What Is Asset Tracking Hardware And How Can You Use It?

Published on March 1, 2021 • 3 min read

Asset tracking software can integrate a variety of hardware to improve your asset management operations. Where asset tracking software can house your asset profiles and data, hardware can improve your interactions with these assets, in some cases automating them.

So, hardware will either have a technological element that allows for fuller automation, or it will be analogue, meaning the automation is with scanning capabilities.

QR Code Asset Tags And Barcodes

The most conventional hardware you will couple up with your asset tracking software is QR code asset tags and barcodes. You can read more about whether QR codes or barcodes are better by following the link.

Effectively, QR codes and barcodes work by linking unique asset profiles on your software to physical, unique assets. In other words, when you have a tag on a laptop for IT asset management, your asset tracking software will be able to scan the tag and see specifically which laptop it is.

This hardware speeds up multiple operations. First of all, every scan automates an increase in accountability as:

• The last seen location updates
• The user who scanned the tag is logged
• The time the tag was scanned is logged

This way, every time a feature is used you will be able to see who interacted with an asset and where. As ever scan also opens up an asset's profile, allowing the use of features, this is very helpful when assets are checked in or out or when an issue is logged.

Handheld And Fixed RFID Asset Management

Handheld and fixed RFID asset management allow for the next level of automation. As QR code asset management requires the tag to be visible to your phone's camera, it can have some limitations.

RFID tags, however, use radio frequencies and antennas to allow for tag detection. This means that tags can be hidden, which is critical for high-value asset tracking.

This functionality also means that a variety of QR code asset management features can also be automated further. RFID uses external hardware to communicate with your assets' tags, so, if you want to verify that all of your assets are in the room they should be, you just have to activate an audit feature and pull the trigger on your handheld RFID reader.

Fixed RFID asset tracking goes one step further, automatically logging whenever an asset moves from one location to another. This is very helpful in busy, high-pressure environments, such as for healthcare asset tracking.

GPS Asset Tracking

GPS asset tracking then fills in any gaps. Where RFID tracking and barcode asset tracking help you keep track of assets while they're available, GPS trackers allow you to view assets when they would otherwise be unaccounted for.

If your site is large, such as an airfield, for example, or if assets are constantly in transit between sites, your GPS trackers will be able to log your assets' locations wherever they are in the world. 

itemit is unique, as it allows you to combine all of these hardware capabilities in one, easy-to-use asset tracking software. Therefore, you can use GPS asset tracking to view where assets are when you don't have access to them, fixed RFID asset tracking when you don't have time for manual updates, and the rest when you have access to your assets and need to make use of specific features.

To find out more about how itemit's asset tracking hardware options can help your business take its asset tracking to the next level, you can contact the team at team@itemit.com. You can also fill in the form below to start your 14-day free trial.