Introduction
Nowadays, it’s crucial for businesses to keep track of their assets since doing so can help them save time and money. Asset management is the practice of optimizing a company’s assets to give stakeholders the best returns possible. It frequently includes asset recovery as well. Assets for businesses can be both fixed and liquid, and they come in many different forms. A company needs to be able to manage these assets and use them to generate the highest profits. In this blog post, we will look into the top 10 benefits of an Asset Management solution.
Top 10 benefits of an Asset Management solution
Asset management software enables businesses to keep track of, manage, and report on the condition of all of their vital assets so they can be proactive in problem-solving and save operational expenses from rising due to avoidable challenges. With asset management, an enterprise asset management system assists the maintenance team in managing the physical firm assets during the course of the asset life. They can be used by the entire business to increase asset performance throughout asset life cycles, improve ROI, maintain worker safety, lower cost of ownership with lower lifespan costs, and increase productivity.
Using asset management technologies to manage assets has many advantages for businesses. The following list includes some of the advantages of employing asset management systems.
1. Enhanced Customer Experience
An effective asset management strategy will benefit the customers, who are the backbone of any business. Whether you work in a warehouse, a construction site, or an emergency department, effective asset management will improve the efficiency of your entire business. The possibilities are endless once you have a formalized procedure like asset management practices in place for handling the equipment necessary to provide first-rate client service. Furthermore, when customers sign a contract with you, they anticipate a profitable investment. They expect to receive information regarding the real-time whereabouts of their assets, among other things.
With an efficient asset management system, you can constantly monitor your internal assets. Additionally, you can monitor how quickly the products go through your internal procedures and look for ways to boost output. Customers might be delighted by receiving the best customer service and having their issues resolved as soon as feasible. Better statistics about your client’s needs can be obtained with the asset management system, and you can notify them anytime a new update is made. Consequently, greater word-of-mouth advertising can be obtained by providing better customer service. It boosts customer confidence, keeps your current customers, and gives you access to new potential customers.
2. Improve Visibility of Assets
Everyone is well aware that a company is made up of several assets. Every asset has a specific function, whether they be personnel, facilities, IT assets like computers and servers, software assets, or physical or digital assets. A company’s assets increase in number as it expands. Consequently, recording each in a spreadsheet might be challenging and time-consuming. The features required to guarantee that all assets are visible and discoverable are seamlessly provided by asset management technologies. The utilization of asset tracking features is particularly noteworthy. A central database usually referred to as an asset register, houses this data. An asset register contains a plethora of information about each physical asset, including Purchase price, Location, Date of purchase, status, and Unique ID number.
An asset management solution can also be used to conduct audits, improve asset visibility and reduce compliance risks. Asset audits, whether internal or external, place a lot of demands on the business. However, audits are important because they enable a business to identify any phantom assets and licenses. Using the asset management solution, you can obtain exact information that you can utilize to make judgments.
3. Real-time Tracking
One crucial advantage of asset management is real-time asset tracking. A variety of asset tracking tags and labels can be used by businesses to track inventories, vehicles, and equipment in real-time. These take the form of GPS trackers, RFID tags, barcodes, QR codes, and NFC tags. Depending on your needs, each labeling option offers advantages of its own. Moreover, the asset management system enables the company to monitor all of its assets. It can provide information about the assets’ location, use, and modification history. Utilizing asset management software with GPS tracking allows you to know exactly where and on what your employees are working. This is a great way to maximize team member productivity while maintaining client satisfaction.
Asset managers will also track and ensure that registers are updated regularly with accurate data by using real-time asset management systems instead of manually updating spreadsheet fields, which might result in expensive mistakes. A lot of effort is needed from each of your employees to keep track of quickly changing assets in a worksheet and constantly update it. Following the transfer of assets, if one of your employees forgets to update it, it becomes challenging to trace such assets. For assets that move quickly, automatic software will make it easier to track where the object is located and update data about the item’s most recent user. Also, it is straightforward to find out when the asset was last treated.
4. Access Asset Data from Anywhere at Anytime
A cloud-based asset management system gives all employees access to a variety of features. To begin with, anyone within the firm has access to your entire asset directory at any time and from any location, unlike other offline techniques like spreadsheets. The asset management software in the cloud offers scalability, flexibility, and cost-saving advantages while offering visibility and control over all the infrastructure and assets. The cloud-based software develops a cloud inventory for your company to effectively manage your cloud estate and ensure its smooth operation. In terms of scalability, dependability, and ease of use, using the cloud for asset tracking and inventory is a long-term plan. When it comes to upgrading, a cloud-based solution is a relief because the cost of the service is significantly lower and, with some providers, even free to start.
Furthermore, a mobile app or specific web page can be used to access an asset management system on a mobile device. It enables users to access asset registers off-site to inspect, amend, and add to them. This implies that everyone who has to access data to complete a task, including field operators, asset managers, inventory managers, and maintenance engineers, can do so. You can also utilize mobile devices with cameras and built-in scanners for QR codes and Barcodes to update information on the go.
