15 Useful Asset Tracking Tips to Help You Track Your Assets

Count and recall all your fixed assets. You might have more than you realized

If the condition is right, there is a need for you to enhance your asset tracking techniques.  

Asset tracking is the method to track down your physical assets, using several techniques and methods including barcode, RFID, NFC tags, etc.  

Asset tracking is important for your organization, for its foundation and compliance, you will be responsible for locating and replacing the lost or missing of the physical assets, as well as for those that have come to an end of their lifecycle.  

Asset tracking solves several business challenges, with its framework allowing the companies to become more efficient and boost their bottom line by making the best use of existing resources to achieve the appropriate results.

Here are some of the useful asset tracking tips, that will help you track your assets in the most efficient way.

1. Know what you need to track:
   It is important for you to know and keep in mind, the maintenance schedule, equipment uptime and downtime, and the number of individuals assigned on one machine.
   Through the implementation of an asset management system on an organization's daily routine, can make it possible to increase the available production equipment.
   Moreover, a reduced overall cost will make the services better and help in maintaining programs.
   
   
2. Know about the full project life cycle:
   If yours is a manufacturing plant then, considering the life cycle of full project management is necessary.
   As you consider the life cycle of an asset for a single long project, which might last for 20 years or more, it becomes obvious that you will investigate the project.
   
   
3. Know about your company's priority:
   Before making a purchase decision you should always evaluate and prioritize your company's requirements.
   You should prioritize your requirements of fixed asset package according to the need. Then, evaluation should be carried on how each product measures against your requirement.
   
   
4. Know about the reporting and analytical functionality of the software:
   For proper management of assets, you must know about the exact quantity of the product and its visibility.
   For the best tool, you should look for the asset management program that collects the metrics that you need to measure for the performance of the product.
   
   
5. Know about the visibility to asset purchase:
   Visibility of assets is necessary for an organization to deploy the over-utilized assets, redeploy the under-utilized assets and for making a purchase order.
   Before making any purchase order you must check the visibility of available assets to save your organization from the over costing of surplus assets.
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6. Know about the track of assets that comes to your company:
   The best asset tracking tips will be to count and acknowledge the assets that your organization owns from the beginning.
   In order to add new asset information, you must not neglect the feed of an asset's information before delivering it to the customer.
   This will ensure that an asset won't get disappear before its presence gets acknowledged.
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7. Know about unique asset tracking numbers:
   You should use different tracking numbers to eliminate the problem of duplicity in serial numbers (if occurs).
   As the duplicate numbers can cause confusion leading you to compromise data integrity and inaccurate customer balance and inventory which will then reduce your rental income and impact customer satisfaction.
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8. Know about the sustainability of the service:
   You should know about the required sustainable level of service which will help you implement an asset management system and communication with stakeholders about your working.
   The level of service requirements can be updated to account for changes due to growth, regulatory requirements, and technology improvements.
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9. Know the accurate difference between asset tracking and inventory tracking:
   Asset tracking is different from inventory tracking in some ways. Asset tracking involves the management of internal resources which are in need of a continuous operation, tracking items being lent out, and monitoring asset depreciation, maintenance, and warranty contracts.
   Whereas, inventory tracking involves the management of products that are sold, distributed, or consumed with tracking of the receipt, storage, shipping, and sale of products.
   
   
10. Know about conducting equipment analysis:
    Keeping an eye over assets' quantity and quality is necessary for the smooth working of the company's environment.
    One of the ways to reduce excess inventory levels to the required ones is to undertake a review of equipment analysis.
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11. Know about balance costs, opportunities, and risks against assets:
    Asset Management includes the balancing of costs, opportunities, and risks against the required performance of assets, to achieve the desired objectives of the organization.
    This enables the option for an analytical approach towards management of an asset over its different stages of the life cycle which usually starts with the concept of the need for the asset, through to its disposal, till its disposal liabilities.
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12. Know about optimizing an asset's life cycle:
    The lifecycle of an asset counts the life of the asset, from its first creation through its purchase, operation, and any maintenance or upgrading, to its disposal.
    The asset lifecycle will allow your company to figure out the desired future of the asset and will help you in making decisions about the asset's condition in terms of its tasks and costs.
    
    
13. Know about the asset gap strategy:
    Gap analysis is the process which is used by companies to examine their current performance with their required, expected performance. The analysis is used to determine whether it is meeting expectations and using its resources effectively, or not.
    Gap analysis strategy is needed in asset management to recognize the company's current state in terms of its time, money and labour to compare it to its related target state.
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14. Know about the database of your assets:
    The company should begin with creating its database to check the availability of assets in the inventory.
    You can use the database to insert details of the assets so the authorized people can view the associated data after each scan.
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15. Know about ghost assets:
    A  “ghost assets” is a term given to those assets that get lost, stolen, or unusable, but they are still listed as an active fixed asset in the system.
    You need to perform accurate physical audits of assets on a regular basis to determine ghost assets.
    

EndNote:

I hope these few tips will help you in managing your organization's asset and their tracking.

Asset tracking and management are important as it will help a company in monitoring and managing its assets using a systematized approach.  

The benefits of asset tracking and management include improvements toward the productivity and efficiency of assets which will ultimately place a business in a better position to increase their return on investment.