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Challenge: Navigating e-waste accumulation amid a pandemic
As an IT support engineer for Handshake, Juanito Zapanta’s primary responsibility is ensuring the smooth operation of support systems, managing a lean two-person support team for over 700 employees. He oversees IT support, logistics, office build-outs, and procurement across North America and EMEA.
In the spring of 2021, he visited one of their office locations — and was met with a surprising sight.
“It was during Covid, and I went into the San Francisco office,” he said. “There was a whole lot of e-waste. MacBook Airs, cables, TVs, all these random things we didn’t need.”
Solution: Aligning with Revivn for social good — a perfect fit for Handshake’s values
Fittingly, it was then that Courtney Bannon, a senior account executive at Revivn, reached out to him about asset disposition services. She told him about Revivn’s mission to repurpose unused IT hardware for social good, keeping e-waste out of landfills and providing tech access for underserved communities.
This globally responsible approach resonated with Zapanta immediately.
“What I liked was that you’re able to reuse equipment,” he said. “I thought it was too good to be true. I was ready to pay $1,000 to 1-800-JUNK and just throw everything out, but Revivn helped us actually give back to the community, which is what I wanted to do. And Courtney made that happen.”
As a Handshake employee, Zapanta was particularly keen on ensuring proceeds from their equipment were directed towards children’s charities. “It aligned with my goals. It’s a perfect match because Handshake is students-first, and Revivn said they had an education center [that brings digital literacy to students] in Africa that we could donate to.”
Moreover, Zapanta found a personal connection with Revivn’s mission. “Growing up, some people don’t have technology. For me, I didn’t even have a laptop until I was 18 or 19,” he said.
The alignment in values facilitated a smooth endorsement from the leadership team. “When I showed our leadership team the Revivn website and its values, everyone said, ‘Wow, this is like a dream come true,” Zapanta said.
Streamlining asset management with Revivn’s automation capabilities
With a lean 2 : 700 IT to end user ratio, Zapanta recognizes the power — and necessity — of boosting operational efficiency through automation. Entirely self-taught in automation systems, he envisions leveraging Revivn’s SaaS platform to automate and streamline asset management processes.
“We use an ITAM tool called Teqtivity. My goal in Q1 [in 2024] is hopefully integrating Teqtivity and Revivn. So whenever I donate items, it’ll automatically update my asset management to designate that a device was donated. It's hard to manually input things. So I want to make sure whatever we donate, we know where it goes,” he said.
Regarding certificates of destruction, Zapanta envisions a strategy for that as well. “[The integration] would also provide the certificate of destruction, so I could just have our finance team use Teqtivity and then pull that out instead of providing people access to Revivn. I want to put it all in one platform,” he said.
Time savings and compliance simplification with Revivn
The convenience of Revivn’s pickup service significantly streamlines time management. Zapanta simply photographs his unused hardware and sends it to Revivn’s team. “Attaching a photo has freed up time. And instead of cleaning up our whole office, we can just throw everything into a pile and Revivn will just pick it all up,” he said.
Additionally, handling compliance and auditing requirements can be challenging, but Revivn simplifies this process by readily providing all necessary documentation.
“It’s really hard,” said Zapanta. “When we do audits, we get questions like, ‘Where did this laptop go?’ and Revivn is able to provide the asset list, the disposition of those assets, a certificate of destruction — pretty much all the things that auditors need. If I work with any other vendor, it would take me years.”
Using one single vendor for global locations
Given Zapanta’s responsibility for managing global office locations, the choice of a single vendor streamlines the asset disposition process significantly. This approach eliminates the complexities of managing multiple vendor relationships.
“I don’t like to build multiple relationships. I like to just build one. I want to use Revivn in EMEA because it's easier to use one vendor. And I know that if I use Revivn, it will go to a good cause,” said Zapanta.
His positive interactions with Revivn’s team, including Partner Solutions Engineer Nick Lanza, further reinforce his decision to continue this partnership. “Nick is meeting every expectation I ever needed. The whole company is meeting every expectation I ever needed. So why look somewhere else?”
Exemplary customer service and exceptional team commitment
A standout aspect of Revivn for Zapanta is the exceptional level of service offered. He recalls his early interactions with Courtney Bannon, Revivn’s senior account executive, and her office visit where she worked with him to ensure that their pickup came at no cost.
“She actually took the time to visit our office to see what Revivn could and couldn’t pick up. She was able to make sure it was all subsidized so that it was actually a free pickup,” said Zapanta. “I brought that information to our leadership team, and it helped us build a work scope of what needed to be completed. That’s something where Revivn’s team really went above and beyond. For her to really take care of our needs during that time was something we really value in our relationship.”
For Zapanta, the appeal of Revivn lies in its dedicated team and its mission. “My favorite part of my experience with Revivn is the people. I like working with Nick, Courtney — you guys are just amazing. I love working with Revivn because of what you guys do for the world. I love that you guys help the community and try to make the world a better place.”