5. Eliminating Manual Work
One major advantage of implementing an automated asset management system is the ability to abandon dealing with manual methods like spreadsheets. Spreadsheets fall short when it comes to managing assets for a number of reasons: Spreadsheets don’t have a historical data record, are difficult to exchange between teams, are prone to errors, and don’t contain the newest features. It might be a good idea to start by using spreadsheet templates for managing and tracking assets. However, when your business expands, so do your assets. Spreadsheets are more prone to errors as a result of the increased amount of data and information that must be gathered. Moreover, the limitations of manual work systems, the inability to track assets in real-time, and the lack of automation capabilities all point to one thing: a digital asset management system is more effective for the long-term survival of your business.
With an effective asset management system, since everything is managed via the cloud, there would be less paperwork, implying fewer human errors. As all documents are available online, they are easier to retrieve and less likely to be lost. One tiny data input error can have a significant impact on a piece of paperwork; for instance, entering the incorrect shipment address might have a negative impact on a company’s operations.
6. Asset Lifecycle Management
Asset management software gives firms the tools they need to comprehend the life cycle of each asset. It is feasible to buy, use, maintain, and dispose of the assets in the most effective manner by having a thorough understanding of life cycle management. With an asset lifecycle management strategy, all asset-related information will be centralized in a competent asset management system. At the stroke of a button, you may get all asset information connected to the acquisition, asset use, asset health, impairment, depreciation, and pertinent papers for the assets.
An asset management system also aids in managing the acquisition of hardware assets as well as their lifespan. This actionable information is used to decide whether to replace outdated or defective hardware, remove risky applications, upgrade any system, or determine when to extend or renew a contract with a vendor, provider of hardware, or software.
7. Increased Maintenance Capabilities
Maintenance is a crucial component of asset life cycle management. A major advantage of any asset management system is the ability to create an effective maintenance schedule. It makes sure assets are retained as long as possible in top condition. Different engineers have different maintenance approaches; some favor preventive maintenance while others favor reactive maintenance. In either case, a sound maintenance strategy aids in: decreasing the amount of time that crucial machinery and equipment are unavailable, reducing the expense of repairs and breakdowns, increasing asset uptime, and extending the lifespan of assets.
Constantly maintaining and keeping track of a company’s physical assets requires a lot of time and work. The asset management strategy can be a fantastic approach to increasing maintenance, operational productivity, and cutting costs. Additionally, since the asset management system will keep track of maintenance tasks, you no longer need to regularly monitor asset maintenance. The maintenance team’s duty is made easier by this asset management system, which allows them to see the tasks that need to be completed.
8. Ensure Regulatory Compliance
In the business world, compliance is a crucial concern. In addition to the external factors at play, you probably also have internal compliance standards, which is where automated tracking solutions come in handy. Internally, for instance, it can be crucial to restrict the amount of time spent utilizing a specific piece of equipment if you’re running low on it or if people hoard it for their own usage. Furthermore, it is challenging to imagine a company that is not subject to some sort of external accreditation or regulation.
Many small and medium-sized businesses operate in highly regulated sectors. These businesses must effectively collect and submit data to demonstrate their adherence to legal standards. Asset management can assist your business in meeting legal obligations for things like equipment calibration, testing, and maintenance. Using sophisticated asset monitoring software will completely streamline your reporting obligations. For instance, with an effective asset management system, detailed compliance reports can be obtained quickly. If the same data had been gathered manually, these reports would have taken months to complete.
9. Trusted financial reports
Financial statements can be used to evaluate how well your business is doing. By examining the financial statements, you can tell whether the economy of your firm is growing or contracting. Furthermore, banks, partners of your business, and potential investors all require trustworthy financial reports. The quantity and value of assets recorded on the balance sheet are the financial statements that frequently observe the three parties mentioned above. Trust between partners and investors will undoubtedly rise if these financial statements have undergone an independent or third-party audit. As indicated in the preceding point, asset management software will make the audit process simpler and quicker, increasing the credibility and dependability of financial reports.
10. Simplified Auditing Process
Companies must perform an audit on a regular basis, ideally once per year. You can imagine the difficulties of the audit procedure if you are still utilizing the manual way to track firm assets. If you continue to manually record assets, a number of challenges frequently come up throughout the audit process. Some of them include discrepancies between the assets listed in the document and the actual number of assets in the field, or vice versa, where there are assets in the field, but you can’t locate the data in your document. Audits are usually conducted manually by re-inventorying each asset owned and recognized by the company. Typically, audit officers compare the physical assets in the field with the asset purchase documentation. It takes a lot of time and energy to do this.
Such inventory procedures can be completed more easily and swiftly with tools like the online-based Asset Management System. Additionally, the outcomes of the inventory procedure will be gathered in the form of data that is simple to read. Additionally, you can use an integrated inventory management software to optimize inventory levels, monitor stock transfer procedures, estimate inventory needs, and manage stock in order to maximize the management of the business’s inventory or non-fixed assets.
