How Can Asset Tags Save Your Business Money?

What if we told you there’s a way you could give a unique identity to each and every asset your business owns. This may suggest the idea of giving a unique name to every object. 

Kelly, the keyboard, and Pete, the printer – sounds comical. Calling items by names sounds like a good way to add some fun to our daily work routines, but no one is going to remember these names. So no, you won’t be giving them names, but asset tags. 

To put it shortly, an asset tag is a physical label that lets you differentiate one asset from the other, even if they look exactly the same. But there’s a lot more to it than just that. Using asset tags is one of the best things you can do for your business today. They make your business operations more productive, increase accountability, save losses, and save you money in a lot of different ways. 

This blog post will tell you all about what asset tags are, and how they save your business money. You will also find tips on how to use, creative applications and much more.

An asset tag is a label you can attach to a nameless item and give it a unique identity. But unlike what the name might suggest, a tag doesn’t carry a name for the asset. It carries a unique identifier code. This begs the question, will you be reading those codes?

No! The codes are for the asset tracking software to read. So what sort of codes do asset tags use? 

itemit uses QR code asset tags and RFID tags, for more advanced applications. For the sake of simplicity let’s stick to the former. Each QR code tag will have a QR code (obviously), itemit’s logo or your company’s logo if you go for custom asset tags. It’s that simple. 

We aim for a sleek and simple asset tagging solution designed for practicality. To scan an asset, all you have to do is open the itemit app on your mobile device and point your camera towards it. We will automatically identify the asset for you and bring forward its asset profile.

There’s a lot of depth to asset tracking. When you introduce asset tags to your business, a lot of avenues will gradually open up for you to save both time and money. Let’s discover some of the most common ways a lot of businesses are saving money with the help of asset labels.

A powerful asset tracking software is the key to streamlining your workflow in today’s agile work environment. Asset tags are the special weapon you can equip your asset tracking software with to make it much more effective!

Now, streamlining workflow is a vague term. As we go more in detail, you’ll discover quite a few ways how asset tags streamline your daily operations to increase productivity and ultimately, save you money.

Believe it or not, employees spend a considerable amount of work time daily just looking around for stuff they need. This is not to say that they’re wasting company time, but there’s a way this lost time could be minimised so they spend the maximum amount of time getting real work done. 

The average office employee spends 50 minutes a day looking for lost files and other stuff. This figure only moves upward when you talk about companies that use a lot of tools and moving equipment. For instance, construction workers spend much more than that looking for tools they need to get work done. 

Now it’s not just that 50 minutes alone. It’s 50 minutes, per employee, per day. We leave the maths up to you, but in the end, do multiply it with the average hourly rate you pay your employees to get a rough figure of the money going down the drain. 

Use asset tags to utilise that money and have real work done. With asset tags, each time a user scans an asset with itemit, we update its location automatically on the asset register. This way, all users are updated on an item’s location in real-time. 

The next time anyone needs to find something, they can simply check its location via the itemit app and get to it right away. This will cut down the 50-minute figure to less than 10. Now that’s saving. 

If your workplace has multiple identical-looking assets, things may get mixed up sometimes. Let’s take the office chair example for instance. Everyone in the office has their own chair, some have it nice and comfy while others have a squeaky one. Sometimes chairs get swapped and there’s quite a racket until everyone gets their chair back. 

While this is a casual example, this happens with almost every other asset in the workplace. For instance, if there are two similar-looking monitors placed next to each other and one of them needs repairs, the admin team would have a hard time identifying which of the two needs to be fixed. 

If you use asset tags, you can give a unique identity to each asset and let your teammates know exactly which monitor they need to repair. The process is simple. You encounter the screen is not working right, so you scan the asset tag on its back to report an issue. The maintenance team gets notified and comes to check it out. They can now scan the asset tags of each of the monitors so they are sure which of the two needs repairs.

Communication in the workplace is at its best when it gets the job done without a lot of back and forth. Let’s discuss the first part of successful communication: getting the right message across.

Most of your daily operations involve your assets. And your asset tracking software can become an efficient way to communicate asset-related information. Not just that, itemit’s powerful features like issue reporting, accurate location tracking, and the option to attach image lets you get the right message across effortlessly. 

