Best Smart Locker Vendors for IT Asset Management

Smart locker vendors worth evaluating for IT asset management include ForwardPass, Velocity Smart Technology, Ricoh, Traka, LapSafe, Signifi Solutions, and IVM. The right shortlist depends on how each system connects device handoffs to your asset records, security policies, and daily IT workflows.

Picture a replacement laptop collected before your service desk opens. The employee can work again. Your team still needs to know which laptop left, whether the original came back, and what changed in the asset register.

Those are the differences this comparison examines. ForwardPass publishes this guide and is included among the providers. We compare documented approaches and the evidence you should request, rather than assign an overall winner without comparable testing.

Smart locker vendors at a glance

A useful smart locker comparison starts with the job you need the system to do. These seven providers document IT device use cases, although their platforms, delivery models, and integration approaches differ.

This review uses published product documentation and customer material checked on October 29, 2026. The suggested fits are our editorial assessment. “Documented” means described by the provider; configuration and contract details still need confirmation. A capability not established in the material reviewed should remain an open question, rather than become a “No.”

How smart lockers fit into IT asset management

Smart lockers contribute records of physical device handoffs to IT asset management. They control access to equipment and record supported pickup and return events, helping IT connect an assignment in software with activity at a physical location.

Their role sits alongside other systems:

• ITAM maintains inventory, ownership, assignment, and lifecycle information.
• ITSM manages requests, approvals, incidents, and repair work.
• MDM manages endpoint settings, policies, and device state.
• Locker software manages authorised access and the supported handoff workflow.

NIST's IT asset management guidance explains the value of combining physical and digital asset information. Knowing where a laptop is stored and knowing its operating system answer different questions.

Start your locker provider evaluation by defining which information must reach your system of record.

For a broader view of those responsibilities, review the hardware asset management lifecycle.

Parcel collection and personal storage involve different requirements. Include a provider with a mixed portfolio when its quoted solution demonstrates the IT workflows you need.

Seven providers to evaluate for IT device handoffs

The profiles below outline each provider’s approach to IT device handoffs, the details to verify, and a practical demo test. Use the same requirements across all seven to compare workflow fit and implementation responsibilities consistently.

ForwardPass

ForwardPass organises daily device handoffs into self-service workflows for Loaners, Repairs, Deployments, Replacements, and Charging. Its smart locker workflows let users collect or return devices while IT retains visibility into supported activity.

For integration, ForwardPass describes configured webhook connections that can update device records, create or update tickets, and notify teams. Confirm the events and mapping your environment requires. For audit and security, review Portal records, authentication options, and the applicable SOC 2 report for the Enhanced configuration being quoted.

Demo test: Follow a replacement pickup with an outstanding return. Ask the team to show the Portal status and the corresponding external IT record.

Velocity Smart Technology

If ServiceNow is central to your device fulfilment process, examine Velocity’s approach to running locker workflows within that platform. Its Smart Collect application is described as running inside the customer's ServiceNow instance, with workflows for collection, break-fix replacement, lending, and returns.

That architecture may suit teams that want locker activity managed within their existing ServiceNow environment. Establish the required licences, implementation work, and supported asset tables. For audit and security, examine transaction history, administrator permissions, and the scope of the proposed deployment.

Demo test: Run a break-fix exchange through your intended ServiceNow workflow. Verify what updates automatically, what remains open, and how an interrupted transaction is recovered.

Ricoh

Ricoh combines smart locker delivery with wider managed services, making the service scope a central part of its evaluation. In a published utility customer deployment, Ricoh describes locker workflows connected through APIs to ServiceNow tickets and SAP inventory and cost allocation.

That example demonstrates a delivered project, rather than a universal specification for every Ricoh offer. Confirm the current hardware, software, and service scope. For audit and security, request sample transaction reports and documentation for the actual platform and operating model proposed.

Demo test: Trace a laptop collection into the asset and ticket records. Establish who stocks devices, investigates exceptions, and supports the complete service.

Traka

Traka covers equipment control across laptops, handheld devices, scanners, and other assets, making it relevant to mixed equipment programs. Its intelligent locker range documents access control, charging, audit logs, and connections with HR, access control, and third-party systems.

Traka also describes RFID-based item identification within its locker capabilities. Confirm which identification method and hardware apply to your devices. For audit and security, inspect the item history, access permissions, and handling of faulty equipment. Establish the specific route into your ITAM platform.

