IT servicing firm steps into breach after AWA failure

National Warranty Services (NWS) is using the collapse of nationwide field service firm AWA as a chance to grow its business among resellers and managed service providers.

NWS, which bills itself as the largest third-party warranty company in Australia, said it could step up and provide services to AWA clients within 24-48 hours.

NWS general manager Don Card said: "NWS’s services division, National Computer Services, leverages our huge network of service agents throughout Australia, that NWS use for warranty service, to provide ad hoc on-site service virtually anywhere in Australia.

"As of this minute, when I checked the latest figures, NCS and NWS has 4,419 service agents in 1,664 towns and suburbs, including some in NZ, the US and the UK.

"We believe this is, by far, Australia’s largest IT service network. Compare it to AWA’s stated 700 locations. AWA clients can immediately use this vast service network for their on-site service needs," added Card.

According to AWA's website, it has office in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Newcastle and a national network of more than 700 service agents.

Card suggested this may have hastened its downfall. "If their regional centres were on a retainer or salary, that would have driven up their fixed costs."

However, he added, "In their press release, they referred to the number of service calls they were doing each month. That would be a volume where you would support that structure. Our operations manager couldn’t understand how they went broke."

Card said many NWS clients resell its warranties as part of IT sales. According to the company, resellers can "differentiate your systems and business by bundling an NWS 12-month local on-site, high-priority same-day warranty, with instant parts replacement, for a minimal cost".

NWS operates an "interactive cloud-based job management system" so customers can log ad hoc and scheduled jobs, "which are responded to and sent usually within 30 minutes. NWS offer ad hoc on-site responses of up to two hours or less.”

AWA once played a pivotal role in radio communications in Australia, before moving into ICT services. In 2006, it acquired Telefix, a leading provider of repair and service to the consumer electronics industry in Australia.

According to a history of AWA on the company's website, the company began in radio communications more than 100 years ago and ran a network of maritime radio station in New Guinea during World War II. It also received the first radio broadcast from the UK to Australia.