Old Laptops Hiding From You?

December 11th, 2013

Where do your company’s old hard drives or computers go?

Today’s post is by Shelly Hayre a Procurement Center of Expertise or COE Account Manager at SafeSourcing.

All companies should be environmentally aware of their assets’ disposal, but is your company receiving all the benefits to electronic recycling and resale? The energy required to prepare electronic products for resale is far less than recycling the raw materials.

Supplier Assessment:

What makes company A and B different in this industry? What should your company focus on?

• There are many companies, with different levels of certifications, out there that can provide this service to your company. What certifications does your company require and find value in with your electronics? This will depend on your industry and how sensitive the data is.

Suppliers can hold the following certifications for electronic recycling:

• ISO 9001
• ISO 14001
• OHSAS 18001
• e-Stewards
• R2
• Freight Security Requirements

• The distance of your company from the supplier’s location is an important key in assessing a supplier. This will contribute to the freight cost.

Many companies in this industry will provide detail reporting for asset disposal, data destruction and resale value. They can also provide different levels of packaging and service depending on your company’s volume and service needs. Example: If your company already shrink-wraps and palletizes goods for your company, it would make sense to not change this process and have the employees also do this for your electronics. If this is not an option in your company, then the supplier can provide this service level for a fee.
Pricing Model:

This is where it becomes custom to your needs entirely. Depending on your companies volume, service level, and location(s) you can develop many different pricing models that will fit your needs.

The electronic recycling supplier will recycle all your assets that have no value. The electronics with a value will be resold, and can have minor repairs to increase asset value. The assets’ data will be wiped and this will show in reporting from the supplier.

Option One:

When recycling assets the common pricing model is to have a nominal cost for every asset and an additional charge for data destruction and freight. With this model, your company will receive 60-70% of the fair market value for assets resold. Suppliers will handle all costs associate with the resale transaction.

Depending on your industry, for instance retail, you could potentially return this revenue to your customer. Recycle an old electronic device receive $XX.00 off a good or service.

Option Two:

The other pricing model is for all recyclables to be received and disposed of at no cost. With this model, the supplier will have a much higher revenue percentage from resold assets. This can be beneficial since electronic recycling is most likely not a revenue stream for our company, and it gives the guarantee that you will not have to pay for electronic recycling.

We, at SafeSourcing, will find the best suppliers and pricing model to fit your company’s needs, regardless if this is a new or current process for you. We enjoy bringing this blog to you every week and hope you find value in it. For more information on how we can help you with your procurement needs or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire customer services team waiting to assist you today.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments

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