Efficient Asset Monitoring: Enhance Your Business with Smarter Tracking in 2024
Bhadra Gurnani

Efficient Asset Monitoring: Enhance Your Business with Smarter Tracking in 2024

Is it challenging for your company to manage its important assets? Are you trying to find ways to make operations more efficient, secure, and productive? Apparently, asset monitoring is the answer you have been looking for.  

What is Asset Monitoring? 

Asset monitoring is a system used to track and manage valuable corporate assets, providing improved security, productivity, cost-savings and data-driven decision making. 

  • Technologies such as barcodes/QR codes, RFID & GPS tracking enable efficient asset management. 
  • This procedure involves keeping an eye on maintenance plans, guaranteeing adherence, and doing data analysis to guide asset lifecycle management decisions. Asset monitoring helps different industries make better decisions overall, more economically, and more efficiently by integrating with IT systems. 
  • Successful implementations of asset monitoring solutions have led to cost reductions & operational efficiencies for businesses of all sizes. 

Understanding Asset Monitoring 

Asset management systems are used for asset tracking and management, which improves efficiency, security, and decision-making for essential company assets. The goal of asset monitoring is to:  

  • Help in improving the efficiency of enterprises.  
  • Reduce loss of inventory  
  • Monitor Asset Condition 
  • Use asset tracking technology to make business tax filing and audits easier.  

A thorough evaluation of the item being tracked, the tracking location, the tracking method, and the associated costs is necessary before choosing an IoT asset tracking technology.  

Assets comprise a wide variety of valuable assets, both digital and physical, that firms need to manage. Computers, vehicles, generators, and other technology-related equipment are examples of physical assets. Asset management programs can effectively manage these.   

Intangible assets may consist of:  

  • Brands  
  • Goodwill   
  • Intellectual property, including copyrights, trademarks, and patents.  
  • Relationships  
  • Credibility  

These assets can be handled with a new asset tracking system, one of the numerous systems that are available to make asset tracking effective. This system tracks assets using asset management software.  

Value of Asset Monitoring  

Businesses cannot maximize resource utilization, prevent theft, and maintain regulatory compliance without effective asset monitoring. Enhanced security, increased productivity, and data-driven decision-making based on historical data and real-time insights are some advantages of asset tracking. High-value asset tracking is made especially easy with asset monitoring technologies like GPS tracking, RFID technology, and barcodes and QR codes.

What is require choosing right asset monitoring?

  • A thorough assessment of the requirements of the business  
  • Comparing features and prices  
  • A focus on integration and deployment that are successful so as to guarantee efficient asset tracking.  

Benefits of Implementing Asset Monitoring Solutions 

Benefits of Implementing Asset Monitoring Solutions - Infographics

  • Using asset monitoring solutions has several benefits, such as increased productivity, enhanced security, and data-driven decision-making. 
  • By cutting expenses and time, the use of IoT-based asset tracking solutions offers a significant return on investment, significantly increasing productivity and profitability. 

The following features are available in asset tracking software: 

  • Monitoring in real time 
  • The use of geofencing 
  • Rapidly delivered and safe assets 
  • Increased productivity across all areas, for example in supply chain management, customer service, and production.  

Why is Asset monitoring beneficial?

  • Enhanced Security 

Asset monitoring systems increase security through tracking employee behavior, discouraging fraud, and giving real-time location information. Asset tracking systems use a variety of tactics, including asset tracking software, asset tracking techniques, and surveillance and monitoring, to keep tabs on employee behavior. These tactics provide companies with the ability to improve asset utilization, prevent asset loss or theft, and strengthen security. 

Asset tracking uses technologies like RFID tags, barcodes, and GPS tracking, and real- time visibility into asset location, usage history, and employee interactions is provided by specialized software. 

  • Improved Output 

Productivity rises because of centralizing data access, avoiding asset loss, and simplifying maintenance with effective asset monitoring. Increased visibility and control over assets are made possible by asset monitoring, which also leads to better employee performance and more efficient business operations. 

