Keeping track of physical assets is an essential part of any business owner’s job. Of course, in larger organizations, the chore is usually delegated to a dedicated team that includes security personnel and others. But, when it comes to tracking, storing, observing, and moving any tangible asset, there’s business technology that helps humans do the job.
In many cases, primarily in the surveillance category, modern technological software and systems are indispensable. Indeed, if it weren’t for fleet tracking, AI-enhanced cameras, production cycle monitors, virtual tags, and other technology, asset management would be an insurmountable task for even the most conscientious individual or team. The most sophisticated and efficient biz-tech solutions in current use include the following.
Virtual Tagging
V-tags have been a staple in manufacturing facilities for more than 20 years. Owners attach physical tags or virtual ones, including microchips or similar devices, to expensive machinery, vehicles, and large office furniture. It’s a technological way of tracing the real-time location of anything at all. The big change in this realm began to take place about 10 years ago when owners started embedding chips into all sorts of items, even less expensive, smaller ones like office equipment, tablet computers, and furniture. The reason virtual tagging took off is that prices came down and tags themselves consisted of metallic, non-removable stickers or easily embedded chips.
Fleet Tracking
Ask any transport company manager, and they’ll tell you that trucks are their most valuable tangible asset. Of course, the value of cargo can sometimes be greater than the total cost of the vehicle carrying it, but companies that use truck fleets for shipping don’t own those good. They’re just moving them from Point A to Point B for a fee. However, modern fleet management systems, programs, and software are among the most advanced of all business-related technology in current use.
In addition to sophisticated ELDs (electronic logging devices) that keep tabs on driver hours, if you own a transportation business, you can use GPS to track your fleet in real time and stay connected to every vehicle and driver that’s under your control. GPS fleet tracking software and solutions offer managers and owners the ability to manage the company’s most valuable asset classes with precision accuracy and at a cost that works for small and large businesses.
Smart Cameras
AI-enabled cameras are the workhorses of today’s asset management industry. No matter what goods a company sells, stores, or ships, there’s no better way of overseeing their location, condition, and storage situation than with smart cameras. Much more sophisticated than typical security cams, surveillance devices paired with AI software programs provide reams of data about every unit of inventory and every in-use asset under their control.
When fitted with facial recognition capability, for example, a smart cam can record the identity of the last individual who interacted with a particular piece of equipment, inventory storage facility, or room where sensitive data is stored. Along with a positive personal ID, the cams can record the exact date, place, and time of the event. This kind of super surveillance nearly eliminates theft, misuse, and misappropriation of all kinds of assets.
Production Cycle Monitoring
Sophisticated monitoring cams have the ability to observe a production line and determine how many equivalent units are produced in a given period of time. For example, if a robotic assembly line turns out 500 units on an eight-hour shift and 300 of them are 100 percent complete, while 200 are 40 percent complete, the number of equivalent units is 380 (300 + (.4 x 200)). The calculation is a standard part of the cost accounting repertoire, but AI production cycle cameras can do even the most complex math on multiple lines simultaneously. For companies that manufacture anything, the daily calculation of equivalent units is an essential part of determining crucial factors like the cost of goods sold, materials used, the amount of time to create each product, and many more.
Perpetual Depreciation Calculators
Business owners have used perpetual depreciation systems for many years, but newer versions of the software are highly efficient at delivering useful data to managers 24/7. That way, accountants and financial team members always have the latest figures for tax documents, quarterly reports, and annual reporting requirements.