28 profesionales de gestión de activos e inventario revelan las formas más eficaces para que las organizaciones realicen un seguimiento de los activos de gran valor

Si su empresa administra activos de alto valor, sabe cuán importante puede ser el seguimiento efectivo de activos. Los activos de alto valor que son de tamaño pequeño a menudo están sujetos a robo o desvío, mientras que los activos de mayor valor, como los equipos, a menudo requieren un mantenimiento preventivo regular para que sus inversiones funcionen de manera óptima durante su vida útil. La gestión eficaz de activos es simplemente una buena práctica comercial, que protege las inversiones de su empresa y aumenta los resultados al garantizar que obtiene el máximo valor de cada activo y de cada dólar gastado.

Pero, ¿cuál es la mejor manera de rastrear esos activos de alto valor? Implementar el sistema de seguimiento de activos incorrecto es un error costoso, tanto en términos de su inversión inicial como del resultado a largo plazo. Si bien no existe una solución única para todas las empresas, existen algunos métodos probados para rastrear activos de alto valor. Para averiguar qué métodos funcionan mejor para las organizaciones actuales, contactamos a un panel de profesionales de gestión de activos e inventario y les pedimos que respondieran esta pregunta:

“¿Cuál es la forma más efectiva para que las organizaciones realicen un seguimiento de los activos de alto valor?”

Conozca a nuestro panel de profesionales de gestión de activos e inventario:

Nate Masterson Ashish Chona Jeff Stollman Anna Knezevic Patricio J. Sweeney II Steve Wang Uwe Weinkauf Damon Shinnie Matt Man

Eric Hobbs Devin Pickell Ken Stalcup Jinesh Patel Steve Pritchard Steve Kurniawan Kevin Dugan Grant van der Harst Sean Vierta Dra. Scott Newton

Kevin Lawton Chris Wiegand Rory Crawford Kacper Brzozowski Jeff Sameth Francisco Castro Murray Quibell Pratibha Vuppuluri Bijan Abdi

Siga leyendo para conocer lo que nuestros expertos dijeron sobre las mejores formas de realizar un seguimiento de los activos de alto valor de su empresa.

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Nate Masterson

@MapleHolistics

Nate Masterson es el gerente de marketing de Maple Holistics.

“Operamos a través de un sistema mecanizado a prueba de fallas, que…”

Esencialmente significa para nosotros que si algo sale mal, se activa otro a prueba de fallas para evitar que las cosas se tuerzan. Un ejemplo de esto serían nuestros camiones; los conductores son personalmente responsables de cada paso del camino.

Usan su número de empleado para sacar las llaves del depósito, abrir el garaje y planificar su ruta. De esta manera, todos saben por qué tienen el camión y con qué propósito. Además de eso, cada camión tiene un rastreador. Este tipo de mecanismo a prueba de fallas evita que algo salga tan mal que no se pueda resolver fácilmente.

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Ashish Chona

@ORBCOMM_Inc

Ashish Chona es responsable de las ventas y el desarrollo comercial de las soluciones de software IoT empresarial de ORBCOMM. Su experiencia y áreas de interés son la movilidad, las tecnologías y los servicios basados ​​en la identificación y la ubicación, las tecnologías de Internet y middleware, la robótica, el software empresarial y los sistemas integrados.

“La clave para realizar un seguimiento eficaz de los activos de alto valor es…”

La capacidad de habilitar soluciones que utilizan múltiples tecnologías para garantizar una visibilidad completa en cada paso de la cadena de suministro. A medida que las cadenas de suministro se vuelven más complejas, pueden surgir vulnerabilidades, particularmente en torno a las transferencias, donde se encuentran los diferentes procesos de las partes interesadas. Los procesos en las transferencias suelen ser manuales y, a menudo, carecen de visibilidad y control, lo que genera errores que pueden tener graves efectos negativos aguas abajo. Tomemos, por ejemplo, un proceso de cadena de frío para carga de alto valor, que puede tener un excelente control de temperatura en el camión pero puede verse comprometido por algo tan simple como dejar la puerta abierta en el almacén durante demasiado tiempo.

