In this day and age, use and hoarding of electronic items has increased significantly. We have become increasingly dependent on electronic devices in virtually every aspect of life, from wi-fi connected Roomba vacuums to home assistants such as Alexa, Google Home and smart thermostats. Demand for personal electronics has also surged with each household owning dozens of devices and accessories such as wireless headphones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, smartphones and more.
This has resulted in greater pressure on the natural resources necessary for the production of such goods. Industry experts now express worry about looming shortages of key elements such as gold, silver, zinc, indium, and gallium, with some projections showing depletion within 50 short years. Further, discarded electronic items end up in landfills, causing great damage to the environment. In light of these considerations, refurbishing of electronic devices and moving towards a circular economy assume much significance.
Refurbishing refers to renewing or updating an item until it is functional, approved for use, and in an AGAiN (As Good as New) condition, ready to be sold again. When we buy a refurbished electronic item, we prevent it from entering a landfill, and decrease pressure on the environment.
HyperXchange (HX), a Kolkata-based firm founded in 2016 with the aim of refurbishing used electronic items and making them easily available at cheaper rates, is disrupting the reverse logistics supply chain through developments in software such as Faraday and ELVIS across procurement, last-mile repair and buyback. HX leverages connected technologies across the value chain to build scalable and traceable processes with quantifiable and actionable feedback to learn and improve.