Every asset has a life. It gets ordered, it arrives, it gets configured and handed to a user, it works for a few years, it breaks or becomes obsolete, and then it needs to go away properly. GLPI models this entire arc — and when configured correctly, it gives you hard data on where your money goes and when you will need to spend more.
The status workflow
GLPI ships with a set of default statuses, but the real value comes from customizing them to match your actual process. A practical status chain for most organizations looks like this:
- Ordered — purchase request approved, waiting for delivery
- In stock — received, sitting in the storeroom, not yet assigned
- Deployed — assigned to a user, location, or project
- Pending repair — pulled from service, waiting on parts or technician time
- On loan — temporarily assigned, expected back
- To be disposed — flagged for decommissioning
- Disposed — wiped, recycled, or sold; kept in records for audit trail
You configure these under Setup > Dropdowns > Status. Each status can be marked as visible or hidden in different asset views, which keeps the interface clean for technicians who only care about deployed gear.
Linking assets to financial records
A computer record on its own is inventory. A computer record linked to a purchase order, a supplier, a delivery date, and a warranty contract — that is asset management.
GLPI’s Management tab on each asset lets you attach:
- Purchase order number and date
- Supplier (linked to the Suppliers directory)
- Purchase price, book value, and amortization schedule
- Warranty start date, duration, and expiration
- Associated contract (maintenance, support, or lease)
When warranty expiration approaches, GLPI can trigger automatic notifications. This is the kind of alert that pays for itself the first time it catches a server falling out of vendor support.
Dispose vs. redeploy
When a laptop comes back from a departing employee, the question is simple: does it go back into the pool or into the recycling bin? GLPI helps you answer this with data rather than guesswork.
Check the asset’s age against your refresh cycle (typically 3-4 years for laptops, 5-7 for desktops). Check the repair history — if it has been to the bench three times in the last year, redeploying it just creates another ticket. Check the specs against current minimum requirements. If it passes all three checks, change its status to "In stock" and it is ready for the next new hire. If it fails any of them, move it to "To be disposed."
Disposal records matter
When you dispose of an asset, keep the GLPI record. Mark it as disposed, record the disposal date and method (WEEE recycling, resale, destruction), and if the device stored sensitive data, note the data sanitization method used. This is not just good practice — it is a compliance requirement under ISO 27001 and GDPR when the asset handled personal data.
Using lifecycle data for budget planning
Once you have two or three years of lifecycle data in GLPI, reporting becomes genuinely useful. You can answer questions that previously required guesswork:
- What is the average lifespan of our laptops before they become unreliable?
- How many assets will reach end-of-warranty next quarter?
- Which supplier’s hardware has the lowest repair rate?
- What is our actual annual cost per seat, including repairs and replacements?
GLPI’s saved searches and report plugins can surface these numbers directly. The data has been there all along — the lifecycle workflow just makes sure it gets captured consistently.