Aquí es donde la tecnología y la automatización de Internet de las cosas (IoT) pueden facilitar la localización y el tratamiento de errores en tiempo real, lo que garantiza el cumplimiento normativo y la integridad de los activos desde el origen hasta el destino. Mediante el uso de una plataforma integral de IoT que puede rastrear equipos y componentes individuales con IoT y otras tecnologías (RFID, BLE, WIP, código de barras, Wi-Fi, GPS, RTLS, celular y satelital), los gerentes operativos y de la cadena de suministro pueden obtener datos más precisos y granulares. conocimiento más allá de la ubicación de activos y métricas de nivel superior.

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Jeff Stollman

Jeff Stollman es el consultor principal de Rocky Mountain Technical Marketing. Es un futurista de la tecnología que asesora a los clientes sobre la viabilidad y estrategias para la explotación de nuevas tecnologías. También ayuda a las nuevas empresas de blockchain en el desarrollo de estrategias y documentos técnicos, incluidos los documentos técnicos utilizados para respaldar las Ofertas iniciales de monedas (ICO).

“La mejor manera de rastrear un activo depende del tipo de activo…”

Algunos ejemplos de tipos de activos son:

1. Recursos digitales privados
2. Recursos digitales públicos
3. Recursos físicos únicos
4. Activos físicos maleables

Los activos digitales privados suelen ser etiquetas que hacen referencia a activos de alto valor cuyo valor no proviene de la presentación pública (por ejemplo, criptomonedas). Los activos digitales privados a menudo se pueden rastrear de manera efectiva en una cadena de bloques. La cadena de bloques no necesita identificar el activo en texto sin formato; puede usar una versión codificada de la identificación del activo (un hash es una transformación unidireccional del identificador utilizado para nombrar el activo). Esto evita que sea conocido y copiado.

Los activos digitales públicos son activos cuyo valor se obtiene a través de la presentación pública (por ejemplo, obras o arte que incluyen texto, música, fotografías y video). Se puede usar una cadena de bloques para rastrear la propiedad de dichos activos, pero ha sido difícil evitar que dichos activos se copien ilegalmente (si tienen derechos de autor). Se han diseñado esquemas como la gestión de derechos digitales (DRM) para tratar de evitar la copia y el uso no autorizados de tales activos, pero han sido difíciles de implementar y no han sido muy efectivos en su objetivo previsto, como lo demuestra el mercado negro generalizado de nuevas películas y películas. música pirateada.

Los activos físicos únicos tienen una forma física y se pueden etiquetar individualmente (por ejemplo, esculturas, pinturas, diamantes, botellas de medicamentos recetados). Para rastrear dichos activos, primero es necesario identificarlos de manera única. Esto se hace a menudo con alguna forma de etiquetado. Los diamantes cortados tienen una etiqueta incorporada porque contienen pequeños defectos que se pueden mapear de manera única con un gran aumento. Una vez identificados de forma única, los diamantes cortados se pueden rastrear en una cadena de bloques. Para activos creados por el hombre, es necesario agregar una etiqueta al activo. Puede ser una etiqueta de papel (a menudo con un código de barras) en el artículo o en su embalaje (como en el caso de los productos farmacéuticos). O puede ser una etiqueta sofisticada que puede usar una tinta que contiene una firma química única o una combinación de perlas de plástico microscópicas presionadas juntas en un patrón único. Una vez que el activo es identificable de forma única, se puede rastrear su propiedad en una cadena de bloques. Everledger ofrece este servicio de seguimiento de cadena de bloques para diamantes cortados hoy. TBSx3 rastrea el vino. Numerosas empresas están desarrollando soluciones de cadena de bloques para el seguimiento de productos farmacéuticos, incluidas Rocky Mountain Technical Marketing, RXTransparent, Chronicled e iSolve.

