This social tech giant discovered the extensibility of Apkudo’s device recovery software firsthand. By integrating with Apkudo's platform, the customer brought even more speed and data visibility to the recovery and disposition of its leased Apple devices. The customer’s story shows the power of Apkudo's Recover software—and the possibilities for using its integration capabilities to accelerate internal processes.
The customer is well-known for providing an exceptional employee experience. One way the company does this is by giving employees the tools they need to do their jobs well. The social tech company leases Apple devices for employees through Apple Financial Services (AFS) as part of this commitment.
The financing company uses Apple Lifecycle Manager—a dedicated instance of Apkudo's Recover software—to drive its device recovery efforts. Customers like this use the platform to track device recovery and ensure they satisfy all lease obligations. Once recovered, devices are sent to a remarketing partner for processing and then recycled, reused, or resold on the secondary market.
When the customer began using Apkudo's Recover software, leaders realized they could also use the solution to liquidate retired company-owned Apple devices in its California warehouse. The customer’s engineers quickly built integrations using Apkudo's APIs to further streamline the device recovery process.
Working closely with Apple Financial Services, Apkudo confirmed the lease return schedule to understand the cadence of the customer’s needs and identify periods of high device volume.
Utilizing the Apkudo APIs, the customer’s world-class engineers took just four weeks to do what no other company had before—they reinvented the device unlocking process, removing a significant bottleneck in recovery timelines.
It’s easy to integrate Apkudo’s Recover software with existing IT and end-user systems, including asset management systems and endpoint security software.
Like most large companies, the customer uses mobile device management to enroll, configure, monitor, and secure—or lock—employees’ company-provided devices, including the leased Apple devices. These device locks prohibit unauthorized access to valuable corporate data. However, leasing contracts usually stipulate that devices be returned unlocked. Companies that fail to unlock recovered devices often face penalties or fees.
Device unlocking can be a complex and time-consuming process involving a maze of stakeholders and systems. The longer the process takes, the more likely lease terms will be broken. In addition, devices that cannot be unlocked must be recycled rather than reused, creating unnecessary waste.
The customer’s engineers solved this issue using Apkudo's APIs. When a device processor classifies a device as locked on the platform, it triggers an API-powered workflow calling to the customer’s system to unlock the device—with a 99.9% unlocking success rate. A process that used to take days or weeks now happens as fast as the data transfers. Because data is standardized in the Recover software, the customer also uses it to reconcile processed device information with internal systems.
Apkudo's partnership with the customer has gone global. In 2024, the company began using Apple Lifecycle Manager to dispatch devices to European processors. The customer’s UK warehouse is the collection point for all Apple-leased employee devices in the United Kingdom and European Union.
Apkudo has recovered more than 35,000 employee devices for the customer, with at least another 10,000 planned. The tech giant claims reporting timelines are faster, and compliance certificates are easier to obtain—significant improvements over its previous experience working with a traditional ITAD facilitator. Thanks to the Apkudo Recover software’s flexibility, the customer connects device recovery data with internal data for more transparency and reconciliation across the device lifecycle.
Standardizing recovery-related data has been a game-changer because processes can scale where data can be standardized. The API integrations enable seamless data flows and new visibility into the recovery process. Data is also consistent for every batch of devices, regardless of which remarketing partner processes the devices.
Apkudo’s device recovery experts follow tested and proven best practices for working across the secondary device market and manage remarketing and processor relationships for Apple Financial Services and the customer. Apkudo’s services include overseeing recovery logistics, scheduling freight pickups, and ensuring remarketers process devices in a timely manner.
The customer’s IT mobility managers know the device recovery process is consistent and pain-free with Apkudo as a partner. Together, the customer and Apkudo are making the device return process easy for employees, reinforcing the customer’s commitment to an exceptional employee experience.
The customer realized its vision by fully utilizing Apkudo's Recover software for leased Apple devices. The device unlocking process that used to take days or weeks now happens as fast as the data transfers via API—and with a 99.9% unlocking success rate.
Automate employee device recovery
Increase lease obligation compliance
35,000+ devices recovered
10,000 refresh underway
United States
United Kingdom
Global technology conglomerate that owns and operates social media, software platforms, hardware, and services connecting people and businesses.
