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Asset Tracking
Asset Tracking is an indispensable component of key asset management, helping track, monitor, and locate physical assets.
Furthermore, A wide range of asset Tracking tools help implement this solution successfully.
Once upon a time, asset tracking required barcodes, QR codes, or GPS tags; today, however, thanks to smart technologies, asset tracking is now possible using RFID tags, GPS receivers, Bluetooth modules, Wi-Fi modules, or passive RFID tags, which can connect directly with software platforms for real-time tracking of assets.
Asset Tracking Vs. Inventory Tracking
It is crucial for companies who utilize and store inventory to understand the distinctions between tracking assets and inventory tracking, in particular, if your firm relies on both to create products or provide services (for instance, machines or forklifts for creating goods) or as services (like cars and construction equipment for providing services), between asset tracking (which focuses on physical assets only) and inventory tracking.
What Is Asset Tracking Software ?
Once your business accumulates an abundance of assets, tracking them manually becomes virtually impossible. Asset tracking software provides a solution that's both simple and user-friendly: just plug a tracking device into an asset tracking database for simple asset monitoring of vehicles or assets - this keeps tabs on them all as well as orders such as spare parts requests - making all this information easily accessible in one central place.
Asset Tracking: History
For decades, assets were tracked manually on paper - everything from inventory control and checkout tracking, due dates for items, and any subsequent returns was documented by hand.
Computers provided an easier method for tracking assets; however, manual input was still required by humans before entering them into an asset management system. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software revolutionized asset tracking by automating the management of organizational resources.
ERPs are widely utilized; however, their primary drawback lies in the inefficient tracking of items compared with their rival systems, such as ERPs.
While ERP can keep an inventory tracker updated quickly enough for large retail inventory management needs, portable scanners have become more widespread to ease some of this burden; most scanners still need physical contact between PC and scanner, though.
Mobile computing has revolutionized point of sale (POS) systems; although previously, they could interact with ERP software, their flexibility remains lacking compared to what's possible today.
Mobile computing has altered this equation yet further. Handheld devices allow individuals to freely move between assets without being restricted by physical tethers, unlike fixed systems which must remain tied down physically.
These mobile computers contain their own memory storage capacity so as to allow the use of data collected as required without connecting to a network connection or needing the Internet.
Scan data stored and uploaded as necessary are then uploaded via their own memory storage capabilities on these handhelds.
Smartphones equipped with high-resolution cameras provide more exciting new possibilities today, from barcode scanning applications that send their data straight into a cloud repository to barcode scanner apps that quickly capture barcode images for upload to social networks or cloud services.
Barcodes
Barcodes can be found almost everywhere today, and mobile scanning technology has increased its utility significantly.
Barcodes are an easy and efficient way of tracking assets with low costs and versatility that is quick and simple to use; their popularity makes them the number one method in tracking assets worldwide. They require manual orientation as well as a line of sight in order to scan.
RFID Tags
An RFID tag, commonly referred to as an electronic tag or chip, sends real-time data about objects back to a receiver via radio waves.
RFID asset tags can scan multiple objects simultaneously at various distances while being scannable from a distance. Unfortunately, they tend to be more costly due to technological restrictions or range limitations and sometimes miss signal scanning altogether.
GPS
GPS system tracking devices offer an effective means of keeping tabs on where assets are. By regularly transmitting location updates from attached assets back into a central database, no human intervention is needed in their tracking process, with no human interaction needed for asset location updates either.
GPS trackers tend to be more expensive, thus used mostly with higher-valued items or large volumes requiring tracking; they are less effective for low-cost items with large quantities that need tracking simultaneously.
Real-time location data are provided passively via sensors which send real-time alerts if an asset moves suddenly or changes its position suddenly, while passive alerts will notify users if an asset suddenly changes location due to interference between its signal and satellite; furthermore, they only provide locational information and cannot be removed once stored within memory or from memory cards either!
Scanning Hardware: Rugged Devices Or Smartphones
Barcode scanners fall into two broad categories of equipment - rugged physical devices such as barcode readers or smartphones.
Rugged devices are handheld portable computers designed for specific tasks. Rugged devices are sturdy enough to withstand general handling in harsh environments as well as weather and water extremes and usually feature longer battery life or extendable batteries for fieldwork.
Although more costly than smartphones, rugged devices remain popular options among organizations due to faster scanning speed, reduced durability issues significantly, enhanced security protection features, and streamlined operations as compared with many consumer devices, which vary over time and present potential security vulnerabilities.
Smartphones offer more accessible tracking solutions than rugged or specialized devices; warehouse personnel who track inventory often already own smartphones on which they can load relevant software applications.
Smartphone scanners tend to be lighter, cheaper, and simpler for their users; therefore, they tend to be preferred.
