Recently we’ve been talking about things to consider before bringing in an automated solution to your organization. While we’ve been focused on fixed assets – these principles can be applied broadly to many automated solutions.
Just to recap – I think the best place to start is to understand your current situation first. You’ll have a hard time finding an ideal solution if you don’t have this information.
Next, you can take that information and align it with your desired outcomes for automation. Finally, you can then confidently select the best fitting components and get implementation underway.
I know that sounds like a lot of work. And when you consider how much we buy these days with a few taps on our phones, it is. But we’re not buying socks from Amazon here. We’re creating a more efficient and trustworthy process for handling what, for most organizations, is the most significant investment next to employee compensation.
The right solution will more than make up for the effort – from a few different perspectives.
The Benefits of the Right Solution
Automating processes like managing your asset inventory audits has some real – and immediate – benefits. These show up in how your resources are impacted and the asset data itself. Over time, these benefits will continue and even expand.
Let’s look at this from a resource perspective – particularly the investment, the staff, and the amount of time surrounding your fixed assets. A baseline can often be determined by the amount of time or money required by an effort. When you effectively apply changes, such as an automated solution, to your asset management initiatives – you will immediately see improvement in these measurements.
The Effort Impact:
- Easier Process: A solid solution will enable your staff to easily collect information wherever the asset is located.
- Faster Completion: Automation will lessen the time required to complete the inventory task by eliminating manual effort and rework.
- Staff Acceptance: Change is never easy. But solutions that are easy to use will be better received by your staff resources. If a task is easy, it gets done – not delayed.
The Monetary Impact:
- Accurate Data: Automation minimizes – and in many cases, eliminates the opportunity for errors. This is critical when you consider all of the ways that you identified earlier how your organization might use that data. Accurate data eliminates the need for financial set-asides for lost assets, emergency replacements, and more – because you know what you have, where you have it, and what condition that it’s in.
- Fewer Resources Required: When you automate your processes, it takes far fewer staff resources to conduct your asset audits – and for much less time. That keeps them free to focus on other tasks needing attention.
What’s more, by automating what you’re doing now, you’ll start to see other areas where your solution may further expand those results. You may consider:
- Lowering the valuation threshold for asset tracking resulting in more broad visibility
- Increasing audit frequencies for more timely asset data
- Expanding technologies to tools like RFID for real-time visibility
Other Ongoing Benefits
Part of a solution’s success is ensuring that it can accommodate the changing needs of your organization. Assets may continuously be on the move, and your team may be juggling many different tasks, needs, and environments. But when it comes to complying with your inventory requirements, automation with a solution like mobilePLUS can help:
- Regardless of asset markings in linear barcodes, 2d barcodes, or RFID
- With or without network coverage anywhere the assets are located
- With intuitive user screens to guide your team, so you don’t have to spend a ton of time on training and support
- Increase confidence in the integrity of the data that you enter.
Naturally, I have some biases regarding the type of solution you consider when automating your asset inventory and audit processes. mobilePLUS offers an excellent approach that provides a way to quickly and easily streamline these tasks and ensure that the resulting data you collect is as accurate and timely as possible.
Regardless of the solution you choose, just remember to do your homework upfront and focus on the results and benefits of adding the right technologies. And know that if you have any questions along the way – we’re here to help.
