Siebel Self Service for Automotive

This chapter describes Siebel Self Service for Automotive, and provides information about how to administer Siebel Self Service for Automotive. It includes the following topics:

About Siebel Self Service for Automotive

In the automotive industry, manufacturers want to develop an ongoing relationship with customers to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Siebel Self Service for Automotive provides the following features that allow vehicle manufacturers to create and maintain a relationship with their customers:

Anonymous browsing. Unregistered users can view a home page that allows them to contact the manufacturer, view top frequently asked questions, search the knowledge base, troubleshoot problems, view instructions, ask questions in natural language, and view recommended items for sale.
Dealer Locator. Both registered and unregistered users can search for dealers who are nearest to them.
Contact information. Both registered and unregistered users can contact the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer).
User registration. Users can register and enter information about themselves. You can see the information in the Contacts screen of Siebel Automotive.
Vehicle registration. Customers can register vehicles that they own and that your company manufactures. You can see the information in the Vehicle screen of Siebel Automotive and the associated contact records for the customers.
Preventive maintenance. Customers can see upcoming maintenance actions for their vehicles. You can set up preventive maintenance plans for the makes of vehicles that you manufacture.
Online service requests. Customers can enter service requests for car service, and they can route service requests directly to a dealer. A dealer contacts them to make an appointment.
Online inventory search. If customers want to buy a car with a specific make, model, and year, then they can search the inventory of your dealers to see the dealers that have the car that they want.
Online service history. Customers can see their past service history.
Online order status. Customers can check the status of their orders.

Differences Between Siebel Self Service and Siebel Self Service for Automotive

The most important differences between Siebel Self Service and Siebel Self Service for Automotive include the following differences:

Audience.Siebel Self Service Administration Guide iis generally for any company that provides service through the Web. Siebel Self Service for Automotive is specifically for manufacturers or OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) in the automotive industry.
Cross-references. Siebel Self Service Administration Guide often refers to Siebel Applications Administration Guide for more information. For Siebel Self Service for Automotive, in addition to this guide, see Siebel Automotive Guide.
Differences in the Siebel Self Service Portal. The portal that the customer views has added and modified features specifically for automobile customers.
Differences in Administering Siebel Self Service. The added or modified features of the customer portal generally require added or modified administrative tasks.

Features in User Interface for Siebel Self Service for Automotive

The home page of Siebel Self Service allows new users to register, and provides both anonymous and registered users with links to more information.

You can add automotive-specific views using navigation links. For more information, see Administering Navigation Links. The home page of Siebel Self Service for Automotive includes the following links:

Link to the Dealer Locator. For more information, see Dealer Locator.
Link to My Vehicles. For more information, see My Vehicles View.
Link to register a vehicle. For more information, see Vehicle Registration.
Link to My Service History. For more information, see Service History.
My Account. Displays the My Account view. For more information, see My Profile View.

In addition to the configuration options available on the home page, Siebel Self Service has an additional My Profile view for the automotive industry. For more information, see My Profile View.

Dealer Locator

New or existing customers can use the Dealer Locator to find the dealer nearest to them so that they can purchase a vehicle or get service for a vehicle. Dealer Locator can be added to the home page by administering navigation links. For more information, see Administering Navigation Links.

Customers can enter the following information:

Location. Customers enter either their ZIP code or their city, state and country.
Category. Customers use the drop-down list to specify a dealer, a service center, or either.
Make. Customers use the drop-down list to specify the make of the car.
Search Range. Customers use the Distance In (miles or kilometers) and Search Range fields to specify the acceptable distance from their location to the dealer location.

When the customer clicks Search, the results include all dealers that meet the entered criteria.

The Dealer Locator searches through all the dealers that you enter in the Dealer Locator Administration view in Siebel Automotive. For more information about entering dealers in the Dealer Locator Administration view, see the information about Siebel Automotive tools in Siebel Automotive Guide.

Inventory Search for Vehicles

Potential customers can find exactly the vehicle that they want by using your Siebel eSales Web site, by looking at your marketing material, or in some other way. Then, because virtually all vehicle sales are through dealers, they can see whether any dealers near them have that vehicle in the current inventory. Both anonymous and registered users can click the Inventory Search global button to use the Inventory Search view. For more information about making a vehicle available in a dealer’s inventory, see the information about Siebel Automotive Tools in Siebel Automotive Guide.

Customers enter the following information:

Their location. If customers want the vehicle at the nearest dealer, then they can enter either their ZIP code or their city, state, and country.
New/Used Type. Customers use the drop-down list to specify whether they want a new or used car.
From/To Model Year. If customers want a used car, then they use these fields to specify the range of years for the car.
Make. Customers use the drop-down list to specify the make of the car.
Model. Customers use the drop-down list to specify the model of the car.
Trim. Customers use the drop-down list to specify the trim of the car.
MSRP Less Than. Customers enter the maximum price that they want to pay for the car. This field applies to both new and used cars. The price is taken from the MSRP field of the vehicle record.
Mileage Less Than. If customers want a used car, then they can enter the maximum mileage for the car.
Search Range. Customers use the Distance In (miles or kilometers) and Search Range fields to specify the acceptable distance from their location to the dealer location.

