Imagine a new hire who’s ready to log in on their start date, but with no laptop, no credentials, and practically no way to work. Payroll shows the person is onboarded, but delays have cost the company both money and credibility.
Now, we’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: a good approach to IT asset management (ITAM) helps companies avoid these instances. And how you implement it determines whether IT logistics becomes a predictable task or a fire drill.
How Much Do Common IT Delivery Delays Cost? (Rough Estimates)
Simple shipping delays look like noise in operations until you realize they’re costing you.
Delayed Employee Start Dates
Let’s circle back to that situation in the introduction. You delivered a laptop late, which means stalling onboarding entirely. Say, you pay that new hire $45/hour. That’s $360 lost in productivity alone in one day. What if it happens with 10 or more new hires?
Emergency Shipping
When IT materials are delayed, teams often have no choice but to turn to expedited shipping to get back on schedule. Local costs might start around $8, but for global teams, fees can rise quickly with customs and international surcharges.
Lost or Misrouted Devices
Misrouted equipment can still hurt productivity, even if it eventually arrives. And if a device is lost, the company faces full replacement costs.
Imbalanced Inventory
If delivery is unreliable, the entire process becomes less predictable. This can cause companies to overstock hardware, causing the following excess costs:
- Depreciation of unused devices
- Higher costs for warehousing
Contractual and SLA Penalties
Lost productivity is just the beginning. Late shipments can delay client deliverables and trigger fees outlined in service level agreements (SLAs), whether tied to a specific project or to the overall contract value.
Why Traditional IT Logistics Models Struggle
Long before IT inventory management software, companies relied on predictable hiring cycles and local vendors. We all know times have changed, with global teams now the norm. That’s where some companies go wrong—they manually implement traditional IT procurement approaches.
They might rely on one vendor for hardware and another for shipping (and another for warehousing), and even track their assets through emails and spreadsheets.
This method means limited visibility into shipments and device lifecycle information, forcing companies to act reactively to sudden needs.
By contrast, a proactive IT asset management approach allows you to enjoy automated notifications for on-demand forecasts, supplier performance data, device end-of-life, and shipping.
Reduce Delivery Delays with These Strategic Fixes
With dependable IT inventory management software and some discipline, you can prevent delays. Here’s what strong IT teams often implement:
- Standardized and automated onboarding processes and timelines aligned with shipping lead times
- Backup suppliers to avoid single-vendor dependency
- Regional equipment stock for faster distribution
- Integrated dashboards for shipment tracking
- Automated procurement routing based on availability
Most notably, your communication protocols should be as good as the tools you use. Your managers and other stakeholders need early notification of any delay so they can adjust schedules.
You might be thinking, “You can do all of that in one centralized IT asset inventory management software?” With Dots, you get to see stock levels, lifecycles, deployment timelines, onboarding and logistics information, and even forecasts.
Where Modern Platforms Change the Equation
Without visibility into critical asset management information, teams have to rely on manual updates and reports. Having a single source of truth makes processes consistent, reliable, and much easier to manage.
On a unified platform, IT teams can manage and track IT procurement, inventory, deployment, and even offboarding, freeing up time to spend on more important tasks.
The initial benefits? You get to onboard new hires on time (or faster), enjoy predictable shipping costs, spend less with calculated bulk purchases, and see more accuracy in your demand forecasts.
Turn Faster Device Delivery Into a Competitive Edge
How quickly devices reach new hires and employees impacts costs, productivity, and, most importantly, the confidence of your IT teams.
That’s why leaders who invest in structured IT asset management practices and modern logistics platforms see significant improvements in overall efficiency and employee experience. These systems ensure that issues are resolved long before they appear, a much cheaper approach than reacting once delays start piling up.
But what if you could combine procurement and device management into one ITAM tool? With Dots, you can enjoy procurement, onboarding, offboarding, warehousing, and logistics features, all fully integrated with your HRIS, MDM, and finance systems.We’re all about reducing downtime. Book a demo with Dots to see how our platform can help you keep teams productive from day one.
