No matter your business size, it can be time consuming to manage your assets, especially if you have never tried to do so before. However, this does not have to be a painful process. It is often easier than you think to streamline asset management.
Use the Right Software
An easy way to streamline the process is to ensure you are using the correct software. Don’t make the mistake of using a spreadsheet or even pen and paper to keep track of everything, since these are highly prone to error.
That can lead to incorrect conclusions about the inventory, and it is nearly impossible to find mistakes after they have been made. Instead, consider integrating software with your general ledger so everyone can update data.
Depending on the asset, you will want to make sure your software can track locations and help you keep track of maintenance. For example, with fleets, you may want to use a GPS fleet tracking solution. This uses real-time GPS data to help you stay on top of tracking. By using fleet monitoring solutions, it can eliminate the headache of keeping track of multiple vehicles.
Catalog What You Do Have
It will take a while to create a catalog of the items you have, but it is a necessary step. Make sure you come up with an accurate list of everything the business owns. Make sure you include the location and type of the asset. If you skip this step, the other information you come up with will not be accurate.
Make sure you make note of anything that has gone missing or was stolen. Otherwise, you could end up insuring or paying taxes on items you believe are there. Plus, your workers will not be as productive when the item is not there when they need it.
It is important to delegate responsibility to ensure someone is taking care of each item. For example, the fleet manager is responsible for vehicles, and the IT manager is responsible for computers and other hardware. That way, if someone is looking for an item and does not know where it is, they can quickly ask the right person the question. And it also ensures that when assets do go missing, someone will quickly start the search for it.
Tracking as You Go
It can be hard to identify each asset that you need to keep track of, and this is an example of one of the top challenges that PMO’s face, for example, since there is constant fluctuation. So, once you have created your baseline catalog, make a habit of adding new items as you go, instead of waiting to do them all at once. Have your employees add things from the first day they come in and before they are used.
That way, it will not disappear before your employees can record it. Try using barcodes or ID tags to stay on top of the process. With a barcode, an employee can quickly scan an item to discover what it is and that it belongs to your company. After barcoding everything, your employees can scan them and upload them to the system.