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Asset Management To Suit Your Needs
Businesses of various kinds track assets of various kinds, their inventory levels, and where they move. Each business may find that different asset management options better suit its network connectivity, mobility needs, or tracking requirements.
Digital asset management offers many benefits when transitioning from old systems or pen-and-paper approaches, particularly if switching over from the former approach.
Seven main benefits stand out among them.
Increase Asset Visibility
It's no secret that every business consists of various assets with specific purposes - physical assets, digital assets, and IT assets like computers/servers/software, etc.
all play their own unique part, and their number increases with every increase in company size - this task becomes ever more cumbersome as an organization grows with each passing day; logging each of them individually becomes time-consuming over time if logging each one manually is the way forward.
Asset management tools are necessary for making certain all assets can be located and identified easily and quickly, including asset tracking, which stores this data in an asset register or database.
An asset register contains extensive details of every physical asset owned, such as: Asset visibility benefits all businesses of every variety; 79% of firms acknowledge an asset visibility deficit due to the pandemic outbreak.
Real-Time Tracking Of Equipment, Personnel, Vehicles, And Facilities
The fixed assets of an enterprise are living organisms; they move around constantly while appearing and disappearing into various locations across its operations.
Real-time asset tracking, therefore, constitutes an invaluable element of asset management.
Asset tracking labels and tags allow businesses to keep an eye on vehicles, equipment, and inventory in real-time.
Each tag offers specific advantages depending on your specific need - RFID tags, Barcodes, QR Codes, NFC tags GPS trackers offer their own set of advantages that you should carefully consider before selecting.
Asset managers can utilize real-time asset management software to update registers with accurate information in real-time, while manually editing spreadsheet fields could lead to costly mistakes, and 88% of spreadsheets contain at least one error.
Ghost Assets
Recognizing and Deleting Ghost assets refers to assets listed on your asset register that cannot be physically located; such equipment could include stolen, lost, misfiled, and inaccurately recorded equipment.
Asset management systems can assist in eliminating ghost assets with features like real-time tracking. You won't pay insurance premiums or taxes on assets that do not exist!
Gain Access To Asset Data At Any Time
A cloud-based asset system offers many benefits to employees of a company. Your entire database can be accessed anytime from any location by any employee of the firm - unlike spreadsheets which cannot offer such accessibility.
Asset Management systems can be accessed remotely using mobile phones through dedicated websites or applications, providing users access to view, update and add assets to a register - providing field technicians, asset managers, inventories managers, and maintenance engineers all with access to essential data necessary for fulfilling their tasks effectively.
Update your data using mobile devices equipped with barcode scanners and cameras that come equipped with QR and Barcode readers as well as QR/Barcode readers.
Spreadsheets, And Other Whiteboards Can Be Eliminated
One of the main benefits of an automated asset-management system is eliminating manual methods, like spreadsheets.
Spreadsheets do not serve their intended function when managing assets for several reasons - such as updating them manually every few seconds.
Errors may occur, and it's difficult for teams to share them between themselves; spreadsheets do not contain a historical log for data.
At first, spreadsheet templates might seem like an adequate solution for managing assets and tracking assets in your business. Unfortunately, as your assets increase in number, so will their risk.
They also become more susceptible to errors when data accumulates on them over time. Lacking features, inability to track assets in real-time, and cloud limitations are all telltale signs that digital asset-management systems would benefit your company in the future.
Asset Life Cycle Management: Improve Asset Life Cycle Management
Asset Management Software allows businesses to better comprehend the lifecycle of assets. Through effective asset life cycle management practices, assets will be purchased, operated, maintained, and eventually disposed of in an effective and timely fashion.
Likewise, understanding asset performance data is equally crucial. The Asset Life Cycle is separated into four parts:
- Planning: Identifying a need to buy an asset.
- Acquiring An Asset: Purchasing an asset and assigning it.
- Operation & Maintenance: This is the longest phase of an asset's lifespan as it is being put to use.
- Disposal: Calculating the depreciation of an asset and knowing when to dispose of it.
Plan Maintenance Efficiently
Maintaining assets efficiently is at the core of asset management, so creating an effective maintenance schedule with asset management systems is vital in keeping assets at their optimal condition as long as possible.
This approach ensures assets will continue to perform at their maximum capability for as long as they can.
Many engineers employ proactive or reactive maintenance strategies; both approaches may benefit from having an appropriate maintenance plan in place.
An effective maintenance strategy may: reduce downtime for essential equipment and machinery by decreasing emergency repair costs; increasing asset uptime through extended life cycles of assets can decrease downtime further still.
Bonus: Additional Advantages Of Asset Management Tools
Asset management offers numerous advantages. Furthermore, using automated tools for asset management brings numerous additional perks.
Forecasting Spending And Budgets
A comprehensive asset history from its acquisition through to disposal is necessary for making accurate assessments when purchasing future assets and structuring budgets and business expenditures accordingly.
