Your business may require moving around the inventory. Based on the kind of business, you may have to move from a few things to large quantities of containers, racks, or cylinders.
Keeping track of your assets ensures you are informed about its location for quick retrieval. In addition, it helps:
- Adhere to regulatory compliances
- Reduce replacement costs
- Enhance safety
- Prevent theft
- Monitor maintenance and warranties
- Designate responsibility
- Establish custody chain
How do asset tracking systems work?
With asset tracking systems, you no longer need to maintain manual records or excel worksheets. Such systems track your assets in three simple steps.
- Tagging
You must affix a GPS, radio-frequency (RFID), or barcode to the item that needs tracking
- Scan
Simply scan the item using your phone or tablet or a handheld scanner
- Log
Input item details without any difficulties
Types of tracking technologies
You may choose barcodes, GPS, or RFID based on the specific needs of your business. Here are the pros and cons of each of these technologies.
- Barcodes
More than 90% opt for this technology because of its lower costs, flexibility, and accuracy. In addition, you are able to scan quickly and it is easy to use. However, barcodes require manual scanner orientation and low-quality codes may result in inferior results.
- RFID
Such tags comprise chips that send information to the scanner. It allows remote scanning and the capability to scan multiple items at the same time. However, RFID is costlier and may give scanning errors. Interference due to extraneous signals may provide poor results.
- GPS
This type of tracking is available in active and passive configurations. These are technically developed and offer ideal solutions in certain instances such as vehicle tracking system. Its pros are that you are able to execute real-time tracking and motion alerts when the asset moves. With the passive technology, no manual scanning is required. However, GPS vehicle tracking devices are expensive. In addition, these are removable, which poses the threat of theft or loss. Furthermore, the signal of the GPS depends on the battery and if it runs out, you will not be able to track your asset.
Tracking systems such as vehicle tracking devices help you stay abreast of where your assets are and track its movement. Any untoward motion may be immediately noticed allowing you to take quick action.