Why HP now lets its sales partners offer refurbished equipment

HP Inc. is encouraging its third-party sales partners to sell refurbished versions of its personal computers and printers by compensating them at the same rate they would receive for new products.

The initiative was created to support HP Renew Solutions, a business unit formed in November 2023 to expand sales of HP Certified Refurbished technology. These are products returned to HP by commercial customers when leases expire or during technology upgrade cycles, reconditioned with fresh components and offered for resale. 

Effective immediately, any HP sales partner authorized to sell HP products can also represent the secondhand editions. They were previously only sold through HP’s direct sales representatives. 

HP’s third-party sales channel drives approximately 85 percent of the company’s annual revenue, according to past company statements. The company reported $54 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2024.

“Leaving the channel out of this would have been myopic,” said Claudia Contreras, vice president of HP Renew Solutions.

More buyers want secondhand products

HP’s program is similar to one offered by networking gear manufacturer Cisco for its remanufactured equipment. Cisco’s original program has been available for nearly three decades, but Cisco introduced a circularity promotion in January 2024 to make it more lucrative for partners to sell remanufactured gear. Cisco’s indirect sales channel accounts for close to 90 percent of its revenue.

Customer interest in refurbished options covered by HP guarantees about quality — important for erasing a potential stigma against reused computers and information technology — convinced the company to turn HP Renew Solutions into a standalone business initiative with undisclosed revenue goals. 

HP’s pledge is for 75 percent of its product and packaging content, by weight, to come from recycled, renewable or reused materials or components by 2030.

“We want to make sure that we are participating not just in the first life of these products but also in the second life,” Contreras said.

The portfolio of refurbished products available for resale to commercial customers varies depending on the region, she said. 

Certain personal computers are available in France, Spain, U.K. and U.S. One example is a refurbished version of HP’s EliteBook laptop computer that has a carbon footprint that is 60 percent lower than the original edition, she estimated. (The percentage varies depending on the product.) More recently, refurbished printers can be included as part of managed services contracts in the U.S. and European Union.

“If you are a company that is making bold and public claims about reducing emissions, this offers a very measurable way to lower the impact of your IT assets,” Contreras said. 

Sustainability metrics as deal closers

The new program supporting refurbished products is an extension of initiatives HP started offering in 2020 in response to commercial customer requests for more information about the energy consumption and carbon footprint metrics associated with HP’s products.

HP’s ability to offer information about sustainability as part of sales discussions translated into more than $1 billion in sales in fiscal 2020 and 2021. The company didn’t disclose data for 2023, the latest year for which an HP environmental information is available. Its next report is due in several weeks.

HP created the Amplify Impact certification in 2021 for sales partners that use sustainability metrics to close deals. More than half of HP certified partners have completed that training. HP declined to disclose how many partners are part of the overall Amplify program, citing competitive reasons, but past reports put the number around 10,000.

Compensating HP partners equally for new and certified refurbished products allows salespeople to focus on customer needs, said Mary Beth Walker, vice president and head of global partner experience and engagement at HP.

“We made a collective decision that in markets where HP Renew Solutions are available, we would equally incentivize all partners to equip customers working to adopt greater circularity,” she said.

Creating a level playing field was helpful, said Prashant Singh, vice president of end point solutions at HP partner Insight. “As a solutions integrator, we focus on helping clients get more from their device investments — not just at the point of purchase but throughout the entire lifecycle,” Singh said. “The flexibility and support to sell HP Certified Refurbished devices has been essential for keeping our clients productive even when budgets are tight.”