Los activos físicos maleables son artículos a granel que no pueden tener un tamaño o forma únicos (por ejemplo, metales preciosos). Estos activos no se pueden identificar de forma única. Incluso un lingote de oro con un número de serie impreso puede fundirse y volver a numerarse. O bien, se pueden quitar las virutas y fugarse. La extracción se puede detectar pesando el lingote, pero es posible que no se rastree el paradero del metal extraído. Además, el lingote podría fundirse y retirarse parte del material, mientras que el material restante se adulteraría con otro metal y se volvería a fundir para lograr el mismo peso. En tales casos, sería necesario un ensayo del lingote para confirmar si ha sido alterado. El seguimiento de dichos activos se mantiene actualmente mediante partes de confianza. Por ejemplo, una mina de oro utilizará un vehículo blindado con licencia para transportar el oro recién extraído a sus clientes. Se podría usar una cadena de bloques para rastrear envíos de dicho material por peso o volumen, sin requerir el etiquetado de cada átomo del material. Pero las pruebas en el extremo receptor aún pueden ser necesarias. Peerledger está desarrollando una solución de cadena de bloques para evitar que los minerales de conflicto entren en la cadena de suministro de materiales extraídos legítimamente.

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Ana Knezevic

@M8A_Soluciones

Anna Knezevic es directora general de M&A Solutions Ltd. Anna es consultora de pequeñas y medianas empresas del sector privado. Ha publicado artículos sobre capital y finanzas, y tiene investigaciones en curso sobre la simplificación de modelos con la ayuda de análisis de datos. La Sra. Knezevic tiene experiencia laboral en más de cinco países. Es titular de una certificación CFA y actuaria.

“Veamos qué puede ser un activo de alto valor. Puede ser…”

Intangible:software, patente, información:un sistema de acceso autónomo separado con su propio cifrado debe garantizar que la información sea indescifrable para los piratas informáticos ocasionales. En caso de que eso falle, la calidad de la marca de agua dentro de la información (por ejemplo, Mountweazel) debe indicar dónde se encuentran actualmente las personas que se apropian indebidamente de su propiedad y permitirle recuperar su propiedad.

Persona:habilidad, talento, reputación:Opinión impopular:minería de datos en las redes sociales. Esto puede ayudarlo a rastrear la percepción pública de la persona clave, así como cualquier posible cambio de sentimiento con respecto a su negocio. Esto tiene dos consecuencias:1) un empleado feliz es un empleado que seguirá trabajando; 2) si alguien más con las mismas características está disponible, puede reemplazar el activo si se va.

Tangible:propiedad, planta, equipo:IoT es su amigo. Es muy económico manipular e instalar pequeños dispositivos de seguimiento personalizados hechos con Raspberry Pis o Andruinos que le dirán dónde está su activo y cómo está en tiempo real. Cualquier cosa, desde la salinidad del suelo hasta los metros de tela producidos, es posible y bastante fácil de crear.

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Patrick J. Sweeney II

@PJSweeney

Patrick J. Sweeney II es el autor de RFID para Dummies , y co-colaborador de los organismos de estándares internacionales que crearon los protocolos sobre cómo el Internet de las cosas (IoT) se comunica entre etiquetas y lectores. También fue director ejecutivo de la empresa de software y servicios RFID líder en el mundo antes de vender la empresa en 2012.

“El seguimiento de activos más eficaz depende del tamaño y la movilidad de un activo…”

No hay una respuesta perfecta. Por ejemplo, los dispositivos médicos grandes que se encuentran dentro de un hospital pueden usar un sistema de seguimiento habilitado para Wi-Fi, donde las etiquetas son grandes, costosas y contienen una batería. Los artículos pequeños y costosos, como los anillos de compromiso, que generalmente se encuentran dentro de una tienda, pueden usar etiquetas de identificación por radiofrecuencia pasiva (pRFID) que son económicas y muy pequeñas, los contenedores de envío intermodal que pueden contener millones de dólares de valor pueden usar una etiqueta RFID activa junto con rastreo GPS. Debe examinar el caso de uso para determinar la mejor manera de rastrear los activos y necesita un sistema operativo que permita muchos tipos de etiquetas.

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Steve Wang

Steve Wang trabajó en Recursos Humanos durante más de 15 años como gerente de contratación y reclutador. He’s also a serial entrepreneur who has helped build companies like Mock Interview and CareerCo from the ground up.