When the user clicks Search, the results include all vehicles that meet the entered criteria.

Note: Inventory search functions properly when you enter only one location for each dealer in the Dealer Locator Administration view. If one dealer has multiple locations, then inventory search might not function properly because a vehicle is tied to a dealer, not to a dealer location.

Inventory search uses information that you enter in the Vehicle screen of Siebel Automotive. A vehicle is available in a dealer’s inventory when the vehicle includes the following values in the designated fields of the Vehicle form:

Available value in the Status field
Dealer value in the Owned By field
The dealer name in the Account field.

Note: Inventory Search for Vehicles can be added to the home page by administering navigation links. For more information, see Administering Navigation Links.

My Profile View

The My Profile view is a central location with links to all the personalized information for a registered user. Registered users can display the view by clicking My Profile in the Side Menu. Customers can use the My Profile view as a dashboard to access all of their information in Siebel Self Service.

The My Profile view in Siebel Self Service for Automotive is different from the My Profile view in Siebel Self Service.

The My Information applet in the My Account view includes the following links:

My Vehicles. Displays the My Vehicles view with a list of all the customer’s vehicles. For more information, see My Vehicles View.
Register New Vehicle. Allows the customer to register a new vehicle. For more information, see Vehicle Registration.
My Service Requests. Displays the My Service Requests view with a list of the customer’s service requests. For more information, see Service Requests.
My Service History. Displays the Service History view. For more information, see Service History.
My Orders. Displays the customer’s pending orders with information about the status of each order.

The My Company applet is similar to the My Information applet in Siebel Self Service. The My Company applet includes links to My Company’s Service Requests and My Company’s Orders, which are similar to the corresponding links in the My Information applet, except that they display lists of all data that is associated with the customer’s company. A customer can have multiple accounts, so you must choose the appropriate account before you can see the relevant information.

The My Settings applet is similar to the My Settings applet in Siebel Self Service. The My Settings applet lets customers enter or modify their user profile, address book, and subscriber preferences.

My Vehicles View

Customers display the My Vehicles view by clicking the My Vehicles link in the My Profile view. The My Vehicles view displays a list of all the vehicles that are registered with the customer as a primary contact. The customer can click the VIN number (#) field in the Vehicles list to display a form applet with information about that vehicle and the following lists:

PM Actions list.Displays preventive maintenance actions for that vehicle and when each action is scheduled. For more information, see Preventive Maintenance.
Service History list. Displays the service history for that vehicle. For more information, see Service History.
Attachments list. Displays attachments for that vehicle. The customer can add and view attachments in this list. The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) can add and view attachments in the Attachments view of the Vehicle screen of Siebel Automotive.

Preventive Maintenance

The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) can set up regular schedules of preventive maintenance for vehicles.

For example, a make of vehicle might require basic maintenance, such as replacing the oil filter and changing the oil, every 3,000 miles or three months, whichever comes sooner. The vehicle might also require more extensive maintenance, such as replacing spark plugs, at 30,000 miles or three years after purchase and at 60,000 miles or six years after purchase, whichever comes sooner. This maintenance can be more frequent if the vehicle is driven in demanding conditions. In addition, the vehicle might require preventive maintenance if its oil pressure is low, its coolant temperature is high, or it has other specific problems.

By default, Siebel Self Service for Automotive allows customers to view a list of preventive maintenance actions for their vehicles. The customer displays preventive maintenance actions by going to the My Profile view of Siebel Self Service for Automotive and clicking the My Vehicles link. The My Vehicles list appears, and the user can click the VIN number (#) field of any vehicle to display a My Vehicles form with information about that vehicle and a PM Actions list with all future preventive maintenance actions for that vehicle. The customer can update the time and odometer reading after completing an action.

Visibility of Preventive Maintenance Actions to Customer

To allow the customer to display preventive maintenance actions, perform the following tasks:

Create preventive maintenance plans.
Set triggers for the preventive maintenance plans.
Associate each preventive maintenance plan with a vehicle model and with a specific vehicle.

For information about these preventive maintenance tasks, see Siebel Automotive Guide.

Vehicle Registration

Customers can use Siebel Self Service for Automotive to register their vehicles. You can find information about the user in the Contacts screen of Siebel Automotive, and you can use this information for follow-up marketing and service. For more information about working with contacts and associated vehicles, see Siebel Automotive Guide.

A registered user of Siebel Self Service for Automotive can register a new vehicle by performing the following actions:

In My Profile for Automotive, click Vehicle Registration, and enter the vehicle registration details.
All registered vehicles are listed in the My Vehicle view.

The user must begin by entering the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). If the entry matches a VIN in the Siebel database, then the user can continue. If the entry does not match a VIN in the Siebel database, then the user cannot continue because the vehicle is not one of your vehicles.

