Cisco Revamps, Rebrands Equipment Refurb Program, Adds Partner Incentives

Cisco (CSCO) has overhauled its 14-year old Cisco Certified Refurbished Equipment (CCRE) program, rebranding it to Cisco Refresh and adding new products, tools and incentives to encourage partners to engage in the so-called “secondary market.”

With 500 products newly-added to the Cisco Refresh portfolio, the vendor’s inventory of refurbished equipment now stands at about 4,000 products, including switches, routers and technology in wireless, IP telephony and security, wrote Alastair Borissow, Cisco Refresh Worldwide Strategy Planning and Sales Operations director, in a blog post outlining the new program.

Borissow, a 16-year Cisco veteran, runs the vendor’s $200 million Cisco Capital Refresh organization.

“To address the growing secondary market, and provide a price-competitive and trusted alternative in those cases when buying new equipment is not an option, Cisco Capital is evolving its CCRE program to become Cisco Refresh,” he said.

“We maintain a large inventory of older and end-of-sale models needed to maintain installed network configurations or to optimize IT resources between planned migrations or upgrades. Our inventory of current models provides a solution if new product availability cannot accommodate your delivery requirements,” Borissow said.

Refurbished products under the Cisco Refresh banner are sold through Cisco channel partners and the vendor’s Cisco Commerce Workspace. Remanufactured gear carries the same Cisco warranty and service support options as if buying new, the company said.

Cisco partners worldwide selling through the Cisco Refresh program will be able to use the vendor’s 1 Click Tool (1CT), a billing and discount calculator. In addition, Cisco is offering partners additional rebates on eligible Cisco Refresh sales, Borissow said. Partners will be encouraged to add their own services into a blended solution that includes Cisco Refresh equipment.

Cisco’s global distributors will have full access to the Cisco Refresh inventory and can carry a range of products either in stock or available on request. Leasing and financing offers are available through Cisco Capital, the vendor said.