“The single most effective way for organizations to track their high-value assets is to…”

Incorporate a real-time tracking solution in their company. Things like passive and active RFIDs are used to automatically track assets as they come in and out of warehouses or delivery trucks. If you need to track your high-value assets’ exact location in real-time, RTLS (Real-Time Location Systems) be can be used in conjunction with RFIDs or barcodes to further monitor your assets’ status. By incorporating a real-time tracking solution to your business, you’ll be able to more precisely track your assets as well as discover new ways to improve asset management and reduce operational inefficiencies in this area.

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Uwe Weinkauf

@mw2inc

Uwe Weinkauf is the CEO of MW2 Consulting, experts in Enterprise Application Development, Ecommerce, IT Outsourcing, and IT Operations that deliver valuable solutions for global business needs.

“When trying to track your company’s assets properly, you need to consider a few things…”

Such as how you are going to evaluate and prioritize your company’s requirements. To do this, you need to first define and prioritize what you are looking for from a software package to meet these needs. Second, evaluate the degree to which each product is able to meet your requirements. Lastly, before purchasing the software, take it for a test drive which will allow you to make sure that it’s actually a good fit.

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Damon Shinnie

@findmeagift

Damon Shinnie is the Finance Manager at Find Me A Gift.

“The most effective way to track your valuable assets is to…”

Keep a register of the assets in question, which should include who has the asset, where they are using it, and when they are due to return the asset. The register should be signed by the employee who holds the asset and counter signed by their manager, and a copy of the register should be scanned and stored in a backed up digital format (in case the paper copy is lost or damaged). The register should be reviewed at least once a month to ensure that all assets have been returned by the due date.

As part of your process for dealing with employees who leave your employment, the register should be reviewed by either the HR department or the manager responsible for the employee to ensure that any assets they hold are returned before their employment ends.

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Matt Man

@indusaiHQ

Matt is the CEO and co-founder of construction intelligence company, indus.ai. He is a serial entrepreneur with a passion to invent disrupting technology solutions on how future infrastructure will be built and managed.

“In order to track high-value assets effectively…”

Organizations should be utilizing a paradigm called Data-Driven Development. For the construction industry (as well as other project-based industries), having access to data is key to driving projects forward.

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Eric Hobbs

@techassociateNC

Eric Hobbs started in 1991 as Network Administrator for a professional liability insurance carrier and was later promoted to IT Manager. In 1997, Eric started Technology Associates with the mission to provide ‘Big Company IT’ to businesses who didn’t have an IT staff. Over the years, Eric has worked with businesses large and small to help leverage technology for a competitive advantage.

“Having a proceduralized process is everything when it comes to high-value assets…”

From the logistics of every phase of the process, having an application that logs times, dates, notes of any changes made is key. Having a platform where all of these specifics are logged and easily accessed across all of your team involved is pertinent. If you can’t document the process, if you have missing inventory or an asset isn’t built out correctly, if you can’t identify which part of the process failed, you’re losing time and energy to inefficiency. Have a set-in-stone, trackable process to make sure your assets are efficient and profitable, from production to release.

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Devin Pickell

@Devin_Pickell

Devin Pickell is a Content Marketing Specialist at G2 Crowd.

“It’s hard to pinpoint a single best way to track HVAs, but…”

Collaboration across departments and getting everyone involved is always useful.

A newer solution I’ve been seeing for asset provenance is through the use of blockchain technology paired with IoT and data analytics.

Sensors are smaller and cheaper than ever before, and they help link the physical world to the Internet. What’s the benefit of that? The use of data analytics. If we’re talking about tracking HVAs, imagine being able to use geospatial and telematic data to give you real-time insight on that asset.

Feeding this data into a blockchain ensures maximum transparency and traceability for everyone along the cycle for tracking HVAs (from shippers to the logistics department). Blockchain technology is immutable, which means the blocks of data on there can never be tampered with or destroyed.

As a matter of fact, a company called Everledger is currently using a similar process for tracking 1 million diamonds.

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Ken Stalcup

Ken Stalcup is the Senior Director at Houlihan Valuation Advisors, Inc.

“There’s no one single way, in my opinion…”

The answer to this question depends on the nature of the asset.

