Success Story: True Temper Optimizes a Key Process
True Temper is a leading provider of hockey gear and lifestyle apparel. Since entering the hockey market in 2000, the company has sold more than 2 million hockey sticks, and True Temper manufactured sticks have been used in 14 Stanley Cup finals.
They’ve built their success through regular investments in research and development (R&D), and True Temper supports all of their products with a comprehensive warranty.
The Problem: An Unoptimized Process for Handling Warranty Claims
Given that True Temper’s equipment is exceptionally popular and widely used in one of the world’s most physically demanding sports, the company handles quite a few warranty requests.
Initially, they relied on a basic online form system to handle those requests. Customers would fill out the form, which would be forwarded to customer support staff.
The legacy system had serious limitations:
- Staff had trouble tracking entries from start to finish, which led to efficiency issues.
- If customers did not submit enough information, staff would need to reach out to collect additional details.
- Management for conditional form fields was extremely difficult.
- The system was not flexible, and adding new features (such as analytic tools for assessing warranty data) was effectively impossible.
The old system was functional, but not particularly effective. The True Temper team determined that some processes could be automated (such as emails asking clients for additional details), and others could be substantially improved.
The Solution: A Warranty Request System with Built-In Automation
True Temper contacted Blue Stingray to find a better form system that could manage conditional fields more effectively. After some research, Blue Stingray suggested using Zoho Forms, a flexible and power form system, to create a new set of warranty claim forms.
However, after testing Zoho Forms, True Temper’s team realized that they needed features and functionalities that were outside of the capabilities of basic web form services; they needed a full-featured warranty claims system. And while prebuilt warranty systems are available for enterprises, none of them offered the exact features that True Temper needed.
Blue Stingray determined that Zoho Creator, an application development platform, was an appropriate solution for building the new warranty claim system. We decided on a two-phase approach:
- Phase 1 – The initial development and launch. The project took about three months to develop, at which point it was capable of handling customer warranty requests. After launch, Blue Stingray worked with True Temper to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Phase 2 – Enhancements. In the two months after launch, the system was refined with additional conditional fields and logic. This ensured that the warranty forms collected sufficient information from customers, and enabled True Temper’s staff to spend less time on data entry.
The custom-built warranty system would be less expensive overall than pre-built solutions, but much more flexible. Most importantly, it would be optimized for True Temper’s team — with no unnecessary features that could negatively impact their workflow.
The Results: A More Efficient Process for Warranty Claims
When True Temper contacted Blue Stingray, their goal was simply to refine their existing forms. They didn’t intend to build a new, entirely customized warranty system.
But thanks to a feature-oriented approach, the custom-built system was an instant success. Support staff can find the status of any given claim at a glance. They can instantly know what needs to be done for each case and communicate the progress to the customer.
By automating certain actions, the new warranty system has improved the efficiency of the claims-handling process. Powerful analytic tools are also available for product R&D: The engineering staff can quickly find trends for specific products and damage types. That data is invaluable when refining products — and understanding how real-life customers use True Temper equipment.
Blue Stingray is dedicated to helping businesses find ways to optimize processes and achieve success. To learn how our approach can work for your next project, reach out to speak with an expert.
