Complete guide to smart lockers ebook

VELOCITY SMART TECHNOLOGY - EBOOK
YOUR COMPLETE
GUIDE TO
SMART LOCKER
TECHNOLOGY
A step-by-step guide to
Smart Locker technology that
redefines desk-side IT support
- A Velocity Smart company -

A guide to explaining the complete
features and functionality
of Smart Locker technology
to provide a clear vision of the
benefits for your business.
This eBook shares the experiences the Velocity Smart Technology team
has developed over years of successfully delivering Smart Lockers for
customers across almost every industry.
This is a must read for anyone wanting to understand more about Smart
Locker technology, and to ensure they have all the details that will allow
them make an informed decision.
Find out more at www.velocity-smart.com
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CONTENTS
4.
Introduction
7.
What is a Smart Locker?
8.
What can a Smart
Locker be used for?
12.
Why should you have
a Smart Locker in your
business?
14.
Smart Locker
applications and use
cases for IT teams?
21.
The benefits of
Velocity’s Smart Locker
technology
24.
How much do Smart
Lockers cost?
25.
Decision time
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INTRODUCTION
In today’s digital-first world, all aspects of end-user services — from apps to storage —
are now digital and cloud-based. But when it comes to the delivery, collection, management
and tracking of IT equipment, it’s still overwhelmingly manual and time-consuming.
This reliance on manual processes hasn’t changed in the last 20 years. Year-on-year
companies continue to lose millions of pounds/dollars to poor IT asset management,
provision and maintenance. Highly skilled IT teams spend a great deal of their time having
to manually approve replacement equipment requests and delivering equipment by hand.
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The result? Operations are hindered. Costs escalate. Equipment can only be provisioned
during office hours and — perhaps worst of all — the whole process is prone to human error.
On average, IT teams spend 2.9 days to fulfil user requests for replacement equipment, and
IT asset management equates to 20% of all the time spent on end-user computing support.
Businesses can, and should, do more.
The good news is that with Smart Locker technology it is now entirely possible to achieve
reliable, round-the-clock desk-side IT support.
This complete guide to Smart Locker technology will walk you through
four main areas:
What a Smart
Locker is
Why your business should
have a Smart Locker
How a Smart
Locker works
The benefits of Smart
Locker technology
Each of these contains further elements worth considering, with their own
specific pitfalls. So let’s explore.
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What is
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a Smart Locker?
Smart Lockers are secure storage and distribution systems with integrated computers and
sensor networks that allow them to automate package selection, notification, and delivery.
Many of us might be familiar with the sight of yellow Amazon delivery lockers to allow
consumers to collect their parcels at a time that is convenient for them. Using Smart Locker
technology for IT deskside support in businesses is a similar concept.
In the case of IT equipment, for example, Smart Lockers enable IT support teams to quickly
and easily secure, manage and distribute IT hardware.
Smart Lockers are used for high-value items like projectors, laptops, tablets and mobile
phones and multiple complex workflows and use cases including Break Fix, Lending
(Borrow and Return), and IT requests.
SMART LOCKERS ARE USED FOR:
High-value items
LED projector
Laptop
Tablet / Mobile
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Would it work in a
Once a package is delivered to a Smart Locker or, indeed if it is already stocked
in a Smart Locker, the recipient is automatically notified that their package is
available for pickup and provided with access instructions. This can be in the
form of a unique code, order number or barcode that can be scanned by the
Smart Locker. Once at the locker, the user enters their pick-up code, scans their
barcode or scans their staff ID badge — and gets access to their package.
The ‘dumb’ way to replace IT assets
User asks for something
from their service desk
Service desk assigns a
task to put that item in
the locker to the deskside
support person
Deskside support person
puts the item in the locker
Code gets sent to the
user that the item is
ready to collect
User collects
the item
Deskside support assigns
an item to the user in ITSM
platform and closes the
original ticket
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eal life scenario?
The ‘Smart’ way to replace IT assets
User selects an item from
the catalogue in their
ServiceNow ITSM portal
If the item is a locker-enabled
item, they are given the
option of the nearest locker
with that item
Use the
selected locker
Code is emailed to
the user for collection
of the item
User collects the item from
the locker
The request ticket
is automatically
closed and the item is
assigned to the user
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Can Smart Locker
technology do
more than just
store, distribute
and manage items?