According to data, businesses that have adopted asset monitoring have seen noticeable advancements in: 

- Asset utilization 

- Efficiency 

- Real-time asset tracking 

- Data-driven insights 

- Preventing losses

- Streamlining operations 

Businesses can make informed decisions and optimize resource allocation by leveraging data-driven insights from asset monitoring systems. Numerous data sets are collected by these systems, such as up-to-date details on asset location, state, usage trends, maintenance logs, and performance metrics. Equipped with this extensive data, entities can execute more efficacious asset management tactics, augmenting operational effectiveness and reducing the likelihood of human error. 

Businesses can optimize resource utilization and minimize downtime and potential disruptions by proactively addressing maintenance needs by incorporating asset monitoring data into decision-making processes. With strategic decisions based on a deep comprehension of asset dynamics and performance metrics, this method promotes an operational environment that is more responsive and agile. 

Advantages of asset monitoring include the following

By using asset monitoring data, businesses may make data-driven decisions that lower costs, increase productivity, and improve overall business performance.  

Asset Monitoring Technologies and Techniques 

Various methods and technologies for asset monitoring

Asset Monitoring Technologies and Techniques

Two-dimensional codes like barcodes and QR codes can be scanned by a device to store and retrieve related data. Barcode scanning makes this process accurate and efficient. RFID technology is widely used in asset tracking to track the location and movement of assets. It works by using radio waves to precisely identify and track objects. 

With GPS-based asset tracking, data is transmitted via satellites or cellular networks using a GPS tracking device. This allows for accurate and current logs for all users. 

  • QR Codes and Barcodes 

Asset tracking can be accomplished more affordably with barcodes and QR codes, but these systems lack real-time location data and must be manually scanned. Barcode asset tracking software makes electronic asset management and tracking easier and accessible to all staff members when needed. This is especially useful for companies with remote workers or multiple locations. 

Spreadsheet-based asset tracking has limitations, is more difficult to derive insights from, and requires Excel specialists. For these reasons, asset tracking technologies are a better option. 

  • RFID Methodology 

Although RFID technology offers more sophisticated tracking features, its implementation can be more costly and difficult. RFID tags come in two different varieties: passive and active. While active RFID tags work with Bluetooth beacons to continuously transmit a wealth of data, passive RFID tags send signals to an antenna that reflects them back to a reader located at a predetermined "choke point." 

Compared to barcodes, which require line-of-sight to read tracking tags, RFID technology can achieve asset location accuracy rates of up to 99%, according to research. 

  • GPS Monitoring  

GPS tracking is perfect for tracking valuable or mobile assets since it gives real-time location data; however, it can be more expensive and needs specific hardware. Asset tracking uses GPS (Global Positioning System) technology to monitor an asset's location in real time. Assets, like cars or machinery, have GPS-enabled devices installed on them that send location information to a central system. Businesses can use this to track the movements and whereabouts of their assets, resulting in more effective asset management and enhanced security.  

You can select the asset monitoring system that best suits your company's requirements and make an informed choice by taking these factors into consideration:   

  • Price lists and comparative analysis: The features and costs of various asset monitoring systems can be compared using websites such as Capterra, which provide thorough side-by-side comparisons of software solutions and their prices. It is essential to compare the features and costs of various asset monitoring systems before deciding on a choice, and to conduct thorough research and take business needs into account. The cost of asset monitoring systems ranges from $15 to more than $1,000 a month, with some providers offering tiered pricing according to features or user count. 

  • Assessing Your Company's Requirements 
    The following factors need to be considered when evaluating business requirements for asset monitoring: 
    - Analyze Asset Labels 
    - Depreciation Control 
    - Real Time Alerts 
    - Knowledge and Skill 
    - Adaptability 
    - Cost-efficiency 

  • Location: The geographic position of the assets is essential when selecting an asset monitoring solution since it allows organizations to keep an eye on and manage the actual location of their assets. By using this data, transportation routes can be made more efficient, bottlenecks can be found, and effective asset utilization is ensured. 