I’ve had banks as clients. Cash is locked up in a safe, counted every day, and remains under the control of two people…dual control. No one person can access the cash alone. It always takes two people. Those are pretty good controls for cash. But the answer is different for other assets.

The ACFE (Association for Certified Fraud Examiners) compiles statistics on occupational frauds. Every other year, the ACFE surveys their membership (CFEs / Certified Fraud Examiners) and captures information on three classes of occupational fraud:financial statement frauds, cases of corruption, and asset misappropriation schemes. By far, asset misappropriation schemes are the largest percentage of cases. According to the ACFE’s 2018 Report to the Nations, asset misappropriation schemes represent approximately 89% of the occupational fraud cases reported by the CFEs.

There are several things businesses can do to prevent or detect these thefts:

To prevent thefts:

1. Secure high-value assets in a controlled area. Maintain an inventory of and ID number for each asset. Periodically reconcile the inventory listing to physical assets.
2. Develop a bullet-proof code of conduct for the employees. Establish a zero-tolerance for employee theft.
3. Train employees. Identify bad, unacceptable behaviors and clearly state the company’s expectations.

To detect thefts:

1. Consider the creation of an anonymous tip hotline. The ACFE notes this is THE most effective way to catch not only asset misappropriation schemes, but it is the number one way of detecting financial statement fraud and corruption.
2. Have a very visible effort to control asset loss. Make it known to the employees that these assets are being watched. Have internal auditors or management reviews. Consider surprise audits.
3. Develop other controls for assets. For example, no one person is allowed in the supply room…two people have to be there. Now, the flip side of this is that you can’t create a $10,000-a-year control to protect $10 in paper clips. The cost of the controls can’t exceed the benefit.

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Jinesh Patel

@UptimeHealth

Jinesh is the Founder of UptimeHealth, a CMMS and asset management platform dedicated to helping healthcare facilities reduce cost and improve equipment management.

“The most effective way for organizations to track their assets…”

Especially the high-value assets, is to employ a computerized asset management software. This can be in the form of a CMMS or IWMS.

We always recommend our clients put anything they have of value into the software. Even if the device does not require maintenance or repair, it’s good to have a system generate a work order on a regular basis just to check on the asset and its health. The more important the asset is to the business function, the higher the check frequency should be.

Having a CMMS-type system automate a reminder to find and evaluate the device helps keep track of the assets health, cost, and improve the accuracy of depreciation calculations.

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Steve Pritchard

@BenSherman1963

Steve Pritchard is a Business Consultant for Ben Sherman.

“Several real-time location systems work with technology such as…”

Bluetooth and barcodes to keep track of high-value assets. They also utilize Wi-Fi technology to provide extremely accurate location data, whether your assets are in transit, in another building, or just in another room in the company.

Real-time asset management means you can avoid unnecessary asset purchases because you are always aware of where your high-value ones are. You are also able to quickly identify any irregularities or problems.

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Steve Kurniawan

Steve is an Indonesian-born serial entrepreneur and marketer. He has launched and runs tech and F&B companies. He is responsible for content marketing and growth strategy of Nine Peaks Media, a performance-based digital marketing agency. He’s addicted to great stories and creating great content.

“One of the most effective methods to track high-value physical assets today is…”

Using Bluetooth beacons, especially due to the fact that they are now relatively affordable compared to other options like RFID, and more reliable than barcodes. Setting up a beacon system, however, can be quite complicated at first, especially if you have a lot of different products where you will need to create a complex map interface. However, even if you are a small business, there are affordable options if you want to use a Bluetooth beacon, and a lot of them offer the option to track your assets with just your smartphone.

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Kevin Dugan

@ApexSupplyChain

Kevin Dugan handles global communications for Apex Supply Chain Technologies, the world’s leading provider of self-serve automation. He is an award-winning professional with experience spanning marketing communications, public relations, content marketing, and social media. Dugan has more than 25 years of experience helping companies big and small tell their stories.

