RMA PROCESS

RETURN MATERIALS AUTHORIZATION (RMA) PROCESS

Fortress Solutions provides remote and optional on-site hardware support. This effort begins with the customer’s assessment of a hardware fault. The Fortress Solutions Support Engineer may provide additional material defect investigation prior to the issuance of a RMA number.

Fortress Solutions’ Hardware Engineers provide board level analysis, using various storage scopes, debuggers, and procedures. Boards that return as no trouble found after fault isolation, Fortress Solutions Hardware Engineers will perform SMD rework. Fortress Solutions’ Hardware Engineers will update CDCTrac with the hardware diagnosis, failed components description, component part number, and any additional information as required.

After an RMA request has been submitted into the on-line RMA application, CDCTrac will assign the defective equipment a RMA number. Upon receipt of the RMA number, Fortress Solutions’ asset management staff will ship a Fortress Solutions certified replacement to the customer based on either Fortress Solutions’ Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the customer or the priority level assigned to the RMA request.

Hardware Maintenance Support Classifications:

Classification	Actions/Responsibilities
Emergency (service affecting): Shipping:4-6 hour Shipping	Fortress Solutions’ technical group will respond immediately and acknowledge receipt of the reported fault and within 4 hours will confirm the fault. Emergency service is the default service level for hardware maintenance agreements that include Fortress Solutions 4 hour on-site support.
Critical (service affecting): Shipping: NBD Advanced Shipping Any highly critical system or service outage in a live environment that results in severe degradation of overall on-line/off-line network performance, network operator billing, or data-collection capabilities.	Within 30 minutes, Fortress Solutions’ technical group will respond and acknowledge receipt of the reported fault. Such response and acknowledgment may be via telephone or email. Fortress Solutions will provide support continuously, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and 365 days a year, until the critical problem is resolved or a satisfactory interim solution is provided. Restoration of service to an acceptable level may be achieved by providing advice, by a work-around, or by a software configuration change. On-site technical support is also provided at this level for any equipment that is deemed critical to the customer’s network.
Major (service affecting): Shipping: 5 Day Advance Shipping Any major degradation of system or service performance that impacts end-user service quality or significantly impairs network operator control or operational effectiveness.	Fortress Solutions’ technical group will respond during the regular business hours, within 30 minutes if problem is reported via telephone, and will acknowledge receipt of the reported fault. Response and/or acknowledgment may be via telephone or email at the discretion of the technical group. The technical group will provide continuous support during business hours for restoration of service. Restoration of service to an acceptable level may be achieved by providing advice, by a work-around, or by a software configuration change within 30 days.
Minor (non–service affecting): Shipping: 10 Day Advanced Shipping Any minor degradation of system or service performance that does not have any impact on end-user service quality and minimal impact on network operations.	Within two business days, Fortress Solutions’ technical group will respond to and acknowledge receipt of the reported fault. Response and acknowledgment may be via telephone or email. The technical group will provide support during business hours, Monday to Friday (8AM to 5PM CST), on a reasonable-effort basis. All reported problems will be resolved within 90 days.
Repair and Return (non-service affecting) Shipping: 20 Business day – 30 Calendar days	Customer opens RMA and ships equipment to Fortress Solutions’ warehouse. Within 20 business days after receipt a complete failure analysis, rework and repair record is available. If the equipment is not economical to repair, a certified replacement is to be provided within the same time period at Fortress Solutions’ cost.

Once a problem has been isolated to a faulty piece of hardware, an RMA needs to be opened. The following is the process to open an RMA or Technical Support Ticket:

a. Login into online ticketing system

i. Enter URL http://cdctrac.cdconnect.net/

ii. Enter Username

iii. Enter Password

Customer should refer to the CDCTrac™ User’s Manual for assistance in using CDCTrac™ or may contact support@fortress-solutions.net.

RMA Returns

Once an RMA number as been obtained customer should prepare the return shipment as follows:

• Returns should be packed in anti-static containers designed specifically for the cards in order to avoid damage during shipment. Other parts should be individually wrapped in either anti-static packaging or packaging specifically designed for that product to avoid damage during shipment.

• All materials should be returned pre-paid and sent to the indicated Fortress Solutions repair depot. Customer should use discretion in selecting shipping methods. Fortress Solutions recommends that Customers insure all packages to cover possible loss or damage during shipping, regardless of warranty status.

• A repair tag or fault label should be filled out and inserted into each box of returned items to assist in failure assessment and problem tracking.

• Fortress Solutions will inform a customer of any discrepancy in return shipments. Any discrepancy, whether it is quantity, product returned not matching what was ordered, inability to determine complete order information, or non-suitable packaging, will be noted and addressed with the customer.

• Defective return packing slips should be used to return all defective parts to Fortress Solutions. Fortress Solutions will provide packing slips. A copy of the defective return packing slip should be placed in all cartons and attached outside; this will aid in the proper identification of returned material. The RMA number and the PO number should be clearly marked on the outside of each box.

If a customer supplies a packing slip, the following information must be included on the shipping/packing list for proper handling:

Item	Information Required
1.	From Company name, return address, and telephone number
2.	Ship Date Date parts are shipped from Customer
3.	Ship via Carrier name
4.	Waybill number Carrier tracking number
5.	# of Cartons Number of cartons being sent on shipment
6.	P.O.# Provided if applicable
7.	RMA # RMA# issued when order is placed
8.	Qty returned
9.	Part number
10.	Serial number Serial number for each item in the shipment

Defective hardware should be returned to:

Fortress Solutions, Ltd.
Attn: RMA# XXXX
2100 10th Street, Suite 300
Plano, TX 75074
Ph. 800-518-6381 or 972-423-1265