Simplifying Your Cisco RMA Experience!

[jacwells@cisco.com]

On November 18th, 2017, we migrated ‘My Cisco Workspace’ and the ‘Service Order RMA tool’ to a single landing page called ‘Product Returns & Replacements (RMA)’. From this page you can view all your RMAs, what stage they are in, click on the RMA to see the associated timeline and some customers have access to create RMAs.

We’ve Simplified Your RMA Experience:

With our new landing page comes a new ability for RMA creation. We call this ability the Customer Handoff Experience!  The Customer Handoff Experience gives Cisco the ability to start creating the RMA and allows you to finish it online!

We’re Bringing Value to You:

When our Logistics and Technical Support teams generate an RMA, they need to collect RMA details before creating the RMA. This means you need to compile and document the RMA Details in an email or read this information to us over the phone.

Our new Customer Handoff Experience will eliminate the back and forth between you and Cisco when an RMA is needed and let you update shipping information directly on your RMA before submitting the order.

How it Works:

Our new RMA Creation process consists of four steps:

1. Part Information
2. Site Information
3. Delivery Details
4. Review & Submit

Our Logistics and Technical Support teams now have the option to start creating the RMA by completing Step 1: Part information and verifying entitlement. Once the part information is added they will handoff the RMA to you (Acknowledgement CCO ID). You will receive an email with a link to the RMA online and from there you can Complete Step 2: Site Information, Step 3: Delivery Details and Step 4: Review & Submit.
 

How We Did It:

For our innovative team to implement a valuable and robust solution, we partnered with real users such as our stakeholders, Customers and Partners to capture their insights. We studied how users work, what they do and listened to what they wanted. As we designed, we went back to users and showed them what we had come up with and asked hundreds of questions to learn if we were meeting their needs. We took these insights and used them to build our new design.

[barrie]

How does one get authorized to use the tool so I can RMA equipment that CISCO wants me to RMA?

Why do I even need authorization to RMA equipment that I have already been sent replacements for?

[wireman84]

@barrie The main RMA page is accessible via:

Product Returns & Replacement (RMA)

https://ibpm.cisco.com/rma/home/

You have to have a Cisco account.  If you got your replacement parts, you may have the RMA#.  It is the ref number on the shipping label or can be found in emails.  Usually formatted 8xxxxxxxx.

See bottom of the page for useful links that may help you.  See sections:

Arrange a Pickup

Use the POWR tool to convert an RMA# to a shipping label.

Asset Recovery Contacts

The folks in charge of getting the failed parts back to Cisco.  This can sometimes be the best help when new to the process and you don't have the reference numbers.  You can still telephone and work an issue...

Hope this helps...

[wireman84]

I am not sure where to put an enhancement request for the Product Returns & Replacement (RMA), https://ibpm.cisco.com/rma/home/?.

BACKGROUND
Working in the utility industry, we have routers with 5-year warranty and thus a lot of the time have warranty only RMAs. However, we also have geographically separated processing.

Sometimes as the team lead, I get need to check status of a WARRANTY ONLY RMA. However, only the user (CCO account) that entered the Service Request that initiated the RMA can see the RMA. And they are not in the time zone of the customer.

REQUEST
It seems that Cisco has all the info needed to authenticate me as the lead to allow online viewing of RMA status. They know both my teammate and I are from the same company, have the same PIDs associated on our users. So, when it comes to CONTRACT COVERED RMA, I can see them. But with a bit of checking, it seems that a logged in user from the same company with same association should be able to be authorized to view the entered RMA#.

If needed, check if the purchasing PID is on the user account...actually may be a nice shortcut. Or as a double check ask for the associated SR as a low-quality password. Most any company with this kind of organization would have a tracking system with these key pieces of information saved...we do.

Anyway, it seems like this could be done if Cisco wanted to allow management/lead/teammate to facilitate customer assistance and status request via online review of WARRANTY ONLY RMA entered by another teammate!

Having this would greatly increase both the partner and end customer "Customer Experience".

Thanks for Considering this.

[sianni@advantron.com]

Cisco will most likely ignore your request. They seem to not care about RMA and want to make the process as complicated as possible so that they don't have to replace the equipment. The company is going down hill lately and does not care about standing behind their products. It's a shame there is no other real competition and they know it. Just bring the broken piece of equipment with you to the next trade show and let everyone at the booth know how horrible cisco is when it comes to RMA.