A custody record is useful when the next person can follow it. For an IT asset disposition operation, that means connecting the customer’s job, the shipment, the received material, the individual asset, and its final authorized outcome.
1. Start with the job and the agreed service
Give the job a stable reference. Identify the customer, pickup and delivery locations, responsible contacts, intended service, and any special handling instructions. A resale program and a physical-destruction program may share a receiving process but require different evidence and outcomes.
2. Record the transport events separately
Distinguish assignment, scheduled pickup, actual shipment, transit, and delivery. Record who supplied the update and when the event occurred. A planned date should never stand in for an actual pickup or receipt.
3. Reconcile the arriving pallets and packages
Receive against shipment lines. Keep expected and observed pallet counts, piece counts, and weights separate. Add comments to a handling unit when packaging is damaged, a seal is broken, or the contents differ. Record the approval that resolves a discrepancy.
Delivery and accepted receipt are separate events. The carrier may record a delivery before the receiving team has counted and accepted the material.
4. Connect serialized assets to their source
Assign each asset its own internal identifier. Keep the manufacturer serial and customer asset tag in separate fields. Retain the job and source receiving lot or pallet, so the equipment can be traced back to the inbound record.
5. Give removed media its own record
A removed drive should remain traceable to its parent device. Record its identifier, intended handling, responsible person, and supporting evidence. “Pulled for destruction” describes the next action; it does not mean destruction has already happened.
6. Tie disposition to the supporting movement
Record the authorized outcome and the shipment or other evidence that supports it. For a mixed-disposition job, follow each asset’s path rather than assuming the entire shipment received the same treatment.
7. Review before closeout
Check unresolved holds, incomplete audits, unreviewed evidence, and required documents. Keep the person who reviewed the job and the closeout event in the activity record. A meaningful closeout says the required work has been checked.
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