Accredited Microsoft Partner
Every Laptop Tracked and Costed
From Purchase to Resale
Cost and revenue tracking of laptop refurbished items from purchase, renovation to resell.
The Challenge
A2C managed its inventory across multiple heavy spreadsheets. Each laptop carried a serial number plus more than seventy technical specifications, and keeping the sheets up to date soon became impossible. The result was discrepancies in on-hand stock, duplicate serial numbers and difficulty tracking warranties, while refurbishment costs were absorbed into general overhead, so the true margin on each unit was unknown.
The Business
A2C Services is a BSI-certified refurbisher and remanufacturer of laptops, shipping several thousand units every month to hundreds of major customers worldwide from its operations in the UK and UAE. Every laptop is bought, classified, upgraded and resold as an individual unit with its own specification, cost and warranty. At this volume, profitability depends on knowing exactly what each unit is, what has been spent on it and what it sold for.
The Goal
The objective was to manage the whole refurbishment cycle in Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, so every laptop is classified, upgraded and costed with precision until it reaches the customer, and management can see the profit made on every unit.
The Strategy
Track every laptop by serial number
Each laptop is registered by its serial number together with its full technical specification, replacing the spreadsheets with a single source of truth. Every inbound and outbound movement is recorded against the serial, eliminating duplicates and keeping warranty information at hand.
Record upgrades and cost-to-laptop
Every upgrade performed during refurbishment is recorded against the specific unit, together with its cost. The purchase price and renovation costs build up on each laptop instead of disappearing into general overhead.
Connect cost to the sale
Sales orders are created in a few clicks from accurate, live stock, and each sale is matched to the full cost of the laptop sold. Management sees unit-level profitability and can price refurbished stock to protect margin.
“The Serial Number tracking solution has tremendously improved the traceability of our inventory. We can now get any information on our stock in a couple of clicks!”
Simon De Gruchy
Chief Operating Officer – A2C Services [UK]
The Results
Accurate stock at any time
The sales team sees reliable on-hand stock in the system at any moment, with no duplicate serials or spreadsheet discrepancies. Any information on a laptop is available in a couple of clicks.
Margin protected on every unit
Refurbishment margin improved by 24%, and loss-making product lines were identified and repriced within one quarter. Pricing decisions now rest on cost data rather than instinct.
More time with customers
Lengthy manual data entry was eliminated, so the sales team spends more time in the field offering solutions to customers. The operations team’s day-to-day work became less stressful, with every laptop’s movements tracked.
Related Work
Revenue recognition flexible and automated
