How To Streamline IT Asset Management With Ease

Asset management should never be a roadblock when it comes to productivity. I manage a team dispersed across the U.S. that is responsible for delivering superior customer service. Consumers want results not excuses, which is why I’m always searching for cutting-edge partners dedicated to our success. If you are like me and looking to streamline your asset management process, I recommend checking out Agilant Solutions.

I have built a career in customer service by building relationships and putting people first. I came to Beacon Health Options as the Vice President of End User Technology. I know firsthand that it takes a superior process behind the scenes to deliver stellar customer service. 

Prior to my tenure at Beacon, I was the Vice President, Global Service Desk at AIG, Director of Global Service Desk at Dell and Director of Global Service Desk for Electronic Arts. Working for 

these various companies provided the challenges and opportunities which laid the ground work for my current position. I have established IT service teams domestically and internationally that operated as seamless organizations. These locations include: U.S. locations in Texas, Florida, Kentucky, and Nebraska, Malaysia, Romania, India and Mexico. During that time, I had the unique opportunity to implement world-class programs and work with the brightest technical minds. 

At Beacon, I’ve incorporated that knowledge into my day-to-day duties. My responsibilities include the management of the helpdesk, level-two field support technicians and AD account administration. Ultimately, it’s my responsibility to ensure the folks on my team have the resources they need to be successful and provide excellent customer service.

My team consists of about 100 members. We have five large service centers, but many of the technicians are located remotely. Shortly after a merger, we were looking to streamline the asset management and procurement process for IT assets. At the time, we used two vendors. We had one local vendor that was deeply entrenched in our organization, and we also used Agilant Solutions .

The timing of my employment aligned with the effort to streamline our process. I came into Beacon with a fresh set of eyes and was able to evaluate both vendors objectively. While I could have easily stayed with the local vendor and maintained the status quo, Agilant demonstrated to me that they could take Beacon to the next level. In fact, there are two specific instances when Agilant and I have collaborated to create new and more efficient processes. 

Efficient and Reliable Equipment Delivery

End-user support is about reliability, speed and simplicity. Since we have a rather large group of remote employees, it’s imperative those folks have the equipment they need to work in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, one of the main challenges we face when working with remote employees is dealing with end-user devices. It’s my job to solve for how quickly an employee receives new or replacement equipment and how easy that equipment is to plug in and get connected so they can resume work.

We solved for this issue by partnering with Agilant. Today, Agilant images our equipment and ships it to one of our service centers. From there, we perform a few functions and then ship the equipment to the end user. While Agilant solved our immediate issue, we are in the process of working with them to enhance the workflow further, which will save us even more time. 

In the future, Agilant will do the encryption and login work that we need. As a result, Agilant will be able to finish the process that we currently do at our service center, which means employees will receive their equipment faster because it will be overnighted directly from Agilant without any Beacon involvement.

Painless Equipment Return 

As with any company, we have folks who move on to new opportunities. Since most of the team is remote, it’s important to have an equipment return process that is as painless as possible. We wanted to remove obstacles that would prevent someone from not returning the equipment in a timely fashion. For example, the task of packaging the equipment for return paired with delivering the hardware to a local shipping center might be a deterrent for some folks. 

We went to Agilant with ideas on how to expedite and improve this process. Ideally, we want to make it easier to return the equipment by sending a box, label and provide all of the packaging and pickup for any employee who leaves the organization and is not based at a major site. In order to achieve this goal, we asked Agilant if they could provide this service. 

Agilant’s response was great. They came back with a possible solution that would include managing the shipment of the box and its return to them. In addition, they would evaluate the hardware to determine if it could be reimaged and restocked. If not, they would manage the asset disposal of the equipment. 

During this process, Agilant was accommodating and offered solutions to enhance the process. Of course with any new process, it takes a while to implement. However, we are in the beta stages of the program and working on implementation. Our goal is to have the project in full swing by the end of 2017. 

Customized Internal Solutions

In addition to ensuring fast and reliable hardware management, Agilant has also helped streamline our internal approval process and record keeping. We now have a Beacon portal set up that allows my managers to access and order equipment. Plus, my managers, finance and procurement are all tied into the portal. Once a request is made, the portal generates a quote. From there, finance can access the portal and assign a PO, which means we can get approval through the system much quicker. With this portal, we can see the device, get the quote and assign the PO. It’s much more efficient than relying on email chains and is a great example of how Agilant can work with you to streamline a process. 

Overall, my experience with Agilant is that they are fast to respond and have excellent support. From a customer service perspective, they are top-notch. Agilant gets that it’s all about people and making relationships and connections. They're also extremely receptive when I come to them with an out-of-the-box idea. They roll up their sleeves up and are ready to work with me to come up with solutions. It feels like a true partnership. If you have a challenge in assets, it's definitely a company I recommend checking out.