“Ultimately it takes a mix of people, process, and technology…”

Self-serve automation is one technology contributing to supply chain optimization by eliminating time-consuming tasks and allowing employees to focus on more valuable work. By helping manage, track, and control vital warehouse/DC equipment like handhelds, picking wearables, and other mobile devices, self-serve automated lockers help lower costs and increase productivity.

Smart locker solutions offer a straightforward process for managing high-value equipment. Facilities can come to a complete standstill without handhelds and picking equipment, but most companies do not manage or control it. This creates a variety of issues, including device hoarding and loss. This results in low employee productivity, wasted time, and frequent repairs and device replacement.

By providing a secure environment to protect a company’s significant investment in mobile devices, the process improves dramatically.

• Decrease Costs:Costs decrease with a more productive workforce and less-frequent asset replacement. In fact, companies see as much as a 40% reduction in device replacement costs.
• Increase Employee Productivity:Automating the device check-out and return process increases productivity, as assets can be deployed at the point of work throughout a facility. This also reduces “walk-and-wait” time.
• Make Devices Available 24/7:Employees check out assets using personalized ID cards or codes. This ensures they have access to the tools needed to do their job, and these tools are ready when they need them.
• Managers Work Smarter:Managers can focus on more important tasks since they do not have to help locate missing assets. If devices are not returned at the end of a shift, or if a device needs service, managers automatically receive alerts. Management can easily access the platform through a secure web portal or mobile app.

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Grant van der Harst

Grant van der Harst, Managing Director at AngloLiners.co.uk, a leading road marking company providing a wide range of services to improve road conditions throughout the UK.

“Asset management can be tough, but…”

Thanks to recent changes in technology, assets are fast becoming a lot easier to manage than ever before.

Bluetooth Beacons are a great way for organizations to track high-value assets, since their location can be broadcasted, and added smart sensors, including vibration and GPS, make items a lot easier to manage and to locate once they leave your sight.

These beacons can be simply placed on assets leaving your organization and from that moment on, they can be easily traced by wireless location.

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Sean Pour

@sellmaxusa

Sean Pour is the co-founder of SellMax.

“The single most effective way for organizations to track high-value assets is…”

By implementing Real-Time Location Systems, or RTLSs. They are a best choice for a business to make due to the efficiency of the system. RTLSs are able to leverage an established WLAN connection, saving time and money for the organization. Most importantly, RTLSs are compatible with all other high-value tracking systems:barcodes, passive RFID, active RFID, and Bluetooth beacons. In this way, RTLSs are able to work alongside other useful high-value asset trackers.

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Dr. Scott Newton

@TeleTracking

Dr. Scott Newton is the Director of Product Management at TeleTracking. He has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare – working as an EMT, a nurse, an educator, and a patient flow command center leader. He is also a trusted adviser and thought leader.

“A real time locating system is the single most effective way for organizations to track high-value assets…”

In healthcare, this system enhances patient care and throughput by optimizing asset management. With the ability to pinpoint not only the location, but also the status of mobile equipment, real time location systems are critical to improving asset utilization and operational efficiency.

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Kevin Lawton

@kevin_lawton

Kevin Lawton is the founder of the brand new distribution and logistics blog called TheNewWarehouse.com, which focuses on warehouse startups, transitions, and change. He has been in distribution operations for six years and has been part of starting four new distribution centers for three different companies as well as on teams for multiple automation and system transitions, with his focus being on inventory control.

“The best way to track high value assets is to…”

Use a unique identifier for each unit, such as a serial number or other type of unique code. This code must be built into your system to prompt scan on each transaction. From the time the product comes into the facility, it must be scanned into the system, and then that unique identifier must follow that product from put away, to bin moves, to picking and then ship confirmation. Additionally, all high value assets should be stored in a centralized area with high visibility to management and, if possible, security cameras placed in that area. In some instances, a locked caged area may be warranted depending on product and size. From an inventory perspective, these assets should be cycle counted with a very high frequency. In previous experience, I have had high value assets counted completely once a week.

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Chris Wiegand

@Jibestream

Chris Wiegand is the CEO &Co-Founder of Jibestream. He started the company with a vision to change the way people engage with indoor spaces by fusing business data with maps. Chris has led Jibestream’s incredible growth from an idea to a globally recognized leader in the indoor mapping world.