Demo test: Return a different device from the one issued. Ask how the quoted configuration identifies the mismatch and preserves the transaction history.

LapSafe

For device lending and centralised locker administration, LapSafe offers its cloud-based ONARKEN management platform. Its ONARKEN platform documents reporting, audit trails, API support, and webhook functionality. Published return controls include requiring a device to be connected to charging and the door closed to complete a return.

Confirm which controls and verification features are included with your proposed hardware and software. For audit and security, review user permissions, transaction exports, and the relevant platform documentation. Establish whether your ITSM connection is a maintained connector or a configured integration.

Demo test: Leave a return incomplete. Examine the user's instructions, loan status, notification, and administrator view.

Signifi Solutions

Signifi combines device lockers and hardware dispensing for teams managing both within the same program. Its SignifiVISION platform supports equipment tracking, and the company describes RESTful API connections with ITSM systems including ServiceNow and Remedy.

Clarify how the locker and vending components share inventory and permissions. For audit and security, request transaction exports, administrator activity records, and assurance documents for the quoted platform. Distinguish available functions from custom implementation work.

Demo test: Complete an approved equipment issue and return. Check the device identifier, user record, and external update at each stage, including what happens if one step is cancelled.

IVM

IVM offers laptop distribution alongside peripheral vending, allowing buyers to evaluate both parts of equipment access together. Its SmartLocker supports device pickup and return, while SmartHub provides management and transaction tracking. IVM describes API and webhook connections with platforms including ServiceNow and Zendesk.

For audit and security, examine the transaction record, export options, permissions, and relevant assurance evidence. Confirm implementation and service coverage for your locations. Where cellular connectivity is proposed, include that deployment in your security review.

Demo test: Interrupt an external update after collection. Ask who receives the exception, how it is retried, and how IT avoids a duplicate assignment or ticket.

Compare four capabilities before you shortlist

Evaluate each provider across four areas: integration, audit trails, security, and workflow automation. In each area, check what the quoted configuration supports, what requires additional setup, and how exceptions are handled.

ITAM and ITSM integration

Integration should move the right handoff information into the right IT record, with a clear owner when something fails. Three approaches deserve separate evaluation:

• An application running within an existing IT platform.
• A maintained connector between platforms.
• A configured or custom API and webhook connection.

Any approach needs a defined scope. Ask which system owns the device assignment, which events trigger an update, and who maintains the connection after an upgrade.

Use one sample transaction to map the user ID, device ID, ticket reference, event, time, location, and status. Then test a missing field, duplicate event, and failed update. SSO confirms identity; it does not establish that asset records synchronise.

For linked returns and pickups, this guide to tracked device returns and replacements explains what each system needs to contribute.

Audit trails and device accountability

A useful audit trail lets IT reconstruct a handoff: who acted, which device was involved, where it happened, and the outcome. NIST SP 800-53 provides a reference for audit content, protection, and retention.

Ask for a sample export covering a pickup, return, failed attempt, and administrator intervention. Check timestamps, searchable identifiers, retention periods, and who can change or delete records.

Also establish how the physical item is checked. A door-opening event establishes access. Device identification may depend on a scan, RFID detection, user entry, or technician inspection. Charging detection can establish a connection without necessarily verifying the device's identity.

Our smart locker audit trail guide explores the records to inspect.

Security controls and assurance

Security evaluation covers the cabinet, user access, administrator access, software, and ongoing support. Ask how access is revoked, how privileged actions are logged, and what authorisation remains available during an outage.

Request applicable SOC 2 reports or ISO 27001 certificates with their scope and dates. Check which system and operations are covered. Hardware safety and regional conformity marks answer different questions from cloud security assurance.

CISA's Secure by Demand Guide, published in 2024, encourages buyers to examine product security as part of procurement. Apply that approach to vulnerability reporting, updates, and incident response as well as assurance documents. A locker alone does not establish regulatory compliance.

Workflow automation

Workflow automation should make both the user's next step and IT's remaining work clear. Test the tasks that matter to your program: temporary loans, repair drop-offs, new-device collections, permanent replacements, or charging.

Look beyond the successful pickup. What happens when a loan is overdue, a deployment is uncollected, or a replacement is issued before the original returns? Which state changes automatically, and which action needs a technician?

