What To Do When Small Devices Need Repair

One of the biggest unforeseen frustrations for any business happens when equipment goes down.  If you don’t have a plan in place for equipment breakdown, you’ll end up scrambling for solutions — many times at the cost of headaches and upset potential customers.

Because the risks of dealing with device repair can be high, many businesses are using a simple and cost-effective solution to get ahead of repairs before they’re needed. This solution often comes in the form of what we call a “depot repair” agreement for small devices — in partnership with a trusted and certified repair provider.

When a receipt printer breaks, why not just throw it away?

When equipment goes down, it’s frustrating for everyone from upper management to the intern making copies. Plans are pushed back. Excuses are made. Someone gets the idea to junk the device and order a new one right away. There may be a better way.

If you use a small device depot repair service, your small devices, such as receipt printers and check scanners, can be shipped to a facility with certified technicians who can perform repairs quickly.

Small device repair ends up saving you money by extending the life of your equipment and also reduces waste and the harmful environmental effects of trashing broken devices.

What is small device depot repair?

Businesses choose a trusted depot repair service to protect their small device investments and to keep hardware running with little to no downtime.

Depot repair is a cost-effective, customizable repair and maintenance program designed to keep small devices like receipt printers, slip printers, payment and transaction equipment, check scanners, and other small devices working for your business. Another goal of this type of small device repair is to fix your devices fast before broken hardware leads to lost profits.

What should you look for in a depot repair service?

Service providers should be certified by the OEM (original equipment manufacturer). This enables them to source the right parts and provide the type of service that will extend the life of the device. Providers who employ technicians that are certified on all major brands can become a one-stop shop for all of your small devices.

While small device parts can be shipped all over the country, it helps if the service provider has a facility at least in the same geographical region as the company requiring the timely repair.

In the repair arena, there is no substitute for experience. When companies are vetting depot repair providers, here are some questions to ask:

• How long has the provider has been in business?
• Do they have specific experience maintaining the devices that my company uses?
• How many repairs do they perform a month?
• What kind of infrastructure is in place to ensure work gets completed?
• Do they have a system to ship devices quickly and safely?

How do depot repair services work?

Many different plans and options fall under the depot repair umbrella, but we’ll look at three common uses of this type of service to give you an overview of the capabilities at this service level.  The criteria for choosing the type of service depends on two things: your budget and uptime requirements.

1. A standard repair agreement

Most depot repair services offer some form of standard repair agreement for non-emergency repair situations. When a device fails, a certified technician is called and the small device is shipped to the facility to be repaired-usually within ten business days.

2. A quick turnaround plan

Rush services are usually available for businesses who can’t afford to wait longer for critical repairs to be completed. Some depot repair services even offer repairs within three business days–returning the device to the business quickly so that transactions can resume.

3. Advanced Unit Exchange (AUE)

This service is quickly becoming a top seller for large and small businesses, probably due to the extremely quick uptime it provides. With AUE, as soon as a company notifies their depot repair provider about broken equipment, a replacement device is shipped out for delivery on the next business day. The company then returns the defective device to the depot repair service in the same shipping box.

Jared Benefield who uses this service at Electronic Services Equity Bank says, “Advanced Unit Exchange service saves me more time than any other product I use.”

Customizable options

Experienced depot repair services aim for a level of flexibility to create a repair program to fit any size company and budget. Popular options businesses often ask for and receive from providers include flat rate per-repair plans, time plus materials repair plans, or contracted service plans.

The ability of depot repair services to be molded to suit your unique budget and supply needs makes it one of the most useful third-party service agreements available today.

Depot repair helps keep the supply chain running smoothly.

Every company looks for new ways to gain a competitive advantage in their market. Every year, Gartner, the international research and advisory firm, releases their list of the most successful supply chains.

After identifying key performance indicators (KPIs), many businesses realize that supply chain improvements are needed to make further advancements.

Using a depot repair service for small device repair is an effective way to streamline the supply chain of any business by removing unnecessary waste and cost.