Episode 3 of HOBI Conversations is now live. In this episode, HOBI’s Global Accounts Manager discusses the top logistics risks, data centers, chain-of-custody expectations, and how AI is changing logistics.
With 16 years of experience with HOBI under his belt, Dean Snitker is HOBI’s logistics problem solver. Dean began his first stint at HOBI in sales, where he developed client relationships and guided them through the process as a personal advocate for their ITAD needs. His second stint at HOBI began in logistics before shifting into an account and transportation management role, where he gained extensive familiarity with HOBI’s reverse logistics operations.
Data Security as The Highest Logistics Risk
As a core facet of ITAD, reverse logistics is a well-established service offering for every ITAD provider, but transporting IT assets will always present risks. From data breaches and supply chain visibility gaps to loss of residual value and environmental compliance liabilities, a tight logistics process is critical.
“I think the highest risk you’re going to encounter, obviously, is going to be in your hard drives.”
The simple answer is data security. The highest logistics risk companies face is data breaches from data-containing hardware being transported, including data centers, and the solution can be quite complex, depending on the preferred destruction method.
“Some clients prefer on-site data destruction. Other clients prefer to have the equipment wiped. If it’s going to be wiped, the most cost-efficient method would be to send it to one of our processing facilities. But what isn’t exactly cost-efficient is that it’s going to have to be a point-to-point shipment.”
The primary logistics concern for companies is equipment changing hands multiple times before arriving at the processing facility, and as data centers become more prevalent, the threshold for risk tolerance shrinks.
Where Security Fits in the World of Data Center Logistics
Data centers are flooding the industry and require more stringent data security protocols, which are becoming difficult to achieve for large-scale projects. ITAD logistics solutions bring data security to your organization.
“Let’s say, you know, a location is deinstalling some really nice Dell servers that have X amount of hard drives. Let’s say they have three hundred, four hundred hard drives, and they don’t want those hard drives to leave the location. We’re going to send in a team to do an outside data destruction project. It’ll only take a couple of hours, and then the remaining equipment, after the data or the hard drives are destroyed, the shrapnel, the equipment, goes to HOBI. HOBI’s going to audit the remaining equipment and provide you with the results.”
Snitker credits much of this success to operations teams that understand their inventory in advance and can provide HOBI with the necessary details to choose a data security path that best fits each project.
“If we know what equipment is moving from their location, we know how to take the proper steps to make sure that nothing goes wrong.”
Many clients have spreadsheets that list which devices they have in custody and which are being sent to HOBI. This enables clients to compare and reconcile what was processed with what is in their records, and helps them keep track of assets from operational and accounting perspectives.
Logistics Chain of Custody Expectations
A secure chain of custody is one of the most vital aspects of data security, ensuring every asset is accounted for throughout the logistics process.
“Chain of custody really does start when you actually present us with the job itself.”
As technology advances and data centers become a primary storage method, risk tolerance is decreasing, and much weight is being placed on the chain of custody for additional security. HOBI’s chain of custody begins immediately when the HOBI team is presented with a job and focuses on keeping data safe, both digitally and physically, through automation solutions.
HOBI strives to reduce redundancy and create automation to help reduce the risk of human error. “When I say automation, you know, there’s an opportunity with some companies that want you to link into one of their applications. And I’m not going to name any of the applications on this talk, but you know, they have their database, which basically calls out what serial numbers they have at a specific location.” Automation systems integrate client applications with HOBI databases and provide a digital chain of custody to help track assets on paper through thorough audits and serial number tracking.
Getting assets physically from one place to another will always present risks, but GPS tracking, truck sealing, and matching seal numbers have proven an efficient method of secure chain of custody. Another important aspect of the chain of custody is knowing your carriers. Snitker’s 16 years of experience have enabled to build a trusted carrier network, which is a crucial step for international ITAD.
“We have a really good auditing team at HOBI, and that’s really crucial when it comes to identifying teams that you’re going to partner with.”
HOBI vets all carriers before forming a partnership by looking into performance history, checking DOT numbers, and verifying certifications. For overseas carriers, auditing as a first step is crucial to ensure that materials will be handled in compliance with industry standards, especially environmental standards. “We’ve taken great strides to make sure that everything is done within the R2v3 realm.”
Delivering ITAD at Scale
ITAD projects can become quite large, especially international loads, and delivering at scale can be challenging. Snitker credits HOBI’s success in this area to its software team, which helps HOBI deliver customized solutions tailored to clients’ specific needs.
“Our software team has created a very nice customized database, and when I say customized, it’s customized to meet the requirements of every client, and so immediately, once we receive an opportunity, we’re able to input all the necessary data into a system that is going to kind of provide us with some guidance.”
Keeping track of processing standards for tens of thousands of devices is a lot for anyone to manage. “That’s why you have to have a team capable of developing a software environment that has the capability to recognize those procedures and then is able to execute on them.”
The Future of ITAD
There’s much fear surrounding the future of AI and what it means for the industry, but Snitker has a positive outlook on where it can take ITAD logistics.
“I don’t think there’s any question we’re going to see more automation. But what isn’t commonly said is that with more automation, the result is more data. And every machine has to learn from data to become automated, but the segue to understanding the data and using it efficiently is through people, you know. And I mean people still are going to play a huge, extremely important role in terms of taking the next steps and making our systems a lot more efficient.”
In terms of ITAD logistics, the more data we have, the more capable we are of tracking assets.
“It’s an exciting time. We’re able to provide results, we’re able to make you know, the carbon impact panel that we’re able to provide companies in terms of saving energy, it’s a huge step in the right direction, and we plan on keeping striving to make those steps.”
Listen to the Full Episode
Watch episode 3 of HOBI Conversations for a more in-depth look at ITAD logistics, risk factors, growing chain-of-custody expectations, and how AI, the future of automation, will potentially play a larger role in the ITAD logistics space.