In any organisation, the term ‘asset’ may have several implications; monetary assets, employees, software tools, hardware equipment… What we like to define as an asset is every single piece of equipment, building, property or machinery that you possess and that are being used.
No matter what the type of assets and how many you own or have to take care of on behalf of clients, today’s technology allows you to monitor and manage them effortlessly. Asset management software provides a plethora of services, which contribute towards the growth and the sustainability of your organization.
The more you know about your assets, the more you will be in control of your operations and you will be able to make decisions that could propel your business towards growth. Expanding doesn’t always result in buying, merging and spending; it can also be achieved by dramatically reducing unnecessary costs!
1. Robust asset structure
The first step is to structure your assets by type, location, status and lifecycle. Whether your assets are pieces of real estate or fire hydrants, they all need to be listed and monitored. The more information you know about your assets, the more you will be able to evaluate if they bring the value you expected to your business.
2. Granular asset lifecycle insights
Knowing your assets is also being aware of where they are at in their life cycle. In specific industries, this aspect is critical. How would a retrieval medicine organisation save lives if their equipment is obsolete or isn’t function properly? They obviously need to know very specifically when certain assets need maintenance or replacement, which leads us onto our third point!
3. Preventative maintenance and automation
Having the power to flag issues before they occur is a game changer that will take your business to a whole new level. A good asset management platform will be proactive for you and automatically send task based work orders for assets based on location and required maintenance frequency. Nowadays, automation is key, you can notify your provider when an asset fails so they can come and fix it without you having to pick up your phone.
4. Real-time updates
Once your provider sends one of his contractors to take a look at the issue your asset management platform flagged you can then track in real time the work progression of the technician that is on site. You are in total control and 24/7 kept in the loop!
5. Customer portal
As explained above, a well-designed customer portal will enable you to supervise your assets and operation at any time. Check all your asset statuses, location and maintenance history from one platform. This not only gives you a better understanding of your business, it also allows you to assess the level of work delivered by your different providers, contractors and other third-party organisations involved in the lifecycle of your assets.
6. Compelling reports for better ROI insights
If you are using the right platform to manage your assets then you’ve guessed it, you will also have access to compelling reports that will be critical for your business. It’s based on the data that will be gathered in these reports that you will be able to make evidence-based decisions that could change the future of your company. Why keep a piece of equipment if it costs you more to maintain than its actual costs of use?
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, spending more isn’t necessarily going to lead you to growth. However, having a faultless knowledge of your assets and a better comprehension of your spending will most definitely result in more sustainable business operations; you simply need to find the good software that will do all of the 6 points above for you!
