MAPconnected Names Certum 2037 Challenge Winner And Invites New Visions Of Vehicle Service

Certum’s Vlad Popescu wins MAPconnected’s Summit challenge. New entries are open for industry visions of vehicle repair and warranty in 2037.

SOUTHFIELD, MI, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — MAPconnected has named Vlad Popescu, CEO of Certum, the 10-Year Visionary Challenge winner at the MAPconnected Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit and is opening the challenge to further entries imagining how vehicle repair, service and warranty could work in 2037 and beyond.

Launched at the October 19 dinner during the Service & Warranty Lifecycle Summit, the challenge asked participants to work through a specific situation: an autonomous vehicle, only 30 days old, pulls to the roadside. Passengers are told to exit. Service is notified and a repair drone is dispatched. What should happen next?

The task was to connect the entire journey, from diagnosis and parts to customer care, repair documentation, warranty claims and payment. Rather than consider each technology in isolation, participants had to explain how the people, organizations and systems involved would work together.

Certum’s Winning Vision Connects The Whole Service Journey

Announced as the Summit winner on October 21, Popescu’s entry follows a hypothetical day that begins with a vehicle detecting a small coolant-pressure drop. AI agents connect the vehicle, manufacturer, dealer and customer to assess the issue, explain the problem and seek the owner’s approval for the repair.

The scenario then moves through replacement transportation, autonomous recovery and robotic repair. Repair evidence feeds into a warranty claim, payment and supplier recovery, while the failure data informs a proposed software change intended to prevent similar problems across other vehicles.

Customer approval and human supervision remain part of the imagined journey. The entry makes the challenge tangible: a roadside failure becomes a test of how well the whole service and warranty lifecycle connects, not simply how quickly one task can be automated.

Honorable Mentions Bring Different Approaches To The Future

Arvind Madhiraju, Warranty Product Manager & Data Analytics Leader at Cummins, received an honorable mention for “Vehicle Medibeds.” His proposal imagines shared diagnostic facilities near interstate exits, using sensors and telematics to assess a vehicle and recommend the next steps with customer uptime as the priority.

John Deniston, Co Founder of Repair Ally, received an honorable mention for a “Power by the Hour” model. His entry explores a shift from reimbursing failures to guaranteeing vehicle availability, supported by early diagnostics, AI-assisted technicians, automated documentation and learning across a fleet.

Eli Sheynin, VP Product at WarrCloud, received an honorable mention for best use of picture. His entry combines predictive diagnostics, repair support and substitute transportation to illustrate a service experience designed to minimize customer downtime.

The Challenge Continues Beyond The Summit

MAPconnected is inviting additional industry leaders to share their vision of what a connected repair and warranty journey could look like in 2037 and beyond. The opportunity is to explain how a proposed future would work for the customer and for the manufacturers, suppliers, dealers and service providers responsible for delivering it.

Entries are due November 30, 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern. Judging will be conducted by Mike Roberts of MR Insights, Vlad Popescu of Certum and Pam Walter of MAPconnected. The next winner will be announced on December 2, 2026.

The prize includes a 2027 MAPconnected MyWarrantyNetwork Members Hub Annual Membership plus promotion through MAPconnected marketing, social media and email campaigns.

View The Challenge And Submit Your Entry
https://www.mapconnected.com/10-year-visionary-challenge-vehicle-repair-service-and-warranty-2037/

About MR Insights

MR Insights is an independent research and advisory firm specializing in the automotive, commercial vehicle, agriculture, construction, and industrial equipment sectors. Led by industry veteran Mike Roberts, the firm provides market intelligence, strategic research, executive advisory services, and thought leadership focused on warranty, aftersales, customer experience, and emerging technologies shaping the future of product support.

About Certum

Certum integrates into your warranty workflows, applies your policy, and follows your operating procedures. We generate insights, recommend decisions, and produce auditable rationales to cut leakage and review time. https://becertum.com/

Learn About Certum
https://becertum.com/

About MAPconnected

MAPconnected is an executive peer community dedicated to advancing the Service & Warranty Lifecycle. Through industry research, executive benchmarking, peer networking, workshops, AI innovation initiatives, and the MAPconnected Summit, MAPconnected connects leaders with the ideas, intelligence, relationships, and practical strategies needed to improve warranty performance, reduce costs, strengthen dealer relationships, and elevate the customer experience.

Media contact: Pam Walter | CONTACT FORM | https://www.mapconnected.com/
Contact form: https://www.mapconnected.com/about-us/#contact-form

Pamela Walter
MAPconnected

Vlad Popescu’s 2037 Visionary Challenge Winning Entry

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