The IT asset disposition business is becoming a significant element of the electronics recovery ecosystem. Demand for electronics asset disposition has risen rapidly as companies, universities, and other entities beyond the residential sector have realized the worth of the material they create – and the hazards that come with incorrect treatment. In order to service these potential clients, several electronics processing firms have developed or modified their business models.
Defining ITAD
However, throughout this time of market development, the word ITAD has grown hazy, with different parties interpreting it differently. And other companies who have invested a lot of time and money customizing solutions for commercial clients have seen other aspirants start calling themselves ITAD providers without having established asset management standards in place.
ITAD Basics
Industry executives stated a few basic services may be anticipated of all ITAD operators during a session at the E-Scrap Conference in September.
ITAD has grown considerably more complicated in recent years than just picking up and fixing items. At the most basic level, firms in this sector are targeting commercial stuff. It’s also true that any ITAD operator would require a clear and consistent method for dealing with a wide range of materials, including some that cannot be remarketed. Electronics recycling program managers are also looking for an ITAD partner with a recycling downstream.
Compliance
Companies rely on partners to efficiently manage whatever is shifted to them, and this takes us to the next step of what every ITAD provider should be able to provide: compliance skills.
Over the last decade or so, businesses’ expectations have risen dramatically in this area. Customers no longer just want to move things out the door and be presented with a check. What they’re actually looking for is a partner that would treat the material with the same care as they would internally. The situation is no longer as straightforward as it once was (though the expectation of a check often remains). Corporate and institutional material producers may now have whole teams dedicated to the management of IT materials, and they are aware of the hazards associated with moving equipment outside the company, which typically contains large quantities of sensitive data.
They’re entrusting an ITAD with equipment to properly take care of the data, to take care of compliance, and to take care of asset accountability. At every stage of the process, businesses must consider if they are being good stewards of our customers and safeguarding their best interests, brand and data.
In addition, many manufacturers now provide enterprise resource planning, or ERP, software, demonstrating the growing demand among processors for precise inventories of assets handled and unambiguous tracking of data deletion, chain of custody, and other issues. It’s all connected to the fact that ITAD firms are required to be able to rapidly and properly identify and transmit material stream information. They also have to keep track of increasingly sophisticated financial details.
Certification
Certification is linked to the issues of compliance and record-keeping. The electronics recycling and reuse business, as most industry experts are likely aware, has two standards aimed at assuring best management practices: e-Stewards and R2. Hundreds of processors in North America are currently accredited to one or both of these standards. But, at this time, should we be arguing that certification is required to be regarded as a real ITAD? The answer is yes, at least from the standpoint of many businesses who are trying to ensure that individuals are aware of best practices and are following them.
Processors point out that certification comes at a high cost and takes a long time, especially when a company is preparing to become certified for the first time. However, industry veterans claim that certification has a genuine return on investment, both because it opens up additional business options and because the criteria of certification inherently make for a more efficient operation.
The influence of certification on the business has been evident during the last decade. Because of the chain-of-custody rules imposed on material-handling firms, the ordinary operator has a far better understanding of where the stuff ends up. But, as certification has become so common in the ITAD industry, it has made some clients more lax, letting their guard down when it comes to due diligence.
In recent years, it has been discovered that processors with either an e-Stewards or an R2 accreditation were inappropriately handling materials. Executives from those processing businesses have faced criminal charges in several of these incidents. It appears that the most important move operators can take to assist the market grasp what should really constitute ITAD is to engage with businesses to demonstrate the difficulty and benefit of conducting asset disposal correctly. And some of it has to do with being truthful with price and demonstrating in black and white that quality service is more expensive.
Of course, it is a reality of business life that if you can come in with the lowest pricing, you will have an edge in trying to get a piece of business. However, industry experts warn that if operators don’t draw a line in the sand about how low they’ll go, they’ll only damage themselves. The idea that ITAD is about so much more than merely collecting stuff for its commodity worth is one that comes up frequently in industry discussions.
According to experts, ITAD involves more than just materials management. It’s all about collaboration and problem-solving. Companies want to accomplish a really difficult problem and make it very simple for the client so they can focus on their company.
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