With ForwardPass, Loaners and Replacements serve different needs: a temporary device has a future return obligation; a permanent exchange connects a returned device with its replacement. Make those distinctions explicit in the demo and external records.

Build a defensible vendor shortlist

Start vendor selection with mandatory requirements: your device sizes and charging needs, authentication policy, required workflows, locations, and acceptable deployment model. A vendor that cannot meet a mandatory requirement should not advance on the strength of unrelated features.

Then weight the remaining criteria. This example is an adjustable evaluation tool, not a set of vendor ratings.

Score each criterion from 0 to 3: 0 means it cannot be met; 1 is a claim; 2 is documented; 3 is demonstrated in the required environment. Multiply each percentage weight by its score divided by three, then add the results. Leave unknowns pending and withhold the total until resolved.

Give every shortlisted vendor the same three tests:

1. Complete a normal loan and return. Inspect the user's experience and both systems' records.
2. Leave a return incomplete or return the wrong device. Identify what remains open and who acts next.
3. Fail an external update, then recover it. Check notification, retry, reconciliation, and duplicate handling.

Record outcomes and owners. Include accessibility, building access hours, network requirements, and regional support in the decision. Compare three-year quotes on the same scope rather than cabinet price alone.

A customer result worth testing against

At Hudsonville High School, technology specialist Christopher Morse supports around 2,200 students. Before ForwardPass, his morning loaner review involved checking email, spreadsheets, and Incident IQ and took 30–45 minutes. With ForwardPass, he reports reviewing the same information in about five minutes.

Hudsonville's loaner management results describe one school's experience, not a guaranteed saving. They suggest a useful pilot measure for any device pool: how long does IT spend finding out what is out, overdue, or awaiting follow-up? Measure that work before and during your trial.

Frequently asked questions

Which smart locker vendors integrate with ServiceNow or other IT systems?

Several providers reviewed here document ServiceNow connections, but their delivery methods differ. Velocity describes Smart Collect as running inside the customer's ServiceNow instance. Signifi and IVM describe API-based connections, and Ricoh documents a customer deployment using APIs with ServiceNow and SAP. LapSafe publishes API and webhook support. ForwardPass describes configured webhooks for connecting supported handoff events to external systems.

Treat those descriptions as the start of a technical conversation. Confirm the product version, licences, events, and fields included in your proposal. Ask whether the connection updates an ITSM request, an ITAM asset assignment, or both. Those are different outcomes.

For example, creating a repair ticket after drop-off does not necessarily update a device's assigned user or lifecycle status. Your implementation needs to define those actions and their sequence. Before signing, ask the vendor to complete your required workflow and recover a failed update in the intended environment. Establish who owns the connection throughout the contract.

What should an IT equipment locker audit trail show?

An IT equipment locker audit trail should identify the user, device, event, location, timestamp, and outcome sufficiently clearly for IT to reconstruct the handoff. Where a workflow connects to another system, a ticket or transaction reference helps reconcile the records. Administrator interventions should also be visible.

The strength of the record depends on how the device is identified. Opening a bay shows access; it does not by itself prove that the expected laptop was placed inside. Ask whether the workflow relies on user entry, a barcode scan, RFID detection, charging status, or a technician's inspection, and what each method establishes.

Request an export showing a normal return and an exception. Can you identify the device, follow the event sequence, and see what remains unresolved? Then confirm retention, export formats, time-zone handling, and permissions to alter records. A useful audit trail should support your follow-up process after the user has walked away from the locker.

How much does a smart locker system cost?

A useful smart locker price includes the hardware, software, installation, integration, and service required for your use case. A cabinet-only quote will not show the full cost of running a device handoff program. Obtain comparable proposals for the same device capacity, workflows, locations, and contract period.

Include the kiosk, authentication hardware, charging accessories, subscriptions, configuration, training, support, replacement parts, and any integration development or maintenance. Ask which charges recur, what happens when you add capacity, and whether exporting your records at contract end carries a fee. Confirm who performs each operational task, including stocking and exception handling.

For IT equipment storage, cabinet capacity is a starting point. For device handoffs, you also need to assess availability and the work IT still performs. Use a three-year comparison that combines written supplier costs with your own measured administration time. That gives procurement a clearer basis for assessing whether the proposed system fits its price.