Eric Vetrano Chief Operating Officer

Q. How do I set standards for what's reusable and what's recyclable in my organization?

A. The most challenging step in any program is to increase equipment reuse because it requires establishing business rules around minimum technology requirements, equipment inventory levels and turn times, preferred makes and models, and other variables that may affect equipment reuse. Inventory levels should be established so that you can meet projected need without carrying too much surplus and should use equipment that has proven reliable. Of course, redeployed equipment must meet service-level requirements for quality, configurability, reliability and deliverability, and be configured for rapid deployment, including refurbishing, imaging and packaging. If your organization has never addressed these questions before, a Redemtech Asset Management Practice Advisor can help you get started.

Q. How do I categorize warehoused inventory to determine if equipment is reusable?

A. Once business rules have been established, the process of categorizing equipment can be automated. Business process automation systems, like Redemtech's Retrac™, can identify technology systems that meet reuse criteria as well as those that can be economically brought up to redeployment standards through value-appropriate upgrades, refurbishment and/or reconfiguration. This is much more accurate and efficient than trying to assess inventory manually as it eliminates human error, and ensures configuration and security data is captured for reporting, auditing and updating of asset repositories. This also has the advantage of enabling comprehensive asset reporting to support better decisions regarding what equipment is best suited for reuse versus some other form of disposition such as remarketing, donation, employee sale, parts harvest or recycling.

Q. What if I don't even know how much and what equipment I have?

A. This is a common issue with distributed organizations that have multiple locations, each with its own stockpiles of surplus equipment, and remains a problem for a number of reasons. First, it presents a serious security liability as this equipment may contain sensitive data and can easily be lost or stolen. In addition, these pockets of storage are costly as the equipment is depreciating as much as 6 percent to 10 percent per month and consuming valuable facility space. Finally, an organization cannot reutilize assets across the enterprise because it has no visibility to what equipment is available, where it is stored or how it can be requisitioned.

The solution to this problem typically starts with centrally applied asset recovery and inventory management processes. This can enforce a standard practice for managing idle and decommissioned assets, ensure timely and efficient processing of surplus equipment, and deliver an enterprise-wide view of reusable technology. A qualified IT asset disposition specialist can provide the process automation expertise and transparency you seek.