Lifecycle management covers the entire life of an asset. Within that lifecycle are categories of activities that taken together create a holistic approach.

First up are procurement and deployment. This category includes purchasing, warehousing, device setup, refreshes, and deployment services.

In the asset tracking category, each asset is inventoried with serial numbers. This step is crucial for managing large asset deployments or fluid workforces where equipment is frequently returned and redeployed.

Once assets are deployed, their use needs to be optimized. You can extend asset life, provide better ROI, and improve end-user satisfaction with a proactive maintenance plan.

Finally, when assets reach the end of their life, there should be a process and certified partners to help them exit the organization. This process should ensure data security, issue death certificates and certificates of destruction, and prevent the assets from ending up in landfills. One way to achieve zero landfill is to focus on value recovery. The options include resale, donation, and recycling. Not only are these approaches better for the environment, but they also offer opportunities to recoup some of the initial investment.

With this holistic approach in mind, let’s explore how these services work in the real world.

The most common use cases Connection sees for ITLM are large deployments and relocations or consolidations. Both offer opportunities to advance sustainability.

With large deployments, lifecycle services simplify complex projects, making them more sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective. They achieve this by consolidating packing and transport, reducing shipping costs, and minimizing the number of recyclables left in the field.

For relocations or consolidations, ITLM creates an asset inventory, a disposal list and plan, and a resale plan. Companies are no longer left guessing what assets they have, where they are, or whether they will still serve a purpose moving forward.

When implementing ITLM services, it’s essential to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure success. We’ve pulled together a few important KPIs to help you measure environmental impact.

One of the statistics many companies track is material diverted from landfills. This material is sometimes referred to as e-waste or electronic waste. You can calculate your waste diversion rate by determining the percentage of total waste diverted through resale, donation, and recycling. Refurbishment success rate and packaging reuse or recycling rates are two helpful measurements to add to your KPI list.

Another common sustainability goal is reducing the company’s carbon footprint. Carbon emissions are often tracked at the corporate level as part of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts. IT creates both direct carbon emissions from the electricity needed for IT operations and indirect emissions from procurement and disposal.⁵ By tracking energy consumption, transportation emissions, and waste, IT leaders can calculate their contribution to the company’s carbon footprint. Implementing more efficient shipping and asset maintenance as part of a lifecycle management program can help reduce emissions to meet broader company goals.

Time to value (TTV) is a really helpful KPI. It measures the time it takes for your business to see the benefit of the investment in lifecycle services. Calculating TTV before implementation helps leadership identify which services to prioritize based on company objectives.

There are several useful lifecycle management services available. Your company can implement a comprehensive approach or pick and choose point solutions. A comprehensive strategy will yield the greatest gains in sustainability but may be more challenging to implement if resources are allocated to other projects. Point solutions can let you prove the value of ITLM in a more limited way, and then build a holistic approach over time.

Another consideration is how to staff and manage your ITLM services. Will you run them in-house or find a partner who specializes in lifecycle management? The in-house option may work well for point solutions, but it can be difficult to achieve with more comprehensive programs. Going with a partner can also bring significant savings. You no longer need to recruit and staff services, invest in warehouse space and other supply chain partnerships, or undergo costly certification processes. Here are the key considerations for outsourcing Lifecyle Management.

If you go with a partner, you’ll want to look beyond just price. Find a partner with the proper certifications, such as zero landfill or zero waste, and the tracking and reporting capabilities to provide you with full transparency. The right partner will also have trustworthy inventory housing and auditing capabilities that ensure your assets are protected and accounted for in a timely manner.

As Gartner identified in its survey, most companies have not fully realized sustainability gains from ITLM. Every company needs a program for asset disposal to lessen exposure, capture resale value, and protect the environment.

Whether you’re just starting with disposal or looking to build out a comprehensive program, Connection can guide you through the ITLM⁴ journey. Our team customizes solutions based on your operational needs and sustainability goals, with both point solutions and comprehensive approaches. Connection’s robust partner ecosystem already includes zero-landfill partners and other certified providers needed to achieve ESG goals.

Our focus on Quality-as-a-Mindset^™ is what truly sets us apart. It’s built into our culture and empowers each employee to take ownership of quality. An example of this methodology is our inventory counts, which we perform four times a year. These proactive counts mean customers don’t have to conduct additional audits or wonder where their assets are. You have complete transparency when warehousing assets with us.

ITLM is a great place to start if you want to drive customer loyalty and employee buy-in through sustainability efforts.