Reporting Trends
A system for asset management works similarly to forecasting and operations: you use it to gain more knowledge about your assets while recognizing trends.
Understanding their life cycles allows more effective maintenance schedules; problems can also be detected early for rapid resolution.
Increase Your Efficiency
By setting up an asset management system, it becomes possible to comprehend each asset's role within various divisions of your business - this may involve understanding capabilities, how best to utilize them for optimal operation and return-on-investment measures, as well as whether any should be retired in order to save money.
Asset Tracking And ITAM
Asset tracking is an ITAM feature designed to maintain an accurate inventory across offices, stockrooms, and remote offices while eliminating human data entry errors and streamlining the inventory audit process.
In addition, Asset Tracking also cuts asset costs by using existing inventory while improving IT services response time as well as mitigating compliance risks.
Read More: Implement an Effective Software Asset Management System
Ten Asset Tracking Tips
Here are ten asset tracking tips that will enable you to maximize the benefit of your equipment.
1. Determine What Needs Tracking
Tracking assets may mean different things depending on a company and its equipment type, including the location of each vehicle for transport businesses, as it helps create schedules that work.
Runtimes and downtimes of machines in production processes also play a part in evaluating asset values; when tracking assets for the first time, it will require making choices about which machines, vehicles, and equipment need tracking as well as which data you wish to gather from those assets that must be tracked.
2. Asset Life Cycle
All assets have their own life cycles once an acquisition decision is made, whether by designing, building, purchasing, or disposing of an asset.
After purchase comes to use and maintenance as well as long-term care costs before its eventual disposal at some point down the line. With asset tracking, you can monitor this entire asset journey to see how much you make relative to maintenance expenditure.
3. Track Assets Instantly
It may be tempting to put new equipment or machines straight into use once they arrive but to maximize industrial asset tracking efficiently, it's wiser to add them immediately into an asset tracker so that run times, downtimes, and costs can be monitored right from the beginning - this gives a much clearer idea of costs associated with a revenue stream and costs to business.
Ensure responsible employees understand procedures for adding assets as soon as they come online.
4. Use Of Unique Tracking Numbers
It is vital to assign unique numbers when tracking assets. A duplicate code or number could confuse tracking Software and result in incorrect data collected about individual machines, vehicles, and equipment pieces.
Assign each machine a unique RFID tracker number or QR code so you can easily recognize, plan for and analyze collected information more effectively.
5. Enterprise Asset Tracking Software
Its Utilizing asset tracking technology will bring multiple advantages to your organization. In reality, its purpose goes far beyond tracking the physical locations of vehicles or machines - it collects data from various sources as it tracks spare part orders, work orders, and repair requests, as well as stores images in an asset life cycle folder containing your critical asset details in one convenient place.
6. Keep Track Of Your Assets At All Times
Equipment tracking and management enables businesses to know exactly where all their assets are at all times, no matter if the machines they rely on are stationary machines, such as machines at workstations or construction machinery in motion.
Having constant access to this data enables better scheduling and planning by being aware of where each asset resides at all times - saving both time and money for their operation.
An RFID asset tracker or GPS asset tracker are two reliable solutions; you could even add QR codes so your employees could scan each asset using smartphones/tablets.
7. Understanding Asset Depreciation
Asset depreciation refers to spreading out an asset's cost over its estimated useful life, accounting for its gradual decrease in value over time.
Utilizing Asset Management Software, you can calculate this life cycle costing and depreciation over its lifecycle, saving both cash and allowing you to more accurately determine whether investing in new equipment, repairing current ones, or selling off as surplus is more economical for your organization.
8. Know Your Company
When selecting an asset tracking system for any business, it's crucial to take their needs and requirements into consideration.
Tracking GPS coordinates might not make much sense if your equipment remains stationary at one site; tracking usage or work orders with machines might prove more valuable; tracking locations provide greater tracking intelligence if your fleet exists - be sure to know all goals that exist and desired data sets before beginning improving equipment tracking!
9. You Can Recognize And Assess Critical Equipment
Critical equipment refers to any asset required by your business for production or service delivery. Asset tracking and asset management must prioritize these assets since, without them, your business would cease functioning properly.
Before beginning asset tracking or selecting an asset management tool for tracking these essential pieces of machinery, you should identify them first - monitoring vehicles/machines to gather data can then follow for asset tracking/management in full force once identified as vital pieces.
10. Verify All Work Orders And Responsibilities Are Clear
Asset management systems do more than track asset locations; they also measure downtime, work orders, and repair requests - with work order management helping keep tabs on maintenance work completed and repairs undertaken on assets for easy follow-up in daily workflow.
You must set roles to ensure everyone remains on the same page, and work orders management provides visibility of orders and responsibilities so as to facilitate clear decision-making throughout.