“Having geospatially accurate maps of facilities is integral for any organization looking to track high-value assets…”

With maps, organizations can visualize assets to display and track their location and movement in the context of a map. Without geospatial context, any assets being tracked throughout a building will only appear as blue dots. Indoor maps are the difference between seeing an asset moving on a device with or without any meaningful location-awareness. An indoor mapping platform also opens the doors to additional complimentary use cases that provide valuable insights into behaviors and space utilization. For example, geofences can be used to create virtual boundaries and trigger alerts or notifications based on assets entering or exiting specified areas.

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Rory Crawford

@BevSpot

Rory Crawford is the co-founder and CEO of Bevspot. Prior to co-founding BevSpot, Rory spent four years in San Francisco doing technology banking and investing at J.P. Morgan and General Atlantic, respectively. Rory graduated from Tufts University and spent one year at Harvard Business School before taking a leave in 2014 to pursue BevSpot.

“If you are in the restaurant or bar business, nothing is more important than…”

Keeping track of the food and beverage (F&B) you order and what your customers consume. Product waste equals profit loss and is a key reason why 60% of restaurants fail in their first three years and 80% over five years.

All-in-one F&B program management software is the most effective way to track your high value assets. It helps owners, managers, and chefs take control of their entire operation – from the bar to kitchen – on any device. The software takes inventory, tracks orders, and provides sales data instantly backed up to the cloud and accessible anywhere.

By using this kind of software and spending less time on back office functions, owners and managers can spend more time actually running the business and helping avoid the pitfalls that can doom their enterprise.

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Kacper Brzozowski

@zety_com

Kacper Brzozowski is the Technical Founder at Zety. He started coding at the age of 8 in Visual Basic 6. His technical skills allowed the company to develop into what it is today.

“We use both Windows-based laptops and Macs…”

Find My Mac will let us locate and track all devices (we’ve got them all signed up with an Apple account before distributing the laptops), while Find my Device allows us to control Windows-based laptops. Those systems will handle locating, locking, and if needed, erasing the laptop’s hard disc’s content. When it comes to other expensive equipment (i.e., high-quality cameras) we install a specialized GPS tracking device that is designed for a suitcase carrying the device.

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Jeff Sameth

@MTpestsolutions

Jeff is the president and owner of Masters Touch Pest Solutions. Jeff is involved in every aspect of the business from field training to sales to maintaining supplies. He makes sure his company is kept up to date with certifications and licenses to provide our customers with the most recent treatment techniques and safety requirements.

“Because of the nature of our work, tracking HVAs is an incredibly important part of our business…”

As a small business, we can’t afford to lose equipment in avoidable incidents such as car accidents, forgetting them at stops, and more. As a home services company, trust is a huge factor in our business. We don’t want people to feel like our techs can’t obey the speed limits, much less protect their home from pests.

We have a lot of challenging assets to manage and track simply due to the nature of our work. In order to do their jobs, our technicians need a vehicle, large inventories of expensive tools, and chemicals.

When our technicians are given a company vehicle, we expect them to obey the rules of the road and to not use it for personal use during working hours. We also expect tools to remain in the truck and to be returned in good condition at the end of the workday. As for chemicals, because we have to go through so much training and sit through a licensing process, the use of chemicals is strictly regulated so our business doesn’t lose its license.

Barcodes and GPS is the easiest way to track assets like ours. With GPS on company phones and attached to trucks, it’s easy to see where our technicians are at any given time and for how long. We could even check to see how many times they had an event, such as hitting the brakes or checking their phone while driving. We could remotely monitor speed and make sure technicians aren’t speeding during their route – paying special attention to speeds in neighborhoods and school zones.

Attaching barcodes to our chemicals and equipment, we could easily see who has checked out a piece of equipment and not returned it. We could also keep an inventory of our chemicals to ensure that an appropriate amount is being used for each service and some aren’t going missing.

By using these real-time asset management techniques, it’s possible improve our asset utilization and gain much-needed visibility into the status of our HVA, like our trucks and equipment.