Without question - Yes! For IT teams provisioning laptops for new starters, for instance,
the most modern Smart Lockers can now charge those laptops (or peripherals) while
they’re idle, allowing new recruits to hit the ground running.
Standard smart lockers enable IT departments to improve maintenance and repair,
and basic asset management through accurate tracking and monitoring when a device is
collected from an authorised locker. This means that IT teams spend less time delivering
and collecting assets themselves, redefining desk-side IT support. However, standard smart
lockers do have limitations.
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Using the range of features that Velocity has built within it’s ServiceNow certified
application - Smart Collect - IT teams can connect to the range of Velocity Smart lockers
and Vending Machines and request laptops, phones, peripherals or spares from their
existing online Service Portal and then pick them up directly from your Velocity Smart
Locker. What’s more, setting up the smart locker system takes merely a few hours and
once this has been completed, your IT department can immediately enjoy the benefits
of an automated locker system.
Of course, achieving this kind of seamless capability requires the right software and
implementation. In most organisations it is difficult to deploy Smart Lockers seamlessly
and without a large amount of custom functionality because there are often several other
solutions and services that need to be consolidated and connected in the process.
If you want to find out
more about integrating
Smart Lockers into your
business - download our
guide ‘How to design a
Smart Locker solution’
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Why should your
business use Smart
Locker technology?
Smart Lockers can be used for a variety of purposes and across different industries, but
ultimately the benefits are increased performance of IT departments, cost savings of IT
assets and improved customer satisfaction because everyone can access the equipment
and tools they need, when they need them. Other key benefits include:
Improved operations
Smart feedback and communication features let businesses build whole new
workflows when it comes to the distribution, management and provision
of IT equipment.
Better insight into device usage
Accurately track and monitor what, where and how IT equipment is being
used, giving your IT department a deeper insight into its ITSM strategy.
Keeping track of assets also increases security as IT teams will be able
to ensure devices are compliant with the latest industry standards.
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Around-the-clock operation
Provides a reliable and effective way for employees to get to equipment in
emergency situations — Smart Lockers come with battery backups, allowing
workers to charge equipment in the event of an electrical outage, for example.
Reduced asset losses
No more human error. Receive, track, monitor and redistribute with complete
confidence in where assets are, including when and why they were taken out.
Track usage and see exactly when they’re returned.
Reduced labour costs
Automation means no more of the time-consuming tasks that come with
manual asset management. Transactions can be done by recipients —
including logging assets in and out for use. Surveillance will ensure the right
devices are returned. Alerts will also keep everyone apprised of the situation.
Employee/customer satisfaction
With instant access to the equipment and peripherals they need — all without
having to wait days or weeks for IT to respond — your employees (or your
customers if you are a MSP) will be happier, more productive and more
appreciative of your IT team.
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Smart Locker
applications and
use cases for IT teams
Smart Lockers are more than just “storage spaces”. Thanks to their robust array of
features and connectivity, they are essentially central “points” for inventory management,
maintenance, fulfillment and redistribution.
From checking where assets are to requesting new devices in real time, Smart Lockers make
it easier for IT teams and inventory managers to provide employees with the equipment they
need, when they need it.
Here are just a few applications and use cases for Smart Lockers.
1. NEAR REAL-TIME DEVICE REPLACEMENT
Many businesses rely on employees using expensive portable electronic devices in the office,
field or home — whether they’re using laptops, mobile phones or otherwise. The challenge,
however, is ensuring end-to-end visibility of those devices — and ensuring they are replaced
and managed effectively.
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Typically, employees must wait on average 2.9 days for new or replacement IT equipment,
this is a 60% efficiency loss of their working week. If we apply the average salary an office
worker equates to £47,297 per year, this is a productivity loss of £311 that the business has
to absorb. Individually this amount is negligible, However, if you apply this to an enterprise
organisation that employs 5000 people and each person has just one of these issues - this
is £1.5m of needlessly lost productivity.
Using Smart Locker technology, businesses can achieve a 20% increase in IT onsite support
capacity to focus on higher value services - which is equivalent to an increase of £780,000
in productivity.
Using our example 5000 employee business, which is likely to have 185 IT team
members with 30% focussed on end user support, this would be the equivalent of
having 30 additional employees each earning an average of £50,000 per year!
