Whats New in Vancouver Release for Hardware Asset Management

[Adam Smith-Cair]

ServiceNow Hardware Asset Management on the Now Platform Vancouver release

At the outset of the lifecycle, ServiceNow^® Hardware Asset Management proves invaluable in minimizing stockroom inventories and resource wastage. Similarly, as the lifecycle concludes, asset managers harness valuable insights from end-of-life (EOL) and end-of-service (EOS) data to aid hardware refresh planning. This approach mitigates risks associated with aging assets while optimizing costs through systematic purchasing methods. It helps meet compliance with security protocols for lost or stolen devices, regulatory requisites, and environmental disposal standards.

Hardware Asset Management streamlines your technology lifecycle with pre-set workflows aligned with industry best practices. These workflows reduce manual processes, enhance efficiency, and provide improved experiences for employees and customers, without relying on a multitude of tools.

In the Now Platform^® Vancouver release, three standout capabilities for ServiceNow Hardware Asset Management include:

1. Hardware Asset Management Success Portal
2. Zero Touch Refresh
3. Asset Inventory and Distribution

Hardware Asset Management Success Portal

Many asset management teams encounter difficulties in demonstrating achievements, tracking progress, and consolidating savings data from diverse tools. A dedicated success portal within the Hardware Asset Management workspace helps teams exhibit return on investment, monitor asset management programs and savings, and have a clear view of goals and accomplishments. This portal facilitates goal setting, progress tracking, and stakeholder visibility, thereby enhancing achievement monitoring, identifying improvement areas, and celebrating successes.

Zero Touch Refresh

An excess of human intervention slows down asset refresh cycles, especially involving the increase of remote workers.  A streamlined solution reduces bottlenecks in the provisioning processes for remote, distributed, or temporary employees. The Zero Touch Refresh can lead to faster fulfillment, reduced employee effort, and an enhanced experience.  Better coordinate with a hardware provider that supports automated provisioning, delivery, and tracking. When ServiceNow implemented this process internally, it cut asset setup time by 45 minutes per asset.

Asset Inventory and Distribution

Many organizations struggle with stockroom and asset location management, leading to visibility issues during asset movements and inventory planning. A solution offering real-time asset tracking and efficient delivery is essential. Several enhancements in the Vancouver release combine to create a centralized command center view for stockrooms, presenting a unified view of inventory and distribution activities. It ensures transparency in stock levels and tracks stock asset processes, flows, and tasks. A timeline view facilitates planning, optimizing supply chain logistics, and managing incoming shipments, including reporting on delays and discrepancies.

Integration with major shipping carrier APIs enables effective shipment tracking. This feature empowers hardware asset managers and operation managers with a comprehensive stockroom status overview, which can also be combined with Enterprise Asset Management for a holistic inventory view.

In essence, ServiceNow Hardware Asset Management efficiently tackles both ends of the asset lifecycle, enhancing resource utilization and minimizing risks. It enables strategic decision-making, cost optimization, and helps meet compliance with industry standards, ultimately contributing to improved business operations.

Additional features for this release include:

Feature/Capability	Description
Stockroom UX update	The UI has been updated for a more intuitive stockroom management experience. The new design includes actionable forms, a task timeline, and related lists with map views to show stock rules, location coverage, and distribution channels. Real-time stock rule updates ensure optimal inventory levels. The improved interface enhances awareness of asset movements, enables setting operational hours for task scheduling, and offers audit history for tracking asset accuracy.
Shipment table and asset integration with shipping carrier	We're enhancing shipment visibility by centralizing inbound and outbound movements. Shipments, previously scattered across transfer orders and vendor purchases, are now consolidated into a table record, linked to stockrooms or processes. Asset managers can efficiently track shipments using carriers, by establishing connections via API integration. Monitoring asset movement involves recording carriers and tracking numbers, enabling comprehensive tracking at each journey stage.
Hardware content expansion	Normalized models gain more details from the content service and populate the model form. Physical attributes (Height, Width, Length, Weight) enhance capacity management and shipping. Product specifications create cleaner catalog items for users and planning. Attributes like Energy Star Ratings and EPEAT certifications for power consumption aid ESG dashboards. Quick hardware publishing and template-driven lifecycle dates improve efficiency due to undefined vendor dates.