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Francisco Castro

@MarketingMaven2

Francisco Castro is a fractional CFO and owner and founder of AnalytIQ, a financial planning and business analytics firm. Francisco helps companies start businesses and guides them to a becoming a viable enterprise and to making profits.

“Tracking high-value assets in the early stages of an organization is often an overlooked component…”

And it can be detrimental if not taken seriously early on. In a smaller organization where assets tend to be of lower value, we’re lucky to see any type of tracking system. More times than not, you’ll normally find a Google Sheet or Excel file that maintains all their assets. However, for companies with higher value assets (i.e., cranes, construction equipment, antennas, etc.), tracking these assets can be a crucial component of their business, not only for operational purposes but also for accounting and tax benefits. The basic tracking systems normally use labeling, and in some more advanced situations RFID, to keep track of their assets. Reporting for these assets tends to be the next major obstacle to overcome as the data provided for these systems still requires strong oversight for effectiveness. Finding a flexible platform that can scale with your organization for the future needs to be based in the cloud, have solid integration capabilities with third-party platforms, and provide geolocation capabilities (if applicable to your business). Finally, a nice to have functionality but not necessarily mandatory for all scenarios is the ability to provide a depreciation schedule for these assets. This will make your year-end close much smoother and keep your accounting team happy.

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Murray Quibell

@aqurussolutions

Murray Quibell is the Founder of Aqurus Solutions. Murray brings an executive-level, business-oriented approach to information and technology, management information systems, and compliance. As a Chartered Accountant with a specialization in IT, Murray has a passion for financial software solutions.

“The single most effective way for organizations to track intangible (data, customer information, etc.) and tangible (inventory, equipment, etc.) high-value assets is through…”

Cloud-based ERP software. We are in the midst of a radical change in technology preferences. Businesses are changing how they engage with customers, the speed at which they deliver products and services, and how they innovate. Choosing to upgrade or purchase cloud-based ERP technology is a necessary step for growing your business in today’s competitive market.

In terms of intangible high-value assets, the cloud offers secure gateways for remote access, document management systems that prevent the download of sensitive data, and on-site archival of sensitive information to avoid it falling into the wrong hands. Document retention is built into the cloud so that companies can be sure that they are compliant with government standards in their industry.

Likewise, tangible high-value assets like inventory and equipment occupying various locations or warehouses are also better tracked and monitored in the cloud. For example, any business that operates within a supply chain knows that supply chain requirements are constantly fluctuating and becoming increasingly complex. Modern business owners need a software solution that provides accurate, company-wide inventory data and lets you create proactive, responsive replenishment operations and minimize inventory costs.

Cloud-based inventory management software allows users to control system-wide inventory to efficiently manage their processes without losing track of costs. It allows users to receive stock to a specific location and drill down to change an item’s lot/serial number, valuation method, accounts, and more.

Cloud-based ERP solutions help streamline processes while gaining visibility over all high-value assets of an organization to accelerate business growth. With full mobile access from anywhere, on any device – it’s no wonder everyone is moving to the cloud.

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Pratibha Vuppuluri

Pratibha Vuppuluri is the CEO of She Started It, a complete resource guide for working moms. Pratibha has more than ten years’ experience in the financial services industry, including seven years in the Healthcare, Private Equity Secondary Market and Technology Investment Banking space at both UBS and Deutsche Bank.

“The most effective way to track an organization’s high-value assets is to…”

Keep a record of your assets as they come in.

It may sound old-school, but it is still the most efficient. Companies may also opt to invest in software that has reporting and analytics functions. It is most helpful in collecting metrics that need to be measured.

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Bijan Abdi

Bijan Abdi is the President and CEO of Freedom National Insurance Services, a managing general agent based in CA. He has over 30 years of experience in preferred, standard, and non-standard auto insurance. His background includes experience in sales, underwriting, program design, and maintenance, as well as managerial and executive duties.

“When asset tracking and trying to understand your company’s needs, it’s important to…”

Define and prioritize your company’s requirements from a fixed asset software package. Next, evaluate each product regarding the way it measures against your needs. Lastly, take the product on a test drive, so you can see first-hand whether the features that come along with the software are a good fit.