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Taking the next step up

Editorial Type: Opinion     Date: 11-2014    Views: 3542   









The industry needs to move towards a more holistic view of information and systems, argues Dr Anand Narasimhan, director, Sims Lifecycle Services EU

While the ITAD [IT Asset Disposal] industry has traditionally focused on asset disposal, we see incredible value in thinking about information and systems management throughout the value chain, from the ways in which IT systems are designed, manufactured, distributed and commissioned, to the ways in which data is created, handled, transported, migrated, stored - when underlying IT systems are decommissioned; when data needs to be destroyed; and when IT systems need to be re-marketed or recycled.

It is important for us to make a shift as an industry. We need to move from silos of narrow, distinct, service offerings in asset disposal and recycling, to an approach that presents and extends them as essential elements in a unified suite of services. For accredited, integrated service providers, key areas of focus should include:

Value - Value creation does not begin with discussions about disposal, but rather at the inception of a system, when IT assets are to be purchased, when legacy systems are to be decommissioned, with clarity around the economics of the entire value chain, around the choice and the intended use of assets; the types of data to be created; the various security and regulatory frameworks and their evolution over the lifetime of the assets; the geographic scale and scope; the projected resale and recovery values at the time of disposal; and well into closing the loop, for the next generation of assets.

Innovation - With new devices imagined, created, distributed and sold faster than most of us can keep up with, providers should establish continual innovation cycles. By innovation, we refer not only to novel techniques for working with emerging technologies, but also an understanding of new economic models, new distribution models, changes in supply chains and new drivers of growth within our clients' organisations and in their markets. By innovation, we also mean efficient handling of logistics on a local and global scale, striving constantly to leverage the most efficient technologies, ensuring the highest levels of security for data and assets, minimising risks and threats, and the use of data-driven approaches to constantly measure and improve services.

Reach - Our marketplace is local and global, with clients' needs ranging from the smallest local pickups to very complex global asset management challenges. Providers need to create offerings that can span such extreme needs, through commercially viable and operationally standardised models. Such needs can often challenge a provider's resources, in terms of capital, resources, and the ability to manage global partnerships and to provide a consistent level of service to a client. Yet we must serve as a mirror to our clients' footprint, and a globally scalable, high-quality service offering is an essential aspect of our marketplace.

Compliance - Regulatory agencies globally are steadily challenging our clients and our industry, whether through redefining policies on asset and material types, or tightening restrictions on trans-boundary movement of specific materials, or through specific (and usually stricter) reporting standards. Providers need to track, understand and comply with these challenges, while also educating and offering counsel to clients and to the agencies that regulate us.

Transparency - Clients should (and increasingly do) demand transparency into the entire process of asset handling, around the commercials and competitiveness of a proposed solution, movement of materials, accuracy in reporting, adherence to service levels, efficiencies in operational and account management, and adherence to quality, safety and environmental standards. This, above all, is the key to building the level of trust that is essential for ensuring optimal returns from the entire value chain, for our clients and for all of us.

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