After the user enters a valid VIN, the Make, Model, Year, and Trim fields are populated automatically with information from the vehicle record. The user enters personal information, which is stored in the record of the primary contact associated with that vehicle. If there is already a primary contact for a vehicle, then the customer cannot register that vehicle.

Service Requests

A service request might involve a problem with a vehicle, such as squeaking brakes, a request to add new accessories to the vehicle, or a request for information.

In the automotive industry, dealers generally handle service requests. Siebel Self Service for Automotive allows the customer to route service requests directly to a dealer. If the customer does not route a service request to a dealer, then the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) must route the service request to the appropriate dealer so that the dealer can contact the customer and make an appointment to fulfill the service request. You can route certain types of service requests, such as requests for information, to the appropriate department of the OEM for fulfillment.

Customers can enter service requests by going to the My Profile view, clicking the My Service Requests link, and clicking the plus (+) icon in the application toolbar.

Service requests in Siebel Self Service for Automotive include the following enhancements that are specific to the automotive industry:

Serial #/VIN#. Customers click the select button of the VIN number (#) field to select the vehicle that the service request applies to, and to view full information about the vehicle.
Mileage. Customers use the Current Mileage and Unit fields to enter the mileage of the vehicle and to specify whether the unit of measure is miles or kilometers.
Dealer. Customers can click the select button of the Assigned Dealer field to select a dealer to assign to the service request. Customers are not required to make a selection in this field.
Services to Be Performed. Customers can specify the services to perform as part of the service request.
Appointment Time. Customers can specify the time and date for the service request.

You can set up Siebel Assignment Manager to assign service requests. The type of service request, dealer locations, the makes of vehicles that dealers handle, dealer special skills, and other criteria can determine this assignment. For more information, see Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide. For more information about service requests, see Siebel Automotive Guide.

Service History

To help customers keep track of the performed services for their vehicles, Siebel Self Service for Automotive provides the Service History view as an addition to Siebel Self Service.

Customers can click the My Service History link in the My Profile view to display the Service History list, which includes all of their past service history. They can also click the VIN number (#) field in the My Vehicles view to display a Vehicle form and a Service History list for a specific vehicle.

In the Service History list, customers can click the SH number (#) field of any service history in the list to display a Service History form that includes information about that service history and a Services Performed list that includes all of the actions to respond to the service.

You can import service history records from the Dealer Management System (DMS) for the dealer. Alternatively, customers can add the service history themselves by clicking the New button of the Service History list in Siebel Self Service for Automotive. For more information about service history, see Siebel Automotive Guide.

Administering Siebel Self Service for Automotive

This topic lists the tasks that are specific to Siebel Self Service for Automotive. For information about administrative tasks that are consistent in Siebel Financial Services, see Siebel eService Administration Guide.

To administer Siebel Self Service for Automotive, administrators perform the following tasks:

Activating Vehicle Registration Workflows

Before customers can use Siebel Self Service for Automotive to register their vehicles, you must activate the vehicle registration workflows.

To activate vehicle registration workflows

In Siebel Automotive, navigate to the Administration - Runtime Events screen, then the Events view.
Query for the value *eAuto*Reg* in the Object Name field.
If the query displays any records, then delete them all and continue with the next step. If the query does not display any records, then continue with the next step.
Navigate to the Administration - Business Process screen, then the Workflow Processes view.
Query for the value eAuto Vehicle-Reg* in the Business Object field.
Several records appear. Active records have a value of Active in the Status field.
If any record is not active, then select the record, and click Activate.
The Status field of the record changes to Active. After the status of every record is Active, customers can proceed with vehicle registration.
In Siebel Call Center, navigate to the Administration - Business Process screen, Workflow Deployment, and then the Active Processes view.
In the Active Workflow Processes list, query for *Interaction* workflow.
If the workflow is not returned, then it is not yet activated.
If the workflow is not yet activated, then complete the following steps:
1. Scroll up to the Repository Workflow Processes list.
2. Select the workflow from the list, and click Activate.
Stop and restart the Siebel Server.

Sharing Preventive Maintenance Documents with Customers

You can share preventive maintenance documents with customers by adding the documents as attachments to preventive maintenance plans in Siebel Automotive. For example, you can create a document with detailed instructions for servicing an automobile, and attach the document to the appropriate preventive maintenance plan.

Then, customers who use that preventive maintenance plan can click a preventive maintenance action in the Actions list in Siebel Self Service for Automotive to display a form with detailed information about the action and a list of attachments. The customers can click any attachment in the list to download and display the document.

To share a preventive maintenance document with a customer

In Siebel Automotive, navigate to the Preventive Maintenance screen.
In the Plans list, select the record for the plan that the document applies to.
Click the Attachments view tab.
In the Attachments list, click New File.
In the Choose file dialog box, select the file that you want to add as an attachment, and click Open.
The file is added as an attachment to the plan.