In your business, you probably have more physical assets than you realise, in which case, you may benefit from an asset tracking system.
What is asset tracking?
Asset tracking, sometimes referred to as asset management uses barcodes or RFID tags to keep track of the location, status, maintenance schedule or other information about your company’s assets.
Whether it’s vehicles, IT equipment or plant and machinery, the goal of any asset tracking system is to maximise efficiency of your asset control and prevent equipment loss.
In manufacturing for example, if there’s a problem on your line, you need to know about it as soon as possible. Through the use of mobile computers, barcode labels, handheld barcode scanners and asset management software, you can track your assets in real time resulting in more efficiencies in your operations and reduced downtime.
ExPD offer a complete asset tracking solution, Asset-i, which uses barcode technology and Zebra mobile computers and printers.
Asset-i
Asset management with Asset-i is simple and speedy, but above all provides accurate meaningful information. Whether tracking IT assets, tools, documents, medicines, and so on, it’s crucial that information of location, value, condition, owner, maintenance, expiry dates etc, is always available.
Our Asset-I software provides the flexibility to create customer fields, alerts reports, all of which get mimicked onto a mobile app to ensure all application requirements are met.
Zebra hardware
Zebra hardware fit seamlessly with our asset tracking software.
Mobile computers help your employees to capture and access the data they need to act faster and more efficiently. The TC21/TC26 Touch Computer is one example, it offers WiFi, cellular, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC as well as being able to handle any environment. The TC70 is also ready for the demands of any industry – tested and proven to operate reliably after multiple 6 ft./1.8 m drops to concrete. With IP65 and IP67 sealing, you get a device that is dust-tight and can survive complete immersion in water, making it ideal for use in the retail backroom, warehouse floor, in outdoor shopping areas or outside in a car park.
Industrial printers improve asset tracking with high volume printing for manufacturing and transportation and logistics and make barcode label and invoice printing easy. Devices like the ZT400 series are easy to integrate, manage and maintain from any location.
What are the benefits of asset tracking?
Increase asset visibility
As your business grows so does the number of assets you have, meaning the task of logging each one into a spreadsheet can be a time-consuming and near impossible job.
An asset tracking solution provides the necessary features to ensure all assets are visible. This information is stored in a centralised database, also known as an asset register.
With this you can achieve full asset visibility, including location, current status and usage history on a single, web-based dashboard that enables fast search and tag filtering capability.
Asset audits and reports
With an asset tracking system, such as Asset-I, regular automated audits ensure data is kept up to date. Using a Zebra mobile computer, the interface allows for a location selection, followed by scanning the barcodes of the assets at that location. You can then see which assets (if any) are missing, whether they can be reconciled elsewhere and any newfound assets which can be adopted to that location. The result is continuing to know the whereabouts of any asset, anywhere.
A report builder can be configured to deliver this information and can be programmed to auto-generate and email you reports.
Save costs
Without an asset tracking system, you’d have to rely on employees to determine the whereabouts and condition of every asset you own. This means higher risk of human error and possibly loss of expensive assets.
With automation, you not only avoid this risk but also give employees the time to focus on more important activities.
Improved efficiency
Tracking an asset’s location and movement provides you with better accuracy and visibility. By keeping track of asset maintenance, expenses, downtime and other factors, your team is better equipped to make informed decisions about these assets.
You’ll also be able to understand the use-rate of your assets so you can optimise asset usage and improve customer service thanks to these insights.
If you’d like more information about an asset tracking solution, contact our experts at enquiries@expd.co.uk
