System and method for warranty customization based on device location and proximity to service center

Abstract

Custom-tailored warranties are provided with improved service level agreements (SLA) based upon an estimated turnaround time for service and/or parts. The turnaround time is calculated using an artificial intelligence or machine learning engine considering parameters such as the transit time from the nearest service centers and warehouses, the availability of service engineers at the service centers, and the availability of replacement parts in the warehouse. A custom-tailored warranty also may be offered for a specific customer-selected SLA if supported by the estimated turnaround time for the location. A warranty recommendation may be based on device location for data centers in multiple locations. A Location-Based Warranty Monitor (LBWM) provides fine-grained warranty suggestions and Un-bound Warranty Tokens (UWTs) can be bound to a system to assign a warranty with a desired. SLA.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing warranty recommendations based on device location, comprising:
 identifying a device location;   retrieving a current warranty for the device using a device identifier;   retrieving one or more available warranties that are served at the device location, wherein terms of the available warranties are selected based upon the location of service centers or warehouses relative to the location;   determining the SLA for the one or more of the available warranties and the current warranty;   if one or more available warranties have a better SLA than the current warranty, then identifying a list of possible warranty upgrades to a user; and   if no available warranties have a better SLA than the current warranty, then notifying the user to continue with the current warranty.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying, on a user interface, warranty information for a plurality of devices; and   displaying an icon for each device, wherein the icon indicates whether there are one or more available warranties that have a better SLA than the current warranty for that device.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the device location is identified using one or more of: a shipping address used by a vendor, using GPS associated with a mobile management application, and a device address assigned in a system management application. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the current warranty is retrieved from a vendor warranty system. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a warranty selection from the user;   identifying unbound warranty tokens associated with the user, wherein the unbound warranty tokens are not assigned to any device; and   assigning a selected unbound warranty token to the device, wherein the selected unbound warranty token has an SLA that corresponds to the user's warranty selection.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the selected unbound warranty token is assigned to the device by binding the unbound warranty token to a service tag for the device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a warranty selection from the user;   identifying previously obtained unbound warranty tokens already associated with the user, wherein the previously obtained unbound warranty tokens are not assigned to any device;   evaluating whether the previously obtained unbound warranty tokens have an SLA that corresponds to the user's warranty selection; and   procuring a new unbound warranty token from a vendor when the previously obtained unbound warranty tokens do not correspond to the user's warranty selection.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the device is a server, and the location is a data center. 
     
     
         9 . A system for providing warranty recommendations based on device location, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the processor, cause the system to:   identify a device location;   retrieve a current warranty for the device using a device identifier;   retrieve one or more available warranties that are served at the device location, wherein terms of the available warranties are selected based upon the location of service centers or warehouses relative to the location;   determine the SLA for the one or more of the available warranties and the current warranty;   if one or more available warranties have a better SLA than the current warranty, then identify a list of possible warranty upgrades to a user; and   if no available warranties have a better SLA than the current warranty, then notify the user to continue with the current warranty.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the program instructions further cause the system to:
 display, on a user interface, warranty information for a plurality of devices; and   display an icon for each device, wherein the icon indicates whether there are one or more available warranties that have a better SLA than the current warranty for that device.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the device location is identified using one or more of: a shipping address used by a vendor, using GPS associated with a mobile management application, and a device address assigned in a system management application. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the current warranty is retrieved from a vendor warranty system. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the program instructions further cause the system to:
 receive a warranty selection from the user;   identify unbound warranty tokens associated with the user, wherein the unbound warranty tokens are not assigned to any device; and   assign a selected unbound warranty token to the device, wherein the selected unbound warranty token has an SLA that corresponds to the user's warranty selection.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the selected unbound warranty token is assigned to the device by binding the unbound warranty token to a service tag for the device. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the program instructions further cause the system to:
 receive a warranty selection from the user;   identify previously obtained unbound warranty tokens already associated with the user, wherein the previously obtained unbound warranty tokens are not assigned to any device;   evaluate whether the previously obtained unbound warranty tokens have an SLA that corresponds to the user's warranty selection; and   procure a new unbound warranty token from a vendor when the previously obtained unbound warranty tokens do not correspond to the user's warranty selection.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the device is a server, and the location is a data center. 
     
     
         17 . A warranty evaluation system for providing a best possible service level agreement (SLA) for an Information Handling Systems (IHS), comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the processor, cause the system to:
 identify the location of an IHS; 
 obtain a current warranty for the IHS, wherein the current warranty comprises a current SLA; 
 using an SLA model for a deep learning neural network, calculate a best SLA the IHS location, wherein the best SLA corresponds to an SLA with a fastest available replacement time; 
 compare the best SLA and the current SLA; and 
 if the best SLA is faster than the current SLA, then create a warranty for the IHS comprising the best SLA. 
   
     
     
         18 . The warranty evaluation system of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 if the best SLA is not faster than the current SLA, then designate the location for evaluation for improved service center or warehouse support.