When assessing asset monitoring system pricing, the following factors should be considered: 

- Available features

- Number of assets monitored 

- Quality of customer service 

- Cost of tags or tracking devices 

- Battery life of the devices 

- Precision of location tracking 

Some asset monitoring systems with the most positive customer reviews include Asset Panda, Samsara, Verizon Connect, and Pulseway. 

  • Integration and Performance 

It is necessary to set up the network for seamless data relay, integrate the tracking system with current software, test and calibrate the system, and guarantee real-time asset tracking with other current systems to ensure that the selected asset monitoring system is simple to implement and integrate with the current technological infrastructure. Determining the kind and category of assets, giving each asset a unique identification number, finding out what kind of asset label is needed, assigning and tracking asset numbers, and keeping an eye on the addition, deletion, and modification of assets are the steps involved in putting an asset monitoring system into place.  

Typically, the effective implementation of an asset monitoring system can take several weeks to several months.  

Successful Asset Monitoring Implementations 

Case studies of successful asset monitoring implementations demonstrate the benefits and best practices for businesses of all sizes.  
Small Enterprise Success Story  

Think about a small-scale manufacturing business that produces specialized parts for machinery. To improve operational efficiency, this company installed an asset monitoring system. Every piece of equipment has RFID tags installed by the system, which also uses sensors to gather data in real time. 

In this case, the asset monitoring system makes it possible for the business to keep track of each component's location within the building, guaranteeing a productive production process. The machinery's condition and usage patterns are tracked by the system, which also provides performance metrics. The system sets off automated alerts when a machine exhibit wear or needs maintenance, allowing the maintenance team to take quick action. 

The small business achieved the following benefits through the implementation of an asset monitoring system: 

  • Cost reduction 
  • Operational efficiency improvements 
  • Real-time data on asset location, condition, and performance 
  • Optimization of asset allocation 
  • Identification of areas for improvement 

The small business showed the advantages of asset monitoring for small enterprises by increasing productivity and cutting costs by putting in place an easily accessible and reasonably priced asset monitoring system. 

Large Enterprise Success Story  

An advanced asset monitoring system is used by a large logistics company to maximize efficiency. The system has decreased downtime by using GPS, sensors, and RFID tags to deliver real-time alerts for possible failures and maintenance requirements. Through data-driven optimizations, such as effective route planning and lower fuel costs, it maximizes asset performance. Proactive decision-making is made possible by comprehensive insights into asset utilization, maintenance, and performance metrics. These insights help to anticipate potential failures and support strategic growth initiatives. All things considered, the asset monitoring system helps the large-scale logistics company maximize productivity, reduce downtime, and make well-informed decisions. 

The large enterprise was able to achieve the following benefits through the implementation of an asset monitoring system: 

  • Reduced downtime 
  • Maximized asset performance. 
  • Detailed data on asset utilization, maintenance requirements, and performance.
  • Anticipated potential equipment failures. 
  • Planned for future growth. 

To sum up, efficient asset monitoring is definitely essential for maximizing operational effectiveness, reducing downtime, and protecting priceless resources. The correct asset monitoring system may offer real-time insights, predictive analytics, and simplified management capabilities, as we have discussed in this blog. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. What does asset tracking seek to accomplish?  

With an efficient tracking solution, asset tracking helps firms prevent inventory loss, manage the condition of their assets, and make audits and tax filing easier.  

2. Which kinds of assets are able to be identified?  

It is possible to monitor both digital and physical assets, such as data and software licenses, as well as machinery and automobiles.  

3. What are asset monitoring's primary advantages?    

Among the many advantages of asset monitoring are its capacity to optimize resource use, discourage theft, and guarantee regulatory compliance.  

4. Which methods and technologies are used in asset monitoring?  

Barcodes, QR codes, RFID technologies, and GPS tracking provide asset monitoring.  

5. How can I pick the best asset tracking system for my company?  

To select the best asset monitoring system for your company, assess your requirements, weigh features and costs, and make sure integration and installation are doable. 

Also, read: Understanding the Perceptron