How Cios Can Simplify The Logistics Of Equipping A Remote Workforce

Steve Thompsett, Chief Customer Officer, Apac, Dhl Supply Chain

Steve Thompsett, Chief Customer Officer, Apac, Dhl Supply Chain

As demand grows for working from home, so too does the complexity of ensuring your workforce is equipped with the latest devices, accessories and infrastructure. Steve Thompsett, Chief Customer Officer, APAC, DHL Supply Chain looks at challenges around storage, delivery to employees’ homes, managing the return of devices and more.

It seems working from home – or WFH – is here to stay Since the pandemic, according to Gartner, 88 percent of organizations have encouraged or required employees to work from home and 91 percent of teams have implemented WFH arrangements. Going forward, a substantial 74 percent of companies plan to permanently shift to more remote work post-Covid. To retain staff, organizations should expect that 75 percent of staff will ask to expand their share of remote work hours by 35 percent.

Unfortunately, more than half of HR leaders cited poor technology availability and access as the biggest barrier to effective WFH. So, what can be done to keep employees safe and productive with the right equipment? The logistics of safely equipping your remote workforce Firstly, you need to equip your workforce with the latest tech wherever they are, and deliver - whether it’s same day, next day or within 2-3 days - to ensure employee satisfaction and retention Second, by consolidating storage – perhaps in a regional distribution center – you can optimize cost and have better control and visibility of assets. For example, you might have separate hubs for the APAC region in India and Singapore, where you could still ensure delivery same day or within 2-3 days to your employees’ homes.

Lastly, with returns being a vital part of the process nowadays, you need to ensure all sensitive data is erased before the device is disposed of. You also want to reduce environmental impact caused by e-waste. One way to do this is by ensuring devices that can still be used are cleaned, refurbished, repaired and re-used.

Unfortunately, More Than Half Of Hr Leaders Cited Poor Technology Availability And Access As The Biggest Barrier To Effective Wfh

But how best to meet the fluctuating demands and forecasted growth of the remote workforce over the next few years? And how do you manage the returns, repair and disposal of devices? How some.

How some companies have done it

In recent years, and in particular since the start of the pandemic, our geographic reach has meant DHL Supply Chain could help some of the world’s best-known companies to enable their disparate workforces across regions to work from home.

These companies wanted an end-to-end WFH solution that could free up their IT teams to focus on core business. They needed a supply chain partner with the scale, speed and expertise to minimize employee downtime so their businesses can keep running, all while complying with health and safety best practice.

For example, we have helped a global technology giant with the storage and distribution of their IT assets across multiple regions. In Asia Pacific, we set up a regional distribution hub in Singapore to ensure we can do same or next day deliveries of IT equipment to employees across multiple countries. For bigger domestic markets we have dedicated local hubs to ensure service levels are kept high. This end-to-end solution includes end-of-life hardware management, such as the assessment of second hand usage, to minimize e-waste and in turn contribute to the customer’s sustainability targets.

In India, a country so badly hit by Covid-19, we have supported other major technology companies in their shift to working from home with fast, safe execution of its business continuity plan, delivering employee assets for remote work. With seventy percent of the workforce switching to working remotely, they needed a service provider who could quickly support with the packing of IT assets according to their specific requirements and have the transport network to cover local, inter-city and inter-state time-bound deliveries. Increasingly, these packages expand beyond IT equipment and accessories to include employee onboarding and engagement items.

“With over half a million employees globally, we understand the complexity of managing high volumes of IT devices and accessories. Find out how we can help with the Work From Home supply chain – deliveries to employee homes, returns, technical services and refurbishment. Visit bit.ly/dhl-wfh to connect with our regional and local experts.” – Steve Thompsett.