Many of the organisations we talk to do not have any kind of asset reuse going on.
Some are right at the start of their reuse journey.
Some use email to redistribute assets.
Some use message boards.
Some use spreadsheets.
Some even build their own system.
In this article, we weigh up the pros of using spreadsheets to redistribute assets.
We were once a spreadsheet reuse system...
Warp It has been around in one version or another since 2008. Way back then in the early days, the system was a spreadsheet. We learned a great deal about how spreadsheet reuse works, but then in the hope of making things easier, we developed into an email messaging ring from 2009-2011.
Our aim is and has always been to make reuse mainstream. To do that, we have to make reuse easier than buying new, and easier than disposing. So, with the aim of increasing participation- we developed the online platform in 2011.
The benefits of using a spreadsheet
- Spreadsheets are easy to set up.
- They are easy to populate.
- You can add in all the info and customise it to your organisation.
- If you're on a laptop, spreadsheets are also very mobile. You can walk around your store or building decant project and update the surplus assets.
- If you have the time to organise and cope with all of the emails and calls, back and forth, for 1000s of assets, I would say do it on a spreadsheet.
All of those emails, missed appointments and visits to the warehouse sap your time and energy.
Here is how emails are a waste of time!
For some organisations, mostly small ones with a dedicated reuse person, the spreadsheet system can still work.
- Everyone can see items conveniently
- Claims are tracked and organised
- Automatic notifications are sent so that everyone knows what they should do
- Assets are advertised internally, then to priority 2 partners and then to priority 3 partners all automatically
- All savings are tracked automatically
- Legal agreements are collected online
If all of those features appeal to you, then you should be looking at the Warp It system, not a spreadsheet system. We've taken the concept of organisational reuse and built and incredible platform around it, savings millions of pounds for public and private sector organisations in the process.