A newly launched service will track used electronics leaving enterprises’ loading docks, helping companies recover equipment that’s lost or stolen before arrival at an ITAD facility.
The LoopSecure service is being rolled out by Greenlyfocus, a San Francisco Bay Area firm that runs the Green Tracking Service. The Green Tracking Service (GTS) uses GPS-enabled tracking devices affixed to scrap electronics to follow the material’s downstream movement. It’s one of multiple e-scrap-industry GPS tracking services, with the Basel Action Network’s EarthEye program providing a similar method of following downstream scrap flows.
LoopSecure will address the risk of data loss between the material generator and the ITAD processing facility, said Dennis Ward, CEO of Greenlyfocus.
“We want to secure the loop. We want to expand the ITAD’s visibility closer to their customer, so that they can give the enterprise a little bit more than warm and fuzzy that they’re receiving the asset,” Ward said.
Trackers used through LoopSecure will have rechargeable batteries so they can be reused. They will also be programmed to report their locations more frequently than the GTS downstream trackers, likely averaging once per hour. Like the GTS trackers, they also use tamper alarms. And they can be attached to electronics with magnets or adhesive.
The service can be used for shipments via parcel deliveries, less-than-load (LTL) third-party carriers, or an ITAD provider’s own fleet, Ward said.
ITAD service providers that subscribe to LoopSecure will be able to either provide the tracking service to their customers for free or charge a fee, essentially reselling the service, Ward said. The vendor and enterprise could both receive access to the online dashboard showing the material’s location.
LoopSecure is still in its pilot stage. Ward said he’s looking for more ITAD providers to agree to be early participants providing feedback. He’s also reaching out to the enterprises to find out what they’d want from the service, as well.
Ward presented on LoopSecure on April 14 at the Association of Service, Communications, Data and ITAD Providers (ASCDI) disposITion 2021 conference.
