Using pallet assets to manage your asset inventory in the Enterprise Asset Workspace
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Summary of Using pallet assets to manage your asset inventory in the Enterprise Asset Workspace
ServiceNow’s Enterprise Asset Workspace allows you to efficiently manage your asset inventory by using pallet assets—containers that hold multiple assets—in various workflows such as transfer, disposal, resale, and consumption. Managing pallets streamlines handling grouped assets and ensures accurate tracking throughout their lifecycle, enhancing operational efficiency and inventory accuracy.
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Managing Pallets in Key Workflows
- Moving Pallets: Transfer orders enable moving in-stock pallets between stockrooms. When a pallet is moved, all its contained assets move together. If only some assets are moved, those assets are removed from the pallet record once the fulfillment task completes.
- Disposing of Pallets: Disposal orders allow you to dispose of pallets nearing end-of-life or non-functional status. You can choose to dispose of the pallet and all its assets, only certain assets, or retain the pallet while disposing of assets. Note that hardware and certain consumable assets cannot be disposed of this way and are marked as invalid instead.
- Reselling Pallets: Resale orders help reduce waste and save costs by reselling pallets and their assets. You can resell pallets with all assets, only certain assets, or retain some assets while reselling others. Hardware and non-enterprise consumables cannot be resold.
Consuming Assets Within Pallets
Assets contained in pallets can be consumed through multiple workflows, with the system automatically updating pallet asset records to reflect asset removal:
- Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA): Initiate replacement or repair of defective assets within pallets. Assets included in an RMA are removed from the pallet record.
- Local Order Subflow: Source and fulfill asset requests from a requester’s local stockroom. Assets sourced this way are removed from the pallet record after confirmation.
- Loaner Request Flow: Borrow assets temporarily. Loaned assets are removed from the pallet record after preparation tasks complete.
- Leased Asset Return Flow: Return leased assets before contract expiration to avoid penalties. Returned leased assets are removed from the pallet record after shipment tasks close.
Integration with IT Service Management Asset Management
The Asset Management application supports swapping assets within pallets, automatically updating pallet records to remove swapped assets. This integration ensures consistent asset tracking across ServiceNow applications.
Key Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
- Streamlined asset inventory management by grouping assets into pallets.
- Improved accuracy and efficiency in transferring, disposing, reselling, and consuming assets.
- Automated updates to pallet asset records reduce manual effort and errors.
- Support for multiple asset workflows ensures comprehensive lifecycle management.
- Compliance with asset state rules for disposal and resale maintains data integrity.
You can manage your asset inventory by using pallets and the assets contained within those pallets in your transfer orders, disposal orders, resale orders, and various consumption workflows.
Moving pallets between stockrooms
You can use transfer orders to move in-stock pallets from one stockroom to another. If you’re moving a pallet that contains assets, those assets are also moved as part of the same transfer order. If you move only the assets that are contained within a pallet, those assets are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record after the Ready for fulfillment task is closed.
For more information about transfer orders, see Create a transfer order in Enterprise Asset Workspace.
Disposing of pallets
- Dispose of both the pallet and all assets that are contained within that pallet.
- Dispose of both the pallet and only certain assets that are contained within that pallet. Any assets that you choose to retain are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record.
- Dispose of the pallet but retain all assets that are contained within that pallet. If you select this option, all assets are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record.
- Retain the pallet but dispose of all assets that are contained within that pallet. If you select this option, all assets are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record.
- Retain the pallet but dispose of only certain assets that are contained within that pallet. Any assets that you dispose of are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record.
For more information about disposal orders, see Create a disposal order in the Enterprise Asset Workspace.
Reselling pallets
- Resell both the pallet and all assets that are contained within that pallet.
- Resell both the pallet and only certain assets that are contained within that pallet. Any assets that you choose to retain are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record.
- Resell the pallet but retain all assets that are contained within that pallet. If you select this option, all assets are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record.
- Retain the pallet but resell all assets that are contained within that pallet. If you select this option, all assets are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record.
- Retain the pallet but resell only certain assets that are contained within that pallet. Any assets that you resell are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record.
For more information on resale orders, see Create an asset resale flow.
Consuming assets within a pallet
- Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) flow
A Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) is an agreement between a buyer and seller that allows the buyer to return, replace, or request the repair of a defective product within the specified warranty period. When an asset within a pallet becomes defective, you can initiate its replacement or repair by using an RMA order. Any assets that you include in an RMA order are automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record.
For more information about RMA orders, see Requesting a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) for defective enterprise assets.
- Local Order subflow
You can source and fulfill asset requests using assets that are available in the requester's local stockroom. When an asset within a pallet is sourced and consumed locally as part of an asset request, it’s automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record after the Enterprise Confirm asset task is closed.
For more information on sourcing assets from local stockrooms, see Source requests from Enterprise Asset workspace.
- Loaner Request flow
If you need to use an asset for only a short period of time, you can request to loan that asset by using a loaner request. When an asset within a pallet is loaned out, it’s removed from the corresponding pallet asset record after the Prepare task for the loaner request is closed.
For more information on loaning assets, see Request a loaner asset in Enterprise Asset Workspace.
- Leased Asset Return flow
If a contract for a leased asset is nearing its expiration, you can return the leased asset to the asset vendor before incurring any penalty fees. When a leased asset within a pallet is returned to the asset vendor, it is automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record after the Shipment task for the asset is closed.
For more information about returning leased assets, see Return a leased enterprise asset.
- Swap tasks from the IT Service Management Asset Management application
The ServiceNow® Asset Management application enables you to track and manage your assets. If you use the application to swap an asset within a pallet, that asset is automatically removed from the corresponding pallet asset record after it’s swapped.
For more information on the Asset Management application, see Asset Management.