In May, we announced that Foxway Circular UK Ltd won the King’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation for SMART by Foxway. His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Essex, Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, has now visited our UK operations in Braintree to formally present the award.
Winning a King’s Award is a big moment. Receiving it at the site where the platform was built, surrounded by the colleagues who built it, is something else.
A day for the team
For Martin Series, Senior Director, Global Services Solutions at Foxway, the presentation was about the people behind the platform:
“Today was about our people. SMART was built here in Braintree to solve a problem on our own refurbishment floor, and its success is thanks to the people who developed and grew it, together with the refurbishers around the world who have embraced the platform. Having the King’s Award presented here, in front of the team who made it happen, is something we will all remember and can be incredibly proud of.”
From a local fix to a global platform
SMART began as a solution to our own challenges with compliant Windows licensing. The legitimate route, the Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher programme, has traditionally required on-premise servers, specialist knowledge and high volumes. That put it out of reach for many refurbishers. SMART moved the whole process to the cloud, so refurbishers can register, buy genuine licences and install them without any infrastructure.
Ben Daniels, Head of Software & Licensing Solutions at Foxway, said:
“When people think about refurbishing technology, the focus is often on the physical condition of a device, how it looks and feels. But there’s an equally important process happening behind the scenes, from software and licensing to drivers, automation and compliance. To see something we originally developed to solve challenges in our own refurbishment operations now being used by more than 1,150 refurbishers across 60 countries is incredibly rewarding.”
Alongside licensing, SMART helps refurbishers save time and protect their margins. It flags Autopilot locks before devices ship and installs Microsoft-signed drivers during licensing. Refurbishers also get tools to prove compliance to their buyers.
SMART by the numbers
- More than 1,150 refurbishers across 60 countries
- More than 1,000,000 genuine Windows licences installed
- 75,000 devices protected by SMARTShield, which blocks duplicate licence installs, saving refurbishers an estimated £1.5 million
- Microsoft Innovation Award 2021 and Microsoft Partner Award 2024, now joined by the King’s Award
Recognition for circular tech
Patrick Höijer, CEO of Foxway Group, said:
“Our ambition at Foxway is to enable circular tech by keeping devices in use for longer. SMART demonstrates how innovation can support refurbishment and circularity at scale, and the King’s Award is fantastic recognition of the Braintree team who made it possible.”
Learn more about SMART by Foxway and how it helps refurbishers license devices compliantly.