Avnet Services EMEA signs partnership with Network 2 Supplies (N2S) to promote ethical best practice and manage risk from IT asset disposal

Avnet Services EMEA, the global IT solutions distributor and an operating group of Avnet, Inc.,  has announced a strategic partnership with N2S to deploy its UNITY Estate Management solution. The agreement further develops N2S' environmentally friendly supply chain, which aims to move the channel from its current 'take, make and dispose' model to a 'take, make, use and remake' approach.

Avnet's UNITY solution helps organisations mitigate against financial risk by pinpointing end of life IT assets for disposal. The partnership promotes a circular economy, actively seeking to reuse the equipment it decommissions on behalf of customers, rather than simply disposing of it. This ensures businesses adhere to the latest WEEE directives set out by the Environment Agency, thus avoiding regulatory fines.

Christian Magirus, Vice President Avnet Services EMEA commented, "As a result of recent legislation, CEOs are beginning to scrutinise the way they dispose of IT assets. They're starting to look at putting in place tighter controls to promote industry best practice and minimise financial risk. Our partnership addresses this and, more importantly, opens the doors to a greener future for the channel."

According to Andrew Gomarsall, Director of N2S and 2003 Rugby World Cup winner, "It wasn't uncommon for N2S to clear customers' sites only to find far more kit than expected. With redundant equipment lying around, the potential for security breaches and fines is high, not to mention the impact on the environment. When we won a major new contract, we knew the time had come to invest in technology that could track and measure our customers' IT assets more accurately and bolster our leadership position in this hugely significant growth market."

Gomarsall added, "We believe that the proven capability of the UNITY Estate Management solution, coupled with Avnet's excellent track record, enhances our own credibility and went a long way towards securing our recent contract ahead of nine other suppliers. UNITY Estate Management enables us to visualise the complete lifecycle of every asset from a single, unified platform. Working with Avnet also means we can tap into its commercial acumen and jointly develop client proposals that deliver hardware and software technology and real business value all from one place."

Since deploying UNITY Estate Management, N2S has noticed a series of considerable benefits.  The transparency of the system recently enabled N2S to detect 2,500 disks and other IT items across more than 1,000 sites that were no longer in use but not listed on the customer's original inventory. This was the equivalent of charging 20,000 smartphones 24 hours a day, every day, which has resulted in a huge power saving for the organisation. The same customer recently undertook a year-long network transformation programme and N2S achieved just 0.1 percent in landfill compared with the 29 percent quoted by some of its competitors.

In addition, the partnership is flexible. By harnessing Avnet's knowledge, N2S can also help its customers build a successful UNITY Estate Management framework themselves or can manage it on their behalf as a managed service provider (MSP).

N2S also works alongside the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity that believes a 'Global Circular Economy' could collectively generate more than $2 trillion for the global economy in the coming years.