2. DEVICE FULFILMENT AND COLLECTION
With Smart Locker technology, IT teams can easily manage device fulfilment and collection.
Think of Smart Lockers as connected inventories — as businesses can see what assets are
available and who is using them, they can make informed decisions about what equipment
they need more of.
For example, IT may find that employees are taking out more headphones and keyboards,
highlighting a need to replenish or scale up that inventory.
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3. REPAIR AND REDISTRIBUTION (REVERSE LOGISTICS)
Smart Lockers make asset collection and repair incredibly easy. Devices can be left in an
authorised locker (that’s perhaps dedicated to asset repair, maintenance and replacement)
to be picked up by a third-party IT service.
Also, as IT can monitor the asset and the locker, they’ll know when it’s been picked up and
can better plan their IT estate moving forward.
Once devices are repaired or replaced, they can be left in a collection locker (or a locker
dedicated to replacements or repairs) for employees to retrieve. It’s that simple.
4. ASSET TRACKING AND LOGGING
Smart Lockers enable rapid tracking of devices on-site. This is because the lockers are
connected, via the internet, to the business’ network, meaning they can be monitored
by IT at any point.
To improve asset tracking, the devices in the lockers can be fitted with RFID tags — a unique
serial number that can be recorded against a piece of equipment and tracked using the
appropriate asset tracking software.
With this kind of visibility, it becomes incredibly easy to collect and track the right
equipment and improve the security of devices across the enterprise.
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5. BORROW AND RETURN
Another key benefit of Smart Lockers is the ability to “borrow” and “return” equipment
as and when it’s needed.
For employees working in a different city or different office — or even those that have
forgotten their laptop charger, mouse or headphones, for example — Smart Lockers can
act as a repository or temporary store for equipment in demand.
Employees can simply use their Smart Locker application (provided by the business) to
locate one of the business’ lockers that contains the equipment they need. From
the app, they can see stock availability and business Smart Lockers in the vicinity.
With borrow and return capabilities, Smart Lockers can act as always available
dispensing machines.
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Why should you
have a Smart Locker
in your business?
However, while Smart Lockers can be
used across a variety of business contexts,
implementing them effectively (and
choosing the right software to operate
them) can be challenging.
Standard Smart Locker solutions, i.e. those
without robust on-site or desk-side IT
support, often require full integration and
take IT support teams more time to deliver
equipment, not less.
To make matters worse, the API alone
often doesn’t provide the functionality the
customer needs.
But not with Velocity
Smart Lockers.
We live in a world that expects a rapid
response to solving a problem. We live
amongst an ‘on-demand generation’,
and IT support is no different.
The issue is that some locker
manufacturers claim to have application
interfaces (APIs) that allow their lockers
to connect to their customers’ ITSM
platforms — but this can be costly
and time-consuming.
Remote and desk-side IT support is now the
norm for many businesses, from start-ups to
large multinational enterprises. If something
isn’t working, employees can simply go to
their IT support desk, log a ticket and get
help within the hour.
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This model has drastically reduced business
downtime and improved operational
efficiency, but — as mentioned before —
the replacement, management and provision
of IT equipment lags considerably behind.
At Velocity, we take a smart, efficiencydriven
approach to the replacement,
management and provision of IT equipment
by implementing Smart Locker technology
and desk-side support, providing our
customers with fast, frictionless access
to vital equipment, 24/7.
The reason for this is simple:
everything’s digital.
Across the world, more and more of us
are working in a hybrid fashion — at home,
remotely or in the office. As such, we need
round-the-clock access to equipment. We
don’t want to waste time waiting for it.
And businesses are quickly realising the
potential of Smart Locker technology:
by 2025, the global Smart Locker market
is expected to be worth $1.2 billion USD.
As it stands, Velocity is the fastest-growing
solution provider in the Global Smart
Locker space and the only provider of
the extensible ServiceNow application in
conjunction with Smart Locker technology.
ServiceNow can be integrated into
a variety of ITSM platforms and apps
and its light footprint means you don’t
have to worry about altering your IT
infrastructure. This makes Velocity
the most affordable and effective solution
for large corporations (and the best Smart
Locker service provider).
