walk up and down the Tube’s first escalator all day long, to convince people it was safe. No, a more modern one.
London Underground uses cameras to monitor the number of people crowding onto platforms. If the platform gets too busy, the escalators automatically slow down to ease the commuter arrival rate. If that doesn't work, the computer system shuts the gates at the top of the escalators to control passenger flow further.
The problem is that, apparently, not all staff cotton on to why the gates have closed. So, they open them again manually, causing platform chaos.
With that in mind, Hannah pointed out that D&G’s current service goal, a kind of “predictive repair Holy Grail,” was to develop embedded devices that could alert the team if a machine fails or, even better, predict a fault so they could dispatch a repair engineer before the device actually breaks down.
Leave it to the experts
D&G doesn't employ repair engineers directly. Having developed an efficient and effective third-party repair network, the provider sees itself as the glue between the manufacturer and the customer. A Bosch engineer — van loaded with Bosch parts and carrying Bosch technical software to plug into a Bosch appliance — is likely to repair a Bosch machine perfectly the first time.
So, in the future, a washing machine might report that it needs to be replaced. Or an on-call engineer might reference the service life of the tumble dryer product range that matches the customer’s appliance. And, given the customer’s large loads and desire for better energy efficiency, faster drying times or lower ambient noise levels, the engineer could advise the customer they'd be better off replacing than repairing (or vice versa).
A stitch in time saves waste
Providing insights into how appliances are performing, what’s likely to break, how often and how that compares to competitor brands would be extremely valuable to customers.
Also, preventative maintenance such as descaling, fossil protection, overloading, energy wastage, ground leakage and over-pressuring closed-loop plumbing systems could be reported and advised. Consequently, D&G must have the most extensive database of cross-manufacturer faults and data in the industry.
Of course, this future scenario would inevitably impact risk underwriting models.
AI-driven benefits
The D&G repairer network is driven by AI and ESG principles, reducing journey times, etc. Remote diagnosis stops trucks from rolling unless absolutely necessary and decreases emissions (most of the company’s emissions are generated driving to and from customers). And soon, customers will be able to use a self-service app to diagnose and fix (some) faults themselves, minimizing engineer visits.
AI is making this happen. Imagine the vast volume of content covering every appliance — all the various manuals detailing fault codes and the like. Without the help of generative AI, it would take way too long for the householder to diagnose and fix problems themselves.
The digital age is no barrier
For years, customers received their warranty leaflet in their new washing machine, filled it out and posted it back. Now, transactions are controlled by apps, and since lockdown, many more older people have had to embrace the digital journey.
So, regardless of whether a customer buys an appliance from a manufacturer or retailer, they can log into their D&G account and view all their warranty plans together. This is great because one of insurers’ most stubborn challenges is reconciling customer purchases where multiple products have been bought under slightly different names — Jeff and Jeffrey, for example, or “Are you the same Joe Bloggs that bought the Whirlpool from John Lewis last week?”
But now, we can use AI to do the fuzzy logic matching. And the customer insights generated can create many new and cross-product sales opportunities.
People buy from people (and apps) they trust
It feels like the opportunities are endless, and something Luxoft is exploring more is data services for partners and clients. A couple of weeks back, I listened to a speech by a representative of a Finnish bank about an app they’ve developed.
The upshot was that when buying or selling a car privately, the seller is nervous about getting paid, and the purchaser is nervous in case the seller doesn't have full title. The bank thought, what if the seller uploaded the car’s title and the purchaser uploaded the cash to a banking app that both trusted? They’d enjoy a mutually trustworthy transaction, regardless of whether the vehicle's parked on a back street, residential driveway, multistory car park or the dark side of the moon.
A sprat to catch a mackerel*
I asked the bank’s representative why they did that; surely, they're just facilitating a transaction. He said they did it because they could sell car insurance, a loan and a car warranty at the same time. The bank makes nothing on the individual transaction, but the sales and marketing opportunities are vast.
I wondered if D&G was in the same sort of space on household goods, but D&G’s customer relationships are different from general insurers’; they think of their service as high-touch. D&G retains customers for long periods, and subscriptions renew each month. Such long-term relationships are low cost, and people tend to subscribe extra appliances over time (just under two on average, but some have 15 items on cover).
* A small risk taken in the hope of a large or significant gain — oxfordreference.com
Don’t drag your feet
As I said, I'm constantly amazed at the innovation in companies like D&G, their organizations, partners and branded white-goods suppliers. Apparently, it’s not for everyone, though. Recently, I heard an insurance company spokesman say they were waiting to see which way AI was going before taking the plunge.
My take on that is simple. We don’t have time to wait around. The digital world is changing so fast that organizations need to experiment with emerging tech now, and it sounds like D&G has made great strides in that direction. Companies must be on point when the world changes, anticipating and driving rather than simply reacting. I guess that's why D&G has such a long and successful track record of service in the warranty space.
Want to dig a little deeper?
If you’d like to discover more about what partnering with Luxoft’s AI in insurance team is like in practice, visit our website or contact us.
Jeremy Owenson
During his 12 years with Zurich Insurance, Jeremy gained extensive market knowledge, from sales and the underwriting process to claims and even outsourcing (including offshore). Now, he’s concentrating on how technology can revolutionize the industry. Leveraging DXC Luxoft’s leading position in Banking and Capital Markets, Jeremy is determined to bring fresh ideas and ML-driven underwriting to the insurance sector.
