Choosing the right IT asset disposition (ITAD) provider for your company can be challenging. Many providers have different policies and procedures or hide details in their fine print that must be thoroughly examined to determine what kind of service you will receive. Paying attention to those little details could save your company significant money and even protect your brand reputation.
To save you time and money and help you avoid common mistakes when choosing an ITAD provider, we thoroughly researched the services offered by 8 different major ITAD providers and hardware manufacturers offering ITAD services. We read through their ITAD policies, scoured all of their publicly available online documentation, and read all the fine print we could find. Dell’s TechDirect Asset Recovery Services were one of those we examined. Let’s take a look at what we found in our research.
Dell's ITAD Services: An Overview
Dell, a major manufacturer of high quality computers and office equipment, offers their TechDirect Asset Recovery Services to help their customers deal with ITAD. However, many of the necessary details had to be gleaned from their sustainability and ESG reports, while the service itself was lacking in enterprise-level details that could leave large companies needing to use multiple ITAD providers.
Range of Assets Accepted
Dell accepts laptops, desktops, monitors, all-in-ones, and some tablets but their online tool does not accept printers, POS hardware, or other specialized office hardware. Therefore, you would likely need a different provider to handle those categories of assets.
Online Asset Valuation Tools
Dell’s process starts with an easy-to-use online quoting tool that provides a quick report with surprisingly high assessed values. Their online asset appraisal has more hardware options than some others, including newer processors that offer more value.
ITAD Collection Services
Dell arranges logistics and transportation of your IT, regardless of the brand. They use third-party freight services for 20 or more assets and a parcel service where you print shipping labels and ship them yourself for fewer than 20 assets.
Data Destruction Services
Dell offers on-site or off-site data destruction services using NIST 800-88 sanitization methods for products that will be reused, and uses physical crushing or shredding when the device cannot be reused. For on-site service, they sanitize devices before leaving your facility. Devices that fail sanitization are physically destroyed. However, you must have 20 or more devices for on-site data sanitization and 200 or more for on-site hard-drive shredding. It is unclear if they will shred a device on-site that fails sanitization if you have fewer than 200 devices.
Reporting Procedures
Dell offers online on-demand reporting tools customized through the TechDirect Dashboard. They provide detailed reports listing the asset type, serial numbers, resale value, devices recycled, data sanitization outcomes, and documentation stating that all recycling activities met or exceeded local regulatory guidelines. However, no information on audit trail assistance was offered.
Recycling and E-Waste Policies
Dell offered no information on what recycling certifications their third-party providers must have, which may pose serious risks. Furthermore, they do state that they don’t permit e-waste to be exported to non-OECD or non-EU countries directly or through intermediaries, which would be in contradiction to the Basel Convention banning the international shipping of hazardous wastes. However, they do add that they might where legally allowed by national legislation and “with prior approval” from Dell. However, these kinds of loopholes are notorious for being exploited, potentially posing additional risk.
Chain of Custody Tracking
Dell states that their disposition partners must track and document all devices from the point of pick-up to recycling, waste, or the first point of reuse and provide that information to Dell upon request. No other information about a chain of custody was mentioned since their providers only provide tracking to Dell “upon request.” Therefore, the customer appears to have no direct access to any chain of custody-related procedures.
Cash Value
Unlike some manufacturers, Dell will pay you directly for any valuable assets, saying they will transfer the funds to your bank account. Customers located in the USA can apply their credit to Dell invoices. You are not required to buy Dell products to get cash value. However, you must pay for their service fees upfront, and the fine print quickly shows that the suggested cash value on their online quote tool may not be realized.
Additional Fine Print
Dell had the most fine print among the providers. Here are some key ones:
Equipment Value: Equipment with BIOS passwords and locking devices may be subject to reduced values. The asset appraisal assumes that all equipment is complete with hard drives, cables, adapters, batteries, etc. So, if any original accessories are missing, your assets will be devalued. The appraisal also assumes that the equipment will meet functional and cosmetic specifications for resale.
- This language is standard among most ITAD providers and means that assets with cosmetic or functional defects will be devalued. However, the requirement of all original accessories is an additional condition that could result in devaluing reusable assets.
Data Liability: Dell makes no recommendations regarding the customer’s security needs or representations regarding the effectiveness of one method of data removal over another. It is the customer’s responsibility to protect any confidential or sensitive information on its hard drives recovered by Dell.
- It is always the customer's responsibility to ensure their own data security. Stating this known fact is intended to protect them in case a data breach occurs.
Analyzing Dell's TechDirect Asset Recovery as an ITAD Service
When analyzing Dell’s ITAD services, the need to dive deep into their documents to find the necessary information in their sustainability reports makes it appear that its ITAD service is simply being offered as part of its corporate sustainability goals. This may work for end-users, but the lack of transparency, numerous fine print conditions, and limited hardware acceptance suggest it may not work well for enterprise-level customers. For large businesses, an ITAD provider should accept all assets, offer secure data destruction, detailed reporting, a meticulous chain of custody with real-time asset tracking, and ensure local, environmentally responsible recycling and cash value recovery for retired assets.
Find Out How We Can Help
If you are an enterprise, government, or institution looking for ITAD solutions or have additional questions, please contact us at ICT. You can also view our white paper on Dell’s ITAD services for more information on the research we conducted.
Summary of Dell's TechDirect Asset Recovery Services
Selected References
Basel Convention. (2011). Www.basel.int. https://www.basel.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/1271/Default.aspx
Dell Asset Recovery Services User’s Guide. (2022). https://dl.dell.com/content/manual18161345-asset-recovery-services-user-s-guide.pdf?language=en-us
Dell Electronics Disposition Policy. (2023). https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/solutions/business-solutions/legal-pricing/dell-electronics-disposition-policy.pdf
Dell Getting started with SupportAssist for business PCs. (2022). Retrieved February 1, 2024, https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/services/deployment/briefs-summaries/getting-started-with-asset-recovery-services-in-techdirect.pdf
Dell Media Sanitization Statement. (2023). https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/solutions/business-solutions/legal-pricing/customer-facing-media-sanitization-statement.pdf
Dell TechDirect Asset Appraisal (2024). Techdirect.dell.com. The Appraisal was Conducted on February 1, 2024, from https://techdirect.dell.com/Portal/ARRExpedited.aspx?action=ARRManageValueRecovery
Dell TechDirect Asset Recovery Services. (n.d.). Techdirect.dell.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024, from https://techdirect.dell.com/Portal/ARRExpedited.aspx?action=ARRManageValueRecovery
Kissel, R., Regenscheid, A., Scholl, M., & Stine, K. (2014). Guidelines for Media Sanitization. Guidelines for Media Sanitization, 1. https://doi.org/10.6028/nist.sp.800-88r1
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