Being in the fixed asset tracking business – I think about fixed assets more than most people & tend to hear things from that perspective. I know, I’m a little weird that way.
That being said, there has been a lot going on in the news lately – and some of our recent headlines really had me thinking about the vulnerability of assets. Here are just a few from the last week:
- UAW widening strike against GM and Stellantis
- UPS reaches tentative contract with 340,000 unionized workers
- Fed approves hike that takes interest rates to highest level in more than 22 years
- Teamsters say trucking giant Yellow Corp. is ceasing operations, filing for bankruptcy
It may not have been the intention of their author, but to me, these stories highlight the importance of knowing what you have and where you have it.
I know this sounds like something out of left field. But consider this – most organizations have an enormous amount of money invested in the tools they use to conduct their business. Those tools could be anything – computers or forklifts or wheelchairs or whatever.
Before the pandemic, many organizations simply ordered replacements when things couldn’t be found. After all, most items could be obtained pretty quickly (Amazon has trained us well.)
When supply chain issues hit, this put some teams in a bind and exacerbated the problem.
After things calmed down, many responded by stockpiling items “just to be on the safe side.”
Either way – simply staying on top of the state of your assets could prevent the need for panic orders or budget-blowing stashes. And it would certainly make you less impacted by external factors like if UPS goes on strike or costs increase with interest rates.
Most people think about doing asset inventories as that annoying task that has to be done to comply with accounting’s report requirements.
But that asset data might also be helpful to you when you’re trying to get things done, get the most value out of what you already own, and not be at the mercy of outside organizations any more than you have to be.
Do you feel confident in the status of your assets? If not, we can help. We’ve been helping teams prevent asset problems for over 20 years – and we can also help you comply with those pesky accounting requirements in the process.
