5 Minutes With Tony Cascio
We recently caught up with Metro Computers Director and founder Tony Cascio for a quick chat about some of the things that are top of his mind right now.
Q: Can you talk about how Metro Computers and HP work together to deliver sustainable solutions to businesses?
“I guess from my point of view, we’re all here on the same planet and it’s up to all of us to do what we can to help make sure our world is looked after. And I’m proud to say HP thinks the same way. In fact, the industry as a whole is starting to take its responsibilities very seriously and sustainability and recycling is a big part of that.
That’s why we support the programs HP has in place. They help us help our customers by making sure old, unwanted computer equipment, monitors, PCs, printers, inks and toners, individual components and packaging are disposed of in the correct way as opposed to just throwing it all in the bin and adding to landfills.
We’ve also noticed that some of the large corporate and government departments are now actually requesting a sustainability plan in their tender response documents, so it’s something that I think all businesses will need to address sooner rather than later.”
Q: What are some other initiatives businesses can implement to reach their sustainability goals?
“Well, we’ve got solar panels on our buildings that already produce over 32 kW of energy and we’re looking to expand that and increase the existing solar panels across the roof of the new warehouse we’ve bought next door. Plus, we’ve looked at what we can do internally around the office and warehouse and gotten rid of all our paper plates, plastic cutlery and other items that aren’t sustainable.
One of the biggest challenges is the recycling of packaging material. There’s a lot of waste, and obviously we want to make sure we recycle wherever we can, which means re-purposing the boxes that products arrive in so we can also use them to ship products out in.
It’s just little individual things but, when you put it all together, everything we do to minimise the amount of waste we create has a positive impact.”
Q: You mentioned the new warehouse, tell us more?
“I thought you’d never ask. This is something we’re all really proud of. The building we’re currently in has about 580sqm floor space, which includes our offices and a pallet capacity of around 120. But demand keeps increasing, so we decided to purchase the building next door purely for warehousing, increasing our storage capability by another 180 pallets. We recently wrote an article about it for anyone who wants to learn more.”
Q: What does that mean for your customers?
“Everyone recognises that COVID has put increased strain on the supply chain and in some cases delays of ten to twelve weeks are not uncommon. The new warehouse means we can stockpile many more items so we’re ready to respond instantly. It gives businesses peace of mind, knowing what they need is just one phone call or email away.
It’s also one of the reasons we’re seeing more and more businesses look to us for stockholding agreements, where we order and carry stock specifically for them. They know that when they have a performance issue or see an end-of-life deadline approaching, we’re already one step ahead of them and have the right component or replacement product they need on our shelves.”
Q: What are businesses looking for right now?
“From an operating standpoint, it’s all about continuity. Remote working, COVID-affected supply issues and the chance to upgrade offices at a time when it causes minimum disruption have all had an impact on product availability. Overcoming the supply bottleneck is a real challenge, and one our new warehouse should help prevent in the future.
From a hardware point of view, we’re seeing a lot of interest in the latest HP Elite PC range. They’re beautifully designed and super powerful, and that’s proving to be an irresistible combination for a lot of companies.
And because we’re carrying stock and can deliver within a reasonable timeframe, we’re very happy about that too.”
Are you considering upgrading your devices? Get in touch with Metro Computers to learn more about the latest HP devices powered by Intel® and whether they’re the right fit for your business needs.