What Data Should Be Collected For Tracking Assets?
Metrics and tracking assets depend heavily upon your company, equipment used, and type of service/product offered.
In order to track assets effectively with asset management software solutions, take note of these key points for more efficient tracking:
- Location: Knowing the whereabouts of your assets can be invaluable when planning and scheduling operations, particularly for construction and transportation businesses. Wireless asset tracking enables you to view their precise position at any given moment - this enables better forecasting of when to deploy equipment for deployment purposes.
- Asset Availability: This is another essential aspect, often tied directly to asset location. Adoption of Asset tracking apps or Software provide visibility as to when equipment will become free for another project or customer use.
- Tracking The Runtime: Tracking the runtime of your machine is integral in assessing its lifespan or planning a maintenance appointment, not to mention managing maintenance services that conduct audits based on how often its equipment was utilized.
- Downtime: This can play an essential role when making important business decisions about equipment that's vital to operations or business asset management processes. You can gain more clarity into which assets to make the most out of tracking downtime.
- Equipment Asset Tracking: This provides answers to these and many other pertinent questions about assets in your company and can assist in making more informed decisions for both themselves as well as those around them.
- Maintenance Costs: Asset Maintenance plans expenses play an integral part in your company's profitability. Equipment breakdown can have an enormously detrimental effect on profits; asset tracking software tools make it simpler to identify which machines cost your organization more than they generate revenue.
How To Select IT Asset Management Software?
Why Asset Management Software Is Important?
Before exploring different vendors of asset management software, you should determine why an improved approach to asset management would benefit your organization.
Here are a few indicators you could benefit from investing in asset management software:
Do You Want to Save Money?
Optimizing spending on services such as Software, infrastructure, and platform services can help your organization reduce expenses significantly.
Studies conducted show that many organizations can reduce software spending by up to 30 percent by following best practices for optimizing software licenses - though manual completion of this task may prove laborious, requiring special expertise for complex license optimization, using SAM (Software Asset Management), an enterprise tool capable of automating manual processes faster while often being more affordable and paying itself back quickly!
You Rely On Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets remain one of the primary ways in which companies track their assets, but do they remain accurate for an extended period? Spreadsheets quickly become unwieldy or inaccurate.
Shadow IT Is Becoming A Major Concern
Shadow IT has emerged as an increasing concern. Assets like applications, licenses, and IT resources may be purchased and utilized secretively without central IT team knowledge and approval.
Software that facilitates collaboration can assist IT in keeping an eye on these activities while helping teams be productive while mitigating additional costs or risks.
Once it comes time for your company to implement a new asset management approach, consider how it will function within its context and help choose a software product accordingly.
In our experience, taking an inventory is often the best way of understanding exactly what assets exist as well as their costs - then working closely with finance on mapping asset lifecycles and calculating total costs.
IT asset management goes further by automating asset management tasks. A self-service portal allows employees to request subscriptions to popular Software through which their request will be approved using pre existing policies and then sent a link giving access to this subscription.
IT teams can thus focus more on higher-level tasks while spending less effort supporting administrative support tasks.
Collaboration is at the core of asset management. A collaborative tool allows employees to submit requests while other teams, like procurement, can approve and comment upon purchases.
Even better: connecting your asset-management tool to services already used by employees like Slack so employees can submit requests more easily, while IT departments can improve visibility by streamlining request intake processes.
An essential building block to effective IT teams' service delivery, service desks provide employees with an easy and transparent means to request assistance, while IT staff can organize requests and report on them efficiently.
Incorporating asset-management Software provides even greater benefits: when someone requests the repair of their laptop, basic information like purchase date and previous issues become immediately accessible, as do tickets associated with that laptop; IT teams also gain access to all tickets related to that laptop that is directly associated with its repair request.
Asset management must change as IT does. With critical services increasingly outsourced to SaaS providers, keeping track of changes to increasingly dynamic cloud environments requires adaptable asset management solutions that facilitate service management practices.
When selecting tools that enable service management practices, you should select tools that support and augment them rather than compete against them.
Each organization is different; therefore, you will likely require mapping complex dependencies within it and keeping track of intangible assets like licenses and compliance documentation to reduce risks.
Or maybe your needs are simpler--for instance, tracking computer inventory.
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Conclusion
Asset management systems can benefit businesses of any size and type; those which rely heavily on assets to generate income should give more thought than ever to asset-intensive management strategies.
Asset management tools are tailored specifically to a company's requirements.
Software asset management (SAM) tools help optimize software licenses and applications while there is enterprise asset (EAM Software), digital assets (DAM Software), as well as tracking (AT Software).
Tracking Software may also be available. AMS Software gives businesses all they need to increase their efficiency, productivity, and organization in all facets of their operation.
Businesses of any kind can reap these advantages with the AMS solution in hand.
