• The “Smart Care” app is a digital platform for service and warranty support and replaces physical invoices or warranty cards.
• The app will be launched in Oman and Qatar next month and plans to launch in Bahrain, Egypt and Nigeria by the end of this year.

Consumer electronics giant Panasonic is set to launch its “Smart Care” app in other parts of the Middle East and African countries in a bid to cement its ties with the stakeholders -customers, retail partners and service centres.

After launching it first in Pakistan in May and then in UAE and Saudi Arabia recently, the first-of-its-kind app digitises service requests and the warranty claim system by integrating all service-related activities and eliminates the need for keeping physical invoice copies and warranty cards, making it easier to track warranties of multiple products and book services.

The app is compatible with Android and iOS devices and can be downloaded free from the app/play store by searching “Panasonic Smart Care”.

Anthony Peter, Director of Customer Service Division at Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa, told Tech Channel News, that the app will be launched in Oman and Qatar next month and plans to launch it in Bahrain, Egypt and Nigeria by the end of this year.

Eventually, it will be rolled out across the region by the end of this fiscal year.

Solving customer challenges

“Covid has pushed most of the companies to digital space and one of the key objectives is to help customers connect digitally with the brand,” he said.

Traditionally, when customers purchase a product most of the time they get a thermal invoice from retailers, which does fade over some time or they can lose it or they may lose the warranty card.

“Most of the customers face these challenges when they come to the service centres. What the customer has to do after buying a Panasonic product is to scan the invoice and upload it on the app. After uploading the invoice, the customer gets a digital certificate,” he said.

Peter said that it is not compulsory to upload the invoice and the customer can keep the invoice from the retailers “we will still honour it but we are trying to facilitate the customers digitally.”

More features to be added

The app allows customers to know product warranty status, request and track services, find the nearest service centres, use smart assistance, and get timely reminders and alerts for warranty expiry or extended warranty.

When asked whether the data collected by the app will be sold to third parties, as done by many app providers, Peter said that primarily the intention is not to collect the data.

“Obliviously the data will be collected but the brand has a compliance policy in place where the security and privacy of the data will be confidential and secure. As a brand, we will never sell the data to third parties,” he said.

What happens if a product is purchased from one country and brought into another country, he said that they have serial numbers of the products sold in a country.

“If you buy a product from X country and bring it into Y country, the product will not be registered in the Y country as the serial number of the product will not be in our database.”

However, he said that the product will be serviced in the Y country but it will be out of warranty and the customer has to bear the expenses.

In terms of warranty, he said that it will not be covered under warranty as the brand has to protect its distributors in X country.

“It can be covered under warranty under another scheme – Care Plus Warranty. So, a customer has to be beware when they buy from a grey market,” he said.

As a next step, Peter said they plan to offer an additional warranty through the app by paying a premium instead of buying it from the retailers this year.