Finally, some good news arrived on the repair cycle front.
After a steady rise in annual repair event cycle time (RECT) averages since the pandemic began, 2023 delivered a welcome decline.
The average overall RECT reached its high mark of 41 days in 2022. The average fell to 37 days last year. The change marked the first year-over-year improvement in more than five years and extended to the key bottlenecks, as well.
Warranty coverage RECT decreased to a 54-day average, and the average out-of-stock parts RECT dropped to 73 days.
Contributing Factors
First, warranty coverage RECT’s high volume significantly contributes to the overall RECT averages. Warranty coverage RECT improved slightly to a 54-day average. The improvement is partially due to a decrease in the percentage of warranty claims among all service repairs.
Before 2022, warranty claims accounted for around 43% of all work orders reviewed. The total climbed to 48% in 2022, likely because of the record number of new RVs sold. Fortunately, 2023 saw a return to the pre-2022 average at 42%.
Second, dealers have effectively controlled the areas they can. Both start days (the time between the work order start date and first labor) and delivery days (the time between the last labor completion and the work order’s close) averaged a commendable 10 days in 2023.
The total is the same, or even faster, than pre-pandemic levels.
Persistent Challenges
However, the picture is not entirely sunny.
Job days, which measure the time between the first job’s start and the last job’s completion, remain a persistent bottleneck.
This metric actually worsened in 2023, highlighting the need for further focus in this area.
The situation gets particularly challenging when warranty claims collide with out-of-stock parts. These double-bottlenecked work orders exhibit the most extended cycle times.
Pre-pandemic averages for these work orders ran about 60 days, spiking to an incredible 104-day average in 2022 (67 days longer compared with warranty coverage with in-stock parts).
While 2023 delivered a nice improvement to 87 days, another worrying trend appeared. The percentage of work orders with warranty coverage and out-of-stock parts is rising.
Work orders with both jumped from a pre-pandemic average below 30% to 35% in 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, the total climbed to a concerning 41% of all work orders.
A closer look at the individual components within these double-bottlenecked work orders reveals the primary culprit: job days.
Start days have recovered to pre-pandemic levels (averaging around 21 days), and delivery days have improved slightly (16-day average in 2023). However, job days remain stubbornly high, averaging 45 days in 2022 and 2023 (20 days longer than pre-pandemic levels).
I urge dealers to focus their process improvement efforts on this area. A thorough procedure review within the repair cycle is crucial to addressing this persistent bottleneck and expediting repairs.
Some problems extending job days include dealers receiving incorrect or damaged parts from the manufacturer. The service technicians identified the parts necessary for the repair but now have to wait to get the correct part before continuing.
Additionally, dealers have said they face delays when consumers fail to bring their RVs back to the shop for repair completion. If the repair is not a safety issue, dealers are encouraged to return the RV to the consumer to use until their repair can be made. Consumers not promptly returning the RV to a service bay adds to the job days bottleneck.
Early 2024 Findings
The average RECT spiked in the first quarter of 2024 before settling back to 2023 levels.
RECT averaged 50 days in January before falling to a 45-day average in February. In March, average RECT decreased to 37 days, based on 32,700 work orders nationally.
March’s average RECT for warranty repairs and out-of-stock items dipped below 2023 averages. Warranty coverage RECT averaged 53 days in March, down from 54 days in 2023. RECT with one or more out-of-stock parts fell to 68 days from 2023’s 73-day average in March.
Repairs not under warranty coverage and with all parts in stock averaged 17 days. Repairs covered by warranty with out-of-stock parts averaged 83 days, down from 87 days in 2023.
In March, half of consumers waited longer than 12 days for repairs, while 25% of customers waited longer than 38 days.
Finding the Gap
Pinpointing the bottleneck in the 68-day average RECT for repairs with out-of-stock parts starts with dealers’ difficulties identifying the necessary parts.
The out-of-stock identification days, which measures the time between the repair’s start date and the last PD issued, account for 33 days of the 68-day average. Although the identification days for non-warranty repairs are slightly lower at 26 days, for warranty coverage repairs, the time increases to a 40-day average.
The findings emphasize dealers’ trouble identifying parts. Dealers’ and manufacturers’ efforts to recognize the correct repair part more easily can notably improve RECT with out-of-stock parts.
The average lead time days, which measures the time from the first part issued to the last part received, is 19 days. Once the parts are collected, the Repair Wait days average 16 days.
Call to Action
While 2023 offered some positive signs, significant room for improvement remains.
By streamlining job days, particularly for warranty claims with out-of-stock parts, dealers and manufacturers can further reduce RECT and enhance overall customer satisfaction.
Don Miller is a senior data consultant at Constellation Dealer Group. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, Miller provides training, consulting and analytical services to dealerships.
