We invite everyone to familiarize yourself with the another case study created within the Circular Public Procurement.
HOLMRIS B8 is a company specialized in interior design and furniture solutions in four main segments: office, learning, hospitality and care. “HOLMRIS B8 Circular” is their business branch dealing with collection and refurbishment of used furniture.
Circularity of business model:
The circularity of HOLMRIS B8 Circular is based on reusing and facilitating for recycling. They increase reusing of furniture by offering refurbishment services or a rental option for temporary working stations. Furthemore, they prevent generation of waste furniture by acquiring (or even purchasing) used furniture, which then is refurbished and re-sold. The furniture which they cannot sell is donated through their network of charity organizations and Moreover, they promote recycling by sorting and preparing for recycling the furniture that is unable to be sold or donated. This prevents valuable resources, such as metal and wood, from being landfilled or incinerated.
Other benefits:
HOLMRIS B8 business model brings multiple benefits to the different customer than can be engaged through their activities. Amongst other:
1) Provide access to high quality (refurbished) furniture at a lower price compared to market standards.
2) Save on collection and disposal costs of undesired furniture. Even get a small income from it furniture, if it still has a high residual value. Furthermore, get an environmental report that describes the handling process and destination of disposed furniture i.e. what is resold, what is donated and to whom, as well as how much is send for recycling.
3) Provide the opportunity for changing upholstery or other modifications instead of purchasing new furniture.
4) Social benefits for organizations who are recipients of donated furniture, since they can improve the physical conditions of their working spaces without using their limited financial resources.
Main Barriers:
Collecting furniture presents difficulties, particularly when this is very diverse. The more homogenous the furniture, the easier it is to manage it. Furthermore, limited warehousing capability presents a barrier, which in addition to their objective of minimize unnecessary transportation of used furniture, pushes HOLMRIS B8 circular to find a suitable purchaser of the refurbished furniture as soon as possible. In terms of dealing with pre-owned furniture, the lack of information on the components (e.g. wood) of tables makes it difficult to meet strict standards from some markets, for example, public tenders. Lastly, trends in design also increase difficulty for refurbishment, for example, color of the wood or size of desks has changed considerably in recent years.
Photo: holmrisb8.com
