Device Clearance and Reuse With Deel IT: Everything You Need to Know

Managing a fleet of hardware devices isn’t easy, especially for remotely distributed teams. Imagine you have a new hire starting soon in Paris, France. At the same time, you have an offboarding employee in Paris, Texas. Your French new hire needs a laptop with the same specs as your exiting teammates in the US.

Handling the cross-border logistics for a device like this takes, on average, one and a half hours of IT time. Multiply that across however many devices you keep in circulation throughout your workforce, and the time starts stacking up.

You might decide that it’d be easier to just buy the new hire in France a brand new device. But now you have a user-less device in the US, still in good condition. You could sell it, but someone has to make sure it’s wiped of all company data.

Tracking and managing hardware manually is a time drain that causes delays, hidden costs, compliance risks, and security issues. In this guide, we’ll take you through two key aspects of hardware management: device clearance, and reuse.

Hardware management for the modern workplace: Why it matters

Proper hardware management is essential for an efficient and cost-effective IT strategy. It helps your organization to:

• Reduce IT costs by avoiding unnecessary hardware purchases
• Maintain productivity with quick replacements and upgrades
• Streamline asset tracking, security, and compliance across a global fleet of devices
• Simplify the issue and retrieval of devices during onboarding and offboarding
• Boost sustainability efforts by reducing waste and extending the lifecycle of devices

For HR teams, this matters mostly because of its impact on the employee experience. Being an organization that easily supplies your teams with the tools they need – no matter where they are – establishes your organization as one where people stay connected, secure, and productive.

Clearance and reuse are two core aspects of any hardware management strategy:

Done manually, on a country-by-country or even a device-by-device basis, the hours start to stack up. Not only that, human error can lead to delays, compromised data security, non-compliance with tax laws, and many other risks.

Clearance, and reuse with Deel IT: How it works

Deel IT supports your hardware management strategy by centralizing it in one platform and helping you overcome the most common challenges. With our storage and reuse service, you get:

• Managed collection: A 5-step recovery process with a 96% success rate globally.
• Inbound logistics: Fully insured, including packaging.
• Device wiping and cleaning: Secure data wipe followed by physical cleaning.
• Grading: Devices are graded, with lower grades available for clearance resale.
• Storage: Includes one month of storage in the warehouse.
• Outbound logistics: Fully insured shipments to the next user

Managing your devices with Deel IT: A step-by-step guide

Deel IT handles IT Ops for you, streamlining everything in one centralized platform and offering unparalleled support. Device clearance and reuse are available through Deel IT’s Device Lifecycle Management service (DLM).

Step 1. Contracting & setting up

Enable DLM or DLM Plus with your Deel account manager. Once enabled, DLM can be designated as the default add-on for your paid IT policies, so that all new devices ordered under those policies will automatically be covered. This means that all of your devices have the same protections, no matter where they are.

Step 2. Enrol devices

You have two options for bringing devices under the DLM service.

• For devices you already own: Add existing devices under Assets within the Deel portal. This will either consume one of your committed seats or create an “overage” seat (which is billed at the agreed rate) if no free seats are available.
• For devices you acquire through Deel: Select the “Device Lifecycle Management” add-on while ordering a device in the ordering interface. Both rentals and direct purchases are eligible for DLM.

Step 3. Choose service tier and seats

There are two different tiers, depending on your needs:

• DLM: 24/7 hardware support, managed repairs, device pre-configuration, BYOD enrolment, device collection, and clearance.
• DLM Plus: Everything in DLM, as well as global loaner devices, out-of-warranty repairs, and replacement for irreparable devices.

One of these tiers must be selected in order for your devices to qualify for device buyback, clearance, or reuse to be managed through Deel.

Step 4: Device clearance

Before you begin, the device must be owned by your company, wiped of data, and registered in the Asset Tracker. You then request clearance for that device via the Assets tab — filling in a simple form to confirm your email and the device’s part number.
Deel

Once submitted, we evaluate the device’s condition and current market value and issue you a resale quote, valid for 14 business days. If you accept, our partner Foxway picks up the device (from the user or a warehouse, depending on the location), performs an inspection, and may adjust the price depending on the actual condition.

Finally, after the device is sold, we issue a purchase order and give you data-erasure certificates. You invoice us, and the proceeds (minus any fees) are credited to your organization. The clearance request is then marked “Completed,” and you’ve successfully turned an unwanted device into capital.

Step 5: Device re-use

When a device becomes unassigned (e.g., after an employee off-boards), you can request a “store” collection via the Deel dashboard. That triggers the logistics: the device is collected, inspected, wiped, cleaned/restored, repackaged, and securely stored.

Once stored, the device can sit until a new worker needs it. At that point, you use the dashboard to reassign the device, and Deel handles shipping it to the new user.

The service comes with different storage or region-reuse options and pricing: e.g., local storage (same country/region) or a broader “Zone 1” storage hub (UK/EU/US) if you might reuse across those regions.

For devices not originally rented via Deel (purchased or supplier-owned), you can still store them in a Deel warehouse after adding them to the asset tracker. Then, when needed, they’re available to be deployed to new users.

If the device was purchased from Deel or another supplier, we will always redeliver the same device. For rental devices, when you reassign the contract to a new user, we will provide a device with the same specifications as the one you collected for storage.

Case study: How VoiceFlow sends equipment hassle-free to its international team

Founded in Toronto, Canada, in 2019, Voiceflow initially operated as an on-site company, hiring talent from its home city and the US—its only global entity. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Voiceflow, like many other companies, went remote and remains a remote-first company today.

With this integral change, the Voiceflow team looked to international hiring as a fundamental part of its growth strategy. However, setting up global entities to hire and pay everyone was out of the budget and timeframe for them. Voiceflow needed a partner who could help. That’s when Deel came in. With all of its global HR and compliance handled, Voiceflow could focus on growing its team.

Since working with Deel, Voiceflow can hire, onboard, pay, and equip its entire global workforce through one platform. The team has grown to over 20 people in 7+ countries, saving Voiceflow $30K in entity setup.

Read more to see how Voiceflow has also streamlined how it sends equipment with Deel IT, saving over 60 hours of admin and an additional $10K.

Why trust Deel with your IT Ops?

Build a standardized global IT process in every geography: Forget about juggling multiple vendors and logistics companies. Deel IT can supply your workforce with the equipment they need in over 130 countries, offer 24/7 tech support, and help you manage your devices remotely in one simple platform. Your workforce stays connected and secure, and your IT team saves hours.

Get equipment to every employee, anywhere: Whether you need to send tech to a new hire in Baltimore or get a replacement laptop to a teammate in Bali, Deel IT can handle it. New hires get secure, pre-configured devices on time, ready for them to hit the ground running on day one, and the rest of your team can get back to work quickly in case of device breakdown or loss.

Manage global IT, HR, and payroll in one platform: Streamline operations in one simple tool, saving time and enabling better collaboration for IT, HR, and Finance teams. Integrate Deel IT with your existing business tools, and ensure compliance with pre-configuration and advanced security features.

Book your 30-minute demo today to see how Deel IT can take the headache out of managing your hardware devices.