Through Velocity’s Smart Locker
technology, it becomes possible
to provide equipment and vital peripherals
to employees at scale.
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The benefits of Velocity’s
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Smart Locker technology
At the heart of our Smart Locker technologies and solutions is Velocity Smart Collect, the
world’s first (and only) ServiceNow certified app which brings click-and-collect functionality
to your business.
Your employees (or your customers’ employees) can leverage this solution to request
hardware and peripherals that can be collected (on approval by their IT team) from a
Velocity Smart Locker.
After the request is approved, they will receive a secure email with a collection bar-code. This
process is 95% faster than traditional IT equipment delivery.
The app is always up to date with its ServiceNow version, is 100% secure and can be installed
in just a matter of hours. It’s also the first-ever app to support domain separation, making it
ideal for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with multiple areas of operation.
However, one of the most important benefits of Velocity’s Smart Locker technology is a lack
of technical debt.
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FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS OF VELOCITY
SMART LOCKER TECHNOLOGY:
Plug and go
Featuring cloud-based, WiFi &
3G connectivity, Velocity Smart
Locker and Vending solutions can
be connected to your business’
network (or customer’s network)
in no time at all.
Branded for your business
(or customer)
Make the technology your own
and wow your employees and/or
customers with branded Smart
Locker and vending solutions.
network) in no time at all.
Encrypted with secure
cloud integration
Worried about security? No
need to be. Our solutions are
100% secure and capture no
personal data whatsoever.
Remotely monitored
Check the status of assets in
your Smart Lockers, who has
accessed them, stock levels,
requests, collections and
much more.
Configurable
Easily manage and configure
your Smart Lockers from a
central portal — ServiceNow.
Determine who can access
them, including what
information is captured.
Versatile
Suitable for any requirement,
Velocity Smart Lockers and
Vending solutions can be scaled
up and down depending on
what you need. We have a
variety of sizes available.
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Multi-input
Ensure your assets are
secure by requesting
multiple authentication
methods, including RFID,
barcode scanning and and
graphical user interface.
Connectivity
Link multiple lockers together
to get a clear and unified
view of specific assets being
requested, used and returned.
Multi-usage
Fix, borrow and return
devices with ease.
Employees can also
use lockers for personal
deliveries, while HR teams
can use them for new
starter equipment and/or
device rollouts.
Combined with the
Smart Collect app
Provide seamless ordering
and collection for both
employees and IT teams —
orders are managed and
approved by authorised
personnel, this includes stock
tolerance and restocking.
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How much do Smart
Lockers cost?
To answer this question, it’s important to think about the total cost of ownership and how
that is calculated. Our supporting guide ‘How to build a Business case for Smart Lockers’,
goes into more detail about this.
At Velocity, our Smart Lockers and Smart Vending machines are integrated directly with the
customer’s ServiceNow through our industry-leading application Smart Collect. This means
that when one is updated, so is the other. We also encourage our customers to think of the
lockers as integral parts of their overall operation, not standalone solutions designed to solve
one or two problems. The result is that they change how they think and utilise the lockers,
ensuring that they are incorporated into everything they do and employees are on board.
Unfortunately, many organisations have a lot of technical debt, which essentially means that
their solutions and tools are managed in a disconnected fashion. What happens is that they
purchase Smart Lockers with the aim of solving one or two problems, but treat them as
standalone solutions and don’t integrate them correctly.
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They then have to configure each individual solution to work with the rest of their
infrastructure, as changes to one means changes need to be made to the others. This takes
time, expertise, and a great deal of money to manage — especially when you think about
the security tests and updates that need to be installed.
Overall, this approach ends up costing businesses far more than it needs to. We provide
a simple, cost-effective and fully integrated solution that is always up-to-date.
Decision time
Velocity Smart technology can transform your IT support with the world’s first and
only ServiceNow certified Smart Locker and Smart Vending solution. The Velocity Smart
Collect App means no new applications to install, which saves time for your support teams
and users, offering the lowest total cost of ownership by proven, demonstrable savings
in support effort and asset procurement costs.
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ADDRESS
16 Red Lion Square
London
GREAT BRITAIN
WC1R 4QH
ONLINE
www.velocity-smart.com
CALL
+44 (0)20 3608 2768
MAIL
info@velocity-smart.com
Velocity Smart Technology - A Velocity Smart company