All communication takes place based on the fact that you can easily refer to the specific asset you’re talking about without going to great lengths to make sure the other person doesn’t confuse it with another asset. For instance, if you want an employee to transfer the backup from one computer device to the other, asset tags make it much easier to communicate which devices you’re talking about.

Secondly, quick communication is as important as accurate communication. The business world is moving fast and we must find ways to speed up our communications too. With asset tags, you can communicate essential asset-related information in a jiffy. 

itemit’s asset tags act as guards for your assets. To begin with, let’s talk about the psychological effect asset tags have on employees or everyone else coming across your property. A small QR code asset label sends out a powerful message that this asset is being tracked.

Asset tags foster a sense of accountability within employees that encourages them to make the most out of company property while keeping it safe and secure at all times. This greatly reduces the risks of asset damage. 

Not just that, asset tags do a great job at deterring asset theft. You are updated with every asset’s location each time it’s scanned and in real-time if you’re using a fixed RFID solution. Ultimately, you end up saving a great deal of money by reducing asset damage, preventing asset misplacement and deterring asset theft.

If you’ve not been using some equipment for a while, you might want to rent it out to maximise your revenue. This is a great way to get returns on your asset investments and prevent the equipment from going redundant. 

But how do you make sure all your loaned equipment comes back safe and sound? Surely, there are risks when you let someone else use your assets. Using equipment loan management software is a great way to keep track of all loaned assets, where they are and who they’re with. 

Tagging the assets you want to loan out keeps you updated with the assets’ location and all other relevant details. This way you can make sure all loaned equipment returns to you and there are no losses. 

Time is money. There’s no denying that even though good asset management software cuts down the time needed to manage your assets significantly. But you or your employees still need to give a considerable amount of time to asset tracking so you can keep an accurate and up to date asset register. 

Use asset tags to further reduce the time needed for asset tracking. Simple operations like searching for assets in the asset register and updating locations can be automated with asset tags. This can make a huge difference!

Now that you know what asset tags basically are, how they help your business, let’s discover the asset tagging solutions offered by itemit and the different features they have.

Our QR code asset tags are the most commonly used type of asset label. They’re inexpensive, customisable, and practical. 

Here’s how you can tether an asset with a QR code asset tag you’ll:

1. Stick the tag on an item.
2. Open the asset profile to add a tag.
3. Now that the asset and tag are linked, scan the tag to open its profile.

Each time a user scans the asset tag with itemit, we will update its location along with the user ID who scanned it. We offer QR code tags in vinyl asset tag stickers and anodised aluminium tags. 

Vinyl stickers are great for smaller, indoor assets that don’t have to go through a lot of wear and tear. Anodised aluminium tags are excellent for outdoor assets that have to face the elements. Ourt tags come in differently-sized squares, so you can choose the size that suits you best. 

Furthermore, itemit gives you the option to customise your asset labels. You can print your business logo or any other message you want to make the most of your asset tagging solution. 

RFID asset labels are useful where you want greater automation or you can’t scan visible asset tags with a camera. For instance, if you’re tagging high-value assets and you need to hide the asset tag, itemit’s RFID solution can help you.

There are two subcategories when it comes to RFID asset tags: active and passive.

Active

Active RFID asset tags require an internal power source to operate. This means they’re larger in size than a passive one and have lower durability. But they have their advantages. Scanners can read active tags from much larger distances compared to passive tags. This means viewing and editing asset profiles and asset communication over large distances can be done easily. 

Passive 

Passive asset tags run on the electromagnetic energy sent from RFID readers. If the tag doesn’t go through a lot of wear and tear, a passive RFID tag can very much last you a lifetime. They are much sleeker and can stick to an asset unobtrusively because they don’t need an internal power source. 

itemit offers one of the most scalable asset tagging solutions on the market. If you want to increase your business’s productivity and reduce leakages, our asset tracking solution is the way to go.

Get in touch with our friendly customer support team by sending us an email at team@itemit.com. We look forward to resolving any queries you might have. 

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