At Advisory, we specialize in making IT management simple and stress-free for our clients. As an IT services provider, we handle everything from device and application management to security and strategic guidance. One of our key offerings is hardware warehousing & logistics—managing the storage, deployment, and retrieval of company-owned devices.

Managing the return of devices from offboarded employees may seem like a trivial part of IT operations, however we know from a security and financial perspective just how critical it is to reclaim every last company device. That’s why we’ve partnered with Retriever to provide our clients with the best possible device return experience.

How Advisory Manages Device Returns for Clients

At Advisory, our comprehensive warehousing & logistics services cover the entire lifecycle of devices including: purchasing, storing, MDM configuration, provisioning, shipping, retrieving, repairing, and recycling.

However, retrieving devices from offboarded employees is especially critical as the process needs to be simple and transparent to ensure former employees return their company-owned devices.

Previously, this process was entirely manual for Advisory. We sent out shipping boxes and labels ourselves, tracked those shipments individually, and sent out follow-up emails one by one. It was time-consuming and inefficient and often led to costly mistakes.

How Retriever Simplified Our Process

Retriever specializes in the retrieval of devices. By partnering with them, we’ve been able to transform our device return process into a streamlined, automated workflow that includes:

✅ Pre-labeled, insured shipping boxes – Retriever sends out a laptop box with a pre-paid return label that includes insurance for the return—all for a flat fee.
✅ Email follow-ups – The employee is alerted when their return box has shipped or been received, and 3 reminder emails if they delay sending their device back.
✅ Automated status tracking – Advisory has integrated Retriever into our ticketing system using their API so every device return ticket always stays up to date with the latest information. We also provided automated follow-ups on these tickets for centralized tracking.

Using Retriever’s services has removed almost all of the manual labor from Advisory’s device return processes and added full transparency for our clients, which has been a win-win for both clients and our internal team.

Improving Outcomes through Partnership

At Advisory, we partner with industry leaders like Jamf, Microsoft, Google, Okta, and many more to deliver best-in-class IT services.

Our partnership with Retriever also aligns with our core mission: making IT easier for our clients. The impact has been clear:

• Less internal overhead – Our team spends far less time managing shipping logistics.
• Improved client experience – Clients appreciate the ease of use and always up-to-date tracking info.
• Reduced delays for non-returned devices – The streamlined process has led to faster device returns and a higher overall success rate for getting devices back from offboarded employees.

Full Device Lifecycle Management

Devices that never get returned are a security risk for your organization and can lead to losses of tens of thousands of dollars per year. By adding Retriever’s solution into Advisory’s end-to-end IT management approach, we’ve saved ourselves time and increased trust with our clients.

If your company is looking for device lifecycle management services from MDM configuration for security compliance to physical hardware logistics—Advisory has it all covered. For more details on our hardware services, check out our knowledge base articles or contact us for a conversation.