Did you know that there’s such a thing as ghost assets? Did you also know that they can reduce your profits? This is why businesses all over the world do what they can to eliminate them. However, if you’re not sure what ghost assets are or how to eliminate them, this article can help. This article will also teach you why using laptop inventory management can make a real difference.

Ghost assets are the type of assets that are not accounted for. They are assets that are either damaged or lost. Sometimes printers, photocopiers, laptops, machinery, tools, and equipment just become damaged. If your maintenance department does not yet use inventory management to deal with damaged items, things may not be repaired. Let’s imagine that you have 2 broken laptops. If you put them to one side in the hope they’ll be repaired, they may sit on the shelf for a long time. However, if you use laptop inventory management software, the laptops could be repaired quickly. We’ll look at this subject in greater detail later on in the article.

You may be wondering why assets such as these are an issue. The fact is that they can cause genuine financial issues. This is because a broken conveyor belt, for example, may prevent items from being manufactured on time. The van that is still in urgent need of wheel alignment could mean customers don’t receive orders on time. More worryingly, a ghost asset could have an impact on your financial assessments and audits. With all of this in mind, it’s absolutely vital that you deal with your ghost assets.

When you use laptop inventory management to help you tackle ghost assets you’re onto a winner. This is because in order to use the software you need to affix an RFID tag to each asset. As soon as the tag is affixed it can be scanned to open up a digital profile. This profile can have a lot of information added to it. Information including the asset’s make and model, serial number, warranty and insurance details, and more can be added. 

So how does all of this help with ghost assets? It’s easy. You’ll need to add every single asset to your laptop inventory management software. You don’t just have to add laptops, you can add anything and everything. When adding all of your assets you will no doubt come across that broken conveyor belt or the van that needs its wheels aligned. Adding these assets to your inventory software means they are accounted for. It also means that they are much more likely to be taken care of.

Let’s now take a look at how you can eliminate ghost assets for good with the help of laptop inventory management software. As we have already seen, you will need to add every single asset to your new software. Once you have, you could set up a maintenance schedule for every asset. This will ensure that all of your assets could be repaired sooner rather than later. It could also mean that potential issues could be found and dealt with. 

When you look after that conveyor belt, for example, it will be less likely to break down. It will be more likely to work well for you, ensuring you can manufacture everything on time. When your van’s wheel alignment is dealt with, you can potentially deliver a customer’s order to them early. 

Every asset that you own will have its own maintenance schedule. Your laptops could be inspected once a year. Your vending machines every 6 months, and your vans every quarter. As long as you set up a maintenance schedule and it’s stuck to, you could say “Goodbye” to ghost assets. 

Did you know that you could report potential issues via your new inventory management software? As long as you use software that allows you to message your maintenance department, you’re good to go. Let’s imagine you come across a desktop computer with a faulty camera. This is by no means something out of the ordinary but it can be frustrating. Scanning the computer’s RFID tag and messaging your maintenance team about the issue is the way forward. The maintenance team can add the desktop computer to the queue and ensure that the camera is up and running so you can enjoy, shall we say, online meetings again. 

Eliminating ghost assets is perfectly possible. It does take a little bit of work but it’s achievable. As soon as you have your assets added to the management software you’re 99% of the way there.

Wish to talk with an expert about eliminating ghost assets while staying on top of laptop inventory management? Contact us now at team@itemit.com.

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