Technical Support Agreement (TSA)

A Technical Support Agreement (TSA) is a mechanism by which clients can access any of Ricardo's services quickly and with minimal administrative burden.

TSA clients pay an annual fee and are assigned a dedicated account manager, who manages all aspects of the agreement. The budget can be used to access any of Ricardo's services.
The account manager is the single point of contact for the client - he will quickly be able to access the most appropriate person in Ricardo to answer the enquiry. Statements of Activity are issued every three months so the client is kept aware of his useage. 

Benefits:

  • Cost effective to use an efficient, flexible support service as and when needed
  • Quick responses to questions through efficient task management system
  • World-class specialists are available for consultation at short notice providing access decades of know-how and technical expertise
  • Provides access to highly skilled personnel when required - no need to retain a part-time expert in house 
  • Provides expert opinion and guidance in key decision making
  • Information and data easily accessible through Ricardo Information Services

Typically a TSA will consist of subscriptions to a number of information services and an annual technical briefing, with further budget available to use as the client requires over the course of the year for bespoken projects.

The TSA Package

While TSA budget can be used to access any of Ricardo's services, the majority of requests fall into five categories:

  1. Technical briefings - delivered by a Ricardo expert, technical briefings are intended to enable clients to gain an insight into the latest Ricardo thinking on topics of critical interest to their own business. The briefings are presented at a time and location of the client’s choosing and many clients choose to have annual updates on key areas
  2. Small projects - clients may use their TSA budget to quickly start any project, report or study that falls into Ricardo's areas of expertise. If projects fall outside the available budget, clients can "top up" their balance to cover one-off activities where appropriate
  3. Technical assistance - clients often require a quick answer to a general enquiry. Direct access to Ricardo experts provide an easy and accessible route when a rapid response is needed. The service is used to gain Ricardo insight and opinion where a large report or study is not required and can take the form of a telephone call, an email response to a question or a short report that answers the client's query
  4. Training and Seminars - there is a regular schedule of seminars and training courses held at Ricardo's Shoreham Technical Centre, for which TSA clients can pay using their budget. Ricardo can also run courses at a client's site, or generate a new course, depending on a client's particular needs. Click here for further details on training and seminars
  5. Information services - Ricardo started a library for internal use and is now the largest independent collection of automotive related material in the world. Access to all public domain information is now available to clients. Click here for more information

To contact us directly please click here. 

Feedback from TSA clients:

"We were impressed how much insight into our processes Ricardo had managed to gain"
Client commenting on Ricardo's assessment of their manufacturing capability

"These consultants did a great job providing a summary and some very sound recommendations"
Client commenting on a recent technical briefing

"It was very useful having parts to see & handle"
Client at a recent technical seminar

"Ricardo's quick response was very helpful"
Client commenting on direct access to Ricardo experts for technical assistance

"This was a very comprehensive overview... enthusiastically presented. It generated a lot of interest and discussion, with very positive feedback from the attendees."
Client commenting on a recent tailored technical seminar