The most common asset tracking uses

If it’s time you took control of your organisation’s tracking of its assets, then this article is for you.  With the right asset tracking arrangements in place, you can boost day-to-day productivity, cut out waste and allocate resources for an improved return, all of which will enhance your bottom line. However, for those decision-makers within organisations that are still assessing whether they need to invest in asset management software, it would perhaps be instructive to consider some of the most common purposes for asset tracking for businesses like theirs.

What actually is asset tracking?

If a business’s assets can be understood to be the items of value and/or importance that the given company owns – think physical, tangible items such as office furniture and real estate, but also intangible property, as we will explore later in this article – then ‘asset tracking’ is the practice of tracking those assets. In other words, asset tracking entails keeping track of what the company’s assets are, where those assets are, what condition they are in, and their maintenance status. Business’s may use any number of technological solutions for tracking their assets, ranging from simple spreadsheets to the latest hi-tech solution such as NFC – Near Field Communication.

What are the benefits of tracking your assets?

There are various good reasons why your organisation might look to put in place more formal and effective arrangements for the tracking of its assets. After all, your business’s assets – such as its computer equipment, furniture, vehicles, and so on – are the backbone of its success. Failing to track your business’s assets well could mean failing to be aware of crucial information about what assets you have, what assets you don’t presently have (and therefore might need), and how you can better manage the lifecycle of your assets. Investing in the right asset management platform such as Vision Pro, then, could be an important step to ensuring all of your business’s asset data is kept in a single centralised location, accessible to anyone who needs to access it. It will enable you to make more informed and cost-effective decisions with regard to purchasing, maintaining and replacing assets over time, while minimising wastage and maximising day-to-day asset security and productivity.

What are the most common uses for asset tracking?

Below are just five reasons why asset tracking solutions like Vision Pro’s assets platform are frequently used, which may guide your decision-making when considering such a software package for your own organisation.

• Fixed asset management. An organisation’s fixed assets can be defined as those that it purchases for long-term use, and that are unlikely to be swiftly converted into cash; classic examples include the likes of land, buildings and equipment. Business’s that are looking to keep a fixed asset register to aid their efforts to log, track and manage their permanent business assets are likely to appreciate the ease of use, access and functionality of a platform like Vision Pro.
• IT asset management. Under the broader banner of ‘fixed assets’ are IT assets. These assets can in themselves be extremely wide-ranging, encompassing items that almost all sectors of the economy depend on to some degree, such as laptops, smartphones, computer mice, USB sticks, photocopiers and scanners. You might therefore be very interested in investing in asset tracking software that would enable you to better manage the lifecycle of IT equipment and similar items that are crucial to your organisation’s day-to-day operations.
• Equipment check-in and checkout. In recent times when many more employees may have wished to take company-issued assets – such as laptops – out of the workplace than was previously the case, many businesses have realised the value of having a sophisticated means of tracking these off-site assets – including checking them in and checking them out. Today’s asset tagging technology makes it easier to keep an eye on exactly where a given asset is. That, in turn, helps lower the risk of asset theft, at the same time as placing a greater onus on employees to take good care of whatever company assets may presently be in their possession.
• High-value asset management. Some assets belonging to your organisation may be especially valuable or of great importance. This could give you good reason to invest in asset tracking software such as Vision Pro’s assets platform, which gives you the ability to upload images and CAD drawings, documents and certificates for each individual asset. This functionality gives you a straightforward means of storing and keeping up-to-date information on the locations, valuations and insurance arrangements for the assets being managed. Via the intuitive interface of Vision Pro, you could be helped to responsibly manage your business’s highest-value assets.
• Digital asset tracking. Historically, businesses have been accustomed to thinking of ‘assets’ as being entirely physical, ‘real-world’ items. Today, however, we are seeing emerging categories of digital assets, and these too, should be responsibly tracked and managed. While digital assets differ from physical assets in that organisations owning them do not need to track where they are physically located or their maintenance status, there are still certain details that must be recorded for this increasingly common category of asset. With the help of a software package like Vision Pro, you can track your business’s complete range of digital assets from a single portal, instead of having to keep an eye on multiple different platforms.

Using software to manage your asset tracking

While it is possible to maintain details about your organisation’s assets in a spreadsheet, or even using pen and paper, these are not very efficient, secure or easy-to-use methods for tracking assets, particularly when there are many different assets to track or any number of individuals doing the inputting. More and more often, today’s businesses are choosing to eschew the above methods in favour of sophisticated asset management software. With its features including the use of Vision-tag (RFiD or Near Field Communication) technology, intuitive dashboards, customisable hard-copy reports and secure access with customisable permissions, Vision Pro’s assets platform is a leading example of such software. To learn more about how much simpler and easier it could be for your organisation to track its assets when you turn to Vision Pro, please do not hesitate to call our specialists today.