SK tes ITAD service saved €6 million in net financial return to the client for retired IT assets as part of their technology transformation project covering 90,000 assets across 87 countries.
Project scope and IT infrastructure snapshot for a global technology transformation program of SK tes’ multinational client
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90,000 |
260 |
87 |
1,000 |
Key Challenge: Managing reverse logistics for IT assets within 12 months
The key challenge for SK tes was to manage all of the reverse logistics associated with that transformation, including the collection, testing, data sanitization, IT asset disposition, and value recovery of those 90,000 assets; all within a 12-month period.
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'Workplace of the Future' - a true global initiative covering 87 different countries:
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EMEA (60 countries): 43,000 notebooks, 23,700 PCs
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APAC (17 countries): 13,250 notebooks, 3,500 PCs
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Americas (10 countries): 4,000 notebooks, 2,700 PCs
The client’s IT leadership was based in their German headquarters, and we had to work closely with the decision-makers while still being able to react quickly to any emerging problems at the ground level. SK tes realised that, to be successful, we needed to establish an effective chain of communication that would serve a project lasting a year or more.
Based on detailed planning and forecasts provided by our client, we partnered with them to develop a ticketing system that was managed by a 10-person SK tes team located in the heart of our client’s campus. SK tes then mirrored our client's command/control structure by setting up our own regional 'control towers' in the US, Singapore, and Germany that were directed by the core SK tes team .
The SK tes project team worked with our client to create a location-specific weekly rollout plan covering the next 52 weeks. As the transformation kicked off, SK tes then planned our tactical resources based on an algorithm that absorbed our client’s forecasted device installs and active IT collection requests. This was supported by “site-readiness reports,” a bi-weekly snapshot that gave the project team visibility on which client locations were on schedule and ready for their IT assets to be collected. This level of integration and visibility allowed SK tes to be agile, adapting to the client’s schedule/readiness as it evolved.
Leveraging our regional control towers, the SK tes team was able to cascade the plan (and adjustments to it) to the local SK tes teams on the ground in geo-diverse countries, such as Australia, Japan, China, Germany, France, Brazil, and more. This became a critical success factor when faced with the complexity of local languages, cultures, local compliance regulations, and time zones.
Our client closely managed all of their service partners on this project using a myriad of metrics and a monthly service quality traffic-light system. Throughout the entire project, SK tes was able to maintain a green light level as well as a 99% “customer satisfaction,” as ranked by the client’s locations we serviced. That, along with only 3 escalations throughout the entire project, put SK tes in the position to receive the client’s vendor award for “Best Vendor for the IT Sector.”
Multiple Service Benefits Delivered to the Client
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Partnership approach
Our close relationship meant tighter integration, better communication, and faster solutions to issues, in even the most challenging countries. -
Global footprint
Leveraging our scale and global footprint, SK tes was able to greatly reduce the need for sub-contractors. This translated directly to more consistent communication channels, business practices, processes, and reporting. The benefit was a lower risk profile for our client and the program overall. -
Local support
Local SK tes and client teams were able to solve problems in real time. The ability to work together in local languages and understanding local markets were factors that cannot be understated. This removed days/weeks (and substantial frustration) from the issue resolution process. -
Impact on bottom line €6 million for their retired equipment.
SK tes was able to leverage our global remarketing network in over 20 countries to pinpoint where pricing was weak and then ensure we sold our client’s assets where pricing was strong. The result was a net financial return to our client in excess of €6 million for their retired equipment. -
Compliance benefits
A project of this scale across that many countries was fraught with risk regarding transboundary and e-waste recycling regulations. The regulations vary significantly from one country to the next and it was important to our client that SK tes be able to advise them on how to stay compliant .
Summary
When clients demand excellence and consistency of service above all else, the risks need to be managed in the same way and the customer experience has to feel the same regardless of location. Only a provider with true scale has the resources and expertise to meet this kind of challenge; a provider that owns/ operates its own global processing network and can handle millions of devices annually around the world. SK tes is one of the few businesses globally, which is geared up to take on this kind of challenge. And only few challenges come any bigger than 90,000 assets across 87 countries.
It’s a big world out there. As interconnected as everything is today, the truth is that global programs still come with lots of challenges.
Let SK tes be your guide; please contact us to discuss your IT lifecycle needs in more detail.
