Cellular Device Depot Options: Internal, Insurance, or Partners

No matter how big your IT department is, managing your corporate cellular assets is a challenge – especially with so many employees working remote. Managing device repairs and replacements, Level 3 troubleshooting, along with a variety of standard depot services, cannot be completed remotely because teams must physically receive the cellular devices before processing them. Really, your team is left with just a few options for device replacement and repair: send users a spare device, leverage a “buddy upgrade,” pay for insurance (which is very expensive), or go to a local retail repair shop.

Internally managing cellular repairs and replacements may seem to offer a better user experience, but when you calculate the internal costs associated with offering the full scope of depot services, you’ll find that trying to deliver these services internally uses too much of your budget and resources. 

Depot Program Responsibilities:

• Back and forth communication with end users
• Track device replacement shipments and returns
• Manage up-to-date depot device inventory
• Cost analysis for replacing a device or processing a buddy upgrade
• Receive and process old equipment
• Wipe data from old devices and remove DEP, Knox, etc.
• Remove and update user information via wireless carrier databases
• Sanitize and clean returned equipment
• Evaluate and score the quality of used devices
• Decide whether to repair, recycle, or redeploy devices
• Track device credits and money for devices being resold

Insurance:

If you analyze the cost of utilizing wireless device insurance, you will quickly find that it’s far too expensive when compared to other replacement options. Also, the end-user experience is often quite painful when dealing with insurance companies.

Consider this example:

If a company has 200 cellular devices, monthly insurance premium of $9 per device, and a term of 24 months (standard contract term), their financial obligation to the insurance company is $43,200 within their 24-month term!! That number only considers the cost of insurance premiums alone and does not factor in the additional $200 deductible per device, per incident associated with making insurance claims.

By the way, insurance companies do not send new phones to your end users, the replacement devices are refurbished!

Consider Utilizing A Centralized Mobile Depot Partner:

By utilizing a centralized mobile depot, your wireless devices are managed for their entire lifecycle. All of your corporate devices are handled via one location, maximizing cost efficiency. If your IT department operates from multiple locations, the benefits of such a solution are difficult to ignore!

Benefits of a centralized mobile depot partner include:

• They coordinate the logistics with the end user to send and receive all devices
• They decide the model to be replaced based on depot inventory, end-user position, and cost
• They track all devices that are shipped or received
• They redeploy devices, with quality control and bacterial sanitization
• They synchronize the users’ information with each device, and it is updated via carrier portals
• They repair the device, resell, or trade in the device and track the monetary benefit

Primary operations, such as ordering new devices, are simple: submit your order to the depot, and the rest of the process is handled for you. Orders for new or upgraded devices can be shipped directly to the end user, eliminating the need for your department to be the middleman. All devices are set up with the end user’s information and documented, so you will know exactly where each device is allocated. If the user is required to send in their device to a centralized depot, it will ensure that users follow designated corporate guidelines and mobile policies.

Furthermore, duties such as troubleshooting and repair are managed by the depot. Many depots offer IT helpdesk services, which allow the end user to directly submit help tickets. Everything regarding your devices is documented, so there is never confusion as to its status or whereabouts. If there are specific apps or settings your company configures for user devices, those can be configured before deployment. The end user will receive a device that’s ready to go!

This system alleviates some of the burden on your department, freeing resources for other projects. But what else can such a depot do for your company?

What Other Benefits Does a Centralized Mobile Depot Provide?

Your company likely has at least a few old devices stowed away in drawers, collecting dust – sometimes those devices are still active, draining your company’s checkbook without realizing it. Rather than buy new, why not redeploy your already existing devices? Depot services include the tools necessary to get the device to the end user fully functioning, cleaned, and updated with the new user’s information. Redeploying old devices is an instant budget saver!

When a device is sent in for redeployment, it’s examined with a quality control check: ensure the device functions well and repair any damage. It is good practice to back up and wipe any sensitive or personal data before sending a device, but in case anything is leftover, previous data is securely erased.

There inevitably comes a time when devices must be retired. Devices which your company no longer needs can be recycled, sometimes for cash-back depending on the volume of recycled devices. Corporations are responsible for their environmental footprint, so it’s a wise choice to partner with a depot that ensures your device is recycled or disposed of in accordance with local and federal waste regulations.

GoExceed Is Your Centralized Mobile Depot of Choice:

Now that you know everything a centralized mobile depot has to offer, consider partnering with us! At GoExceed, we offer all of the above resources to save your company money. In addition to wireless contract negotiations, we provide all the tools necessary to manage wireless devices with minimal effort on your part.

We even track the savings of redeploying your old devices rather than buying new! By redeploying your devices through our depot, you ensure each device is handled with the utmost care. Furthermore, each device is subjected to our UV light sanitization process, which kills the many bacteria and viruses found on a typical mobile device – particularly important in today’s world.

Our centralized mobile depot provides a wide array of services to ensure the smoothest possible experience for both your IT department and the device end users. Don’t delay – contact us today to find out how you can save your company time and money with GoExceed.

About GoExceed:

Founded in 2001, GoExceed is recognized as an industry leader in Wireless Expense Management (WEM) solutions. We service over 2 million enterprise wireless devices per year, and our clients range from midsize businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Our comprehensive suite of management solutions has revolutionized the way companies manage their wireless accounts, devices, users, costs, data, cost centers, contracts, policies, and more. We firmly believe that innovation is not only the key to our success, but essential in an ever-changing wireless landscape across the world. GoExceed empowers businesses with real-time reporting and analytics, enabled by Microsoft Power BI, in order to proactively reduce time, money, and resources. Your success is what drives our passion for technology and innovation.