The management of Quickfix would like to decrease costs and increase customer service by reengineering its computer repair procedures. Currently, when a defective or broken computer needs servicing, the customer calls one of five regional customer service centers. A customer service representative manually logs in the rele¬ vant customer information and then searches through a list to find the closest qualified technician. That technician is then contacted by phone to see if the repair fits into his or her schedule. If not, the representative finds the next closest technician. When a technician who can perform the service is located, the customer and repair information is provided over the phone. The technician then calls the customer and makes arrangements to pick up the broken computer and replace it with a loaner. Making these arrangements takes one to two days and sometimes more if technicians are not avail¬ able or do not promptly return calls.

The broken computer is sent to a repair depot. Typically, the entire repair process takes another four to seven days. Overall, it can take up to three weeks for an item to be repaired. When a customer calls to see if the computer is ready, the customer service representative must then call the technician, find out the status of the item, and call the customer back. Throughout the entire repair process, usually five phone calls take place between the customer, the customer service representative, and the technician.

There are three main problems with this process: (1) it is time-consuming; (2) it is inconvenient for a customer to have a computer removed, a new one installed, and then the old one reinstalled; and (3) customer service representatives do not have immediate access to information about items currently being repaired.

Required

a. Identify the basic activities that occur when an item is repaired and around which the reengineered process should be developed.

b. Describe how the current repair process can be reengineered to achieve the goal of more timely repair and increased customer service.

c. What will be the specific benefits of reengineering the repair process?