Companies everywhere use an asset tracking system to help them keep control of their assets. The system that they use may allow them to stay in full control of their assets at all times. At itemit, we proudly offer you the opportunity to track all of your assets with ease. Providing you with a range of features, organised asset tracking can become more transparent and faster.
Let’s take a look at how exactly companies keep track of their assets.
What is Asset Tracking
Asset tracking refers to the method of monitoring and managing physical assets with technology: RFID tags, QR codes, barcodes, and GPS. This allows a firm to know in real time where their assets are, what condition and status they are in, and whether their number has decreased or increased. Asset tracking is putting systems in place that manage company equipment, machinery, and tools to reduce instances of theft and loss.
It gives an asset a digital record that it carries throughout its life. The record may include maintenance schedules, location history, and information about users, among others, and this makes the approach important for companies as they do asset management.
Why You Should Use Asset Tracking
Key reasons you should adopt asset tracking in your company include an immense list of benefits accruing to the business, regardless of size. Here are some of those advantages:
- Enhanced Visibility: Asset tracking allows you to have complete visibility regarding the location of your assets, who uses them, and for what purpose. It helps optimise assets for maximum use.
- Reduced Costs: Recording assets and usage could highlight where you do not have to spend extra money. You won't be so likely to buy extra equipment when what you already have will work, nor will you replace items that have merely been misplaced.
- Improved Maintenance: With notifications for scheduled maintenance or repairs, you are able to keep equipment running and prolong the life cycle of your assets. You'll catch problems before they become expensive to fix.
- Better Security: Knowing the location of your assets at any given moment enhances security and reduces theft and loss. An asset-tracking system adds another level of accountability within an organisation.
- Regulatory Compliance: Many industries have set regulations on how equipment should be tracked and managed. Asset tracking helps comply with these set standards in industries; hence, avoidance of penalties and fines.
Generally, asset tracking is a very important tool in the management of a company's equipment, thereby offering companies a competitive advantage in their asset management.
The Evolution of Asset Tracking
Asset tracking has undergone significant modifications since its inception. Initially, companies relied on manual systems, which included spreadsheets and even written logs, for tracking their assets. These were time-consuming, prone to errors, and required limited or no real-time insight whatsoever.
Asset tracking started using barcodes and scanners as the technology progressed, for which more comprehensive data is preferred. Indeed, barcodes made it easier to record business assets, but again, it is a manual approach.
Nowadays, companies track assets with advanced technologies like RFID, QR code, GPS, and cloud-based software. All the modern techniques allow tracking automatically; it means tracking the assets in real-time without human interference. RFID tags and GPS trackers brought a revolution in resource tracking in companies by providing accuracy, visibility, and efficiency in tracking.
Cloud-based asset tracking solutions, of which itemit is one, took it further and enabled businesses to access their asset data from anywhere at any time. Now, the evolution of asset tracking has so far enabled companies to trace their assets with organized consistency while enabling efficiency, security, and cost savings.
Tracking The Location
One of the easiest ways to keep track of assets is to track every asset’s location. Knowing where all of your assets are at all times can make life easier. At the touch of a button, you and your team can see where some or all of your equipment, machinery, and tools are.
At itemit, we make tracking a breeze. When you use our asset tracking system, we will send you some RFID tags or QR codes. It’s these tags and codes that allow you to track the location of all of your assets. All that you need to do is affix a code or tag to those assets you’d like to track. Then, you can create a digital profile and track an asset’s location. This approach makes it clear how to track equipment efficiently and effectively within your company. This type of company asset tracking allows for more efficient company equipment management. When you have accurate information about where your assets are, you can make better decisions about how to track equipment in a company.
Improving The Maintenance Schedule
From time to time, equipment, machinery, and tools can fail to work as well as they should. When this occurs, it makes sense to send the asset for maintenance. However, it is not always clear which tool, for example, needs to be repaired. The good news is that itemit can help with this.
Should something go wrong with a machine, users can send an alert to the maintenance team asking them to repair it. Our asset tracking system also allows you to set up a maintenance schedule. Sending out alerts when a piece of equipment needs its yearly check, for example, ensures equipment is in better working order.
Regular maintenance checks help to keep equipment functioning efficiently, prevent unexpected breakdowns, and ultimately save costs. Having an effective company tools and equipment policy that includes scheduled maintenance ensures that your company’s valuable resources are managed effectively.
Checking Equipment In And Out
Another very useful feature that comes with itemit’s asset tracking system is the ability to check equipment in and out. It makes sense to track some equipment and tools more closely than others. This is particularly the case if some equipment is valuable. With the ability to check equipment in and out, it is possible to see who has which laptop, for example, and when they checked it out. By using asset tracking systems, you can also understand how to keep track of tools and equipment effectively. You can also see when a tool was checked back in, so you know it’s where it should be.
This feature ensures that there’s an extra layer of security surrounding some or all of your assets. It allows management to keep a close eye on who is using the assets and when. With company asset tracking, you can easily keep track of who has what and whether it’s in good condition when returned.
