ReturnCenter is a platform that connects owners of IT assets with logistics providers and receiving facilities in order to extend visibility related to asset recovery, disposition and redeployment. The free ReturnCenter App in ServiceNow enables users to arrange shipments of IT assets, and is a required install for this integration to function.
The initial release of ReturnCenter Automate automatically updates hardware asset records in ServiceNow based on data provided to the ReturnCenter platform by ITAD and data sanitization vendors.
The Challenge for IT Asset Managers:
As an IT asset manager...
- I am often tasked with manually updating individual asset records at end of life, dealing with spreadsheets from various ITAD vendors that are not standardized and don't easily import to upate asset records.
- Asset records are often not updated in a timely way due to the burden of manually updating each record as states and substates change throughout the ITAD process.
- Mistakes are often made during manual asset record updates.
- There is no easy way to jump from an asset record to view the Certificate of Destruction or Disposition Report that an assets belongs to
- I need to see a history of asset updates.
The Solution:
For each shipment (Order) booked through the ReturnCenter App, Automate will...
- Update asset records based on data from a Certificate of Destruction and a Disposition/Settlement Report.
- Automatically update records as a supported ITAD vendor uploads/provides these documents to the ReturnCenter platform, so records are always current as data becomes available.
- Use data from ITAD documentation rather than human data-entry to ensure updates are accurate.
- Adds links to the asset records for both documents and the original order.
- Adds Comments each time the state, substate, resale value or any dates change during the disposition process.
ReturnCenter parses data from ITAD documents and updates the assets in ServiceNow received by the ITAD vendor. Specific fields updated depend on whether users have ITAM, HAM or HAM Pro installed, but include:
- State
- Substate
- Retired Date
- Disposal Date
- Vendor disposal order ID
- Comments (with date/time and trigger of last change)
- Links from each asset record to the Order and related documents
Automated asset updates are performed through a series of Flows which affect assets in your alm_asset table related to a ReturnCenter Order in three ways:
Work in Progress: Applies to “Assets in ServiceNow” added to an order upon Order placement
Sanitization: Applies to any asset reported by an ITAD or data sanitization vendor on a Certificate of Destruction
Disposition: Applies to any asset reported by an ITAD vendor on a final Disposition/Settlement Report
· Flows need to be activated in Flow Designer in order to work in this release.
· See Configuration Guide for details on adjusting settings for each Flow.
- IT Asset Management (ITAM) (also works with Hardware Asset Management (HAM & HAM Pro))
- ReturnCenter application version 2.2.18 or later