Paving the Way for Successful New Equipment Introduction

Each summer universities spend time taking stock of their equipment assets for the year ahead. As part of lifecycle management, assets are retired and upgraded. Sizable budgets might be spent on new, exciting items. It could be the latest video cameras, studio equipment or higher spec laptops. Older kit is recycled due to wear and tear or newer models becoming available. Sometimes it’s more practical to buy new items than to continually repair old ones.

As well as making these equipment purchases, universities are increasingly investing in software that ensures the equipment is easily managed and accessed. It’s all part of sound asset management, ensuring new items have good usage. This way ROI is assured and nothing is left to chance.

Many universities are choosing Connect2 equipment checkout software for these reasons. Here are some of the ways Connect2 helps:

• The online equipment catalog supports students in understanding the full range of items they can borrow – they simply click to reserve what they need to use
• Integrated emailing functionality helps keep cohorts of students informed on what’s new and available for their use
• Staff can bulk book items in advance for classes – no further help is needed to make use of department resources
• Data and analytics on inventory usage ensures the right items are purchased in the first place

Under-utilization should really be a thing of the past with Connect2. Feedback from Bates College shows the importance of Connect2’s online booking experience in this way:

“Students’ improved accessibility and awareness of resources has increased equipment usage by roughly 40%.”

Plus it really lends confidence when spending budget on new kit, as reported by our customer at Indiana University:

“I use the data in Connect2 to see what to buy more of next, or if items aren’t been used, to retire them. I’ll be looking at the data very soon as part of our review at the end of the summer semester, and it’s also good timing for when we get back from viewing new equipment at the annual NAB show. With the Connect2 data we’ll know what we need and what we’re going to use.”

The experience is similar at Swinburne University:

“With the usage data from Connect2, we’ve secured more funding to expand our inventory. It enables us to build a strong business case based on our exact requirements. Connect2 data has helped with the last two major purchases and we can be certain that we will have enough equipment to go round."

So good analytics combined with the ability to showcase and effectively publicize the full range of equipment is a winning combination in Connect2. It leads to greater efficiency in use of funds for new resources, happier staff and students, and a better run operation all round.

Talk to us about how Connect2 can support your equipment lending operation. Contact enquiries@connect2software.com