The crucial challenge asset management is the volume of assets in a supply chain that are reusable. Timing is  critical when components are shipped from multiple providers and each shipment has its own time of delivery. At the final moment when a crucial component is missing from a shipment and the error is discovered only after unloading, that’s when the entire project might slip until the component arrives. The importance of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is that it ensures that you know the precise location of valuable assets and transit timing and condition. This gives you continual, timely, actionable information. RFID’s asset tracking technology powers applications such as:

• Personnel identification for secured access
• Sensitive asset security
• Raw materials and WIP tracking on shop floors
• Finished goods tracking in manufacturing supply chains
• Mobile equipment tracking
  

With a demand for improved physical asset tracking of non-networked assets that are not presently track able with traditional network-based asset management systems, the RFID solution for physical asset tracking helps businesses improve asset utilization and visibility, reducing the time, effort, and expense of locating misplaced assets.

Asset Tracking Applications

 

 

Asset tracking solutions using RFID enable organizations to effectively manage their physical assets and keep an effective inventory of what assets they own and how those assets are used through out their life cycles. Companies can use RFID to reduce their operating costs by improved asset tracking solutions to decrease shrinkage, lower maintenance costs, and optimize utilization. RFID technology provides critical solutions for the real-time location of critical assets, such as alerts when an asset is not in its designated location that enable you to effectively manage, analyze and plan asset utilization and deployment.

RFID solutions to track and manage assets result in significant labor savings, error reduction in recording asset movement, and reduced equipment loss by instant notification when assets are missing. The high storage capacity of RFID tags provides storage of critical asset maintenance data that are transmitted through the reader to management applications. In addition to operational efficiency and improved asset utilization, theRFID technology also aids financial auditing and reporting for better compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Source: Barcodebook Warehouse Management System

The RFID asset tracking solution features:

• Real time visibility and audit trail of asset movement and maintenance records
• Maintenance and management of asset configurations and product master
• Active monitoring of asset movement and utilization against activity plans
• Management dashboard and reports on asset utilization statistics and keep performance indicators
• Track tools and equipment to improve asset utilization
• Identify files and keep track of who is using them
• Automate shelf and bin management
• Track fixed assets and slash inventory time
• Help manage IT equipment and upgrades
• Identify pallets, totes, and returnable plastic containers
• Manage samples, collections, and evidence

Source: Barcodebook Warehouse Management System

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is one of the most stringent and far reaching set of business regulations that have been enacted for corporate leaders. The U.S Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 aims to restore public and investor confidence by enquiring the creation of auditable business processes for improved financial transparency and strong internal operational controls.

SOX compliance mandates that companies comply with a wide range of corporate management and reporting requirements that lead to significant gains in business performance, executive decision support, and more efficient financial processes.
Following SOX compliance, companies can have complete visibility and traceability for the management of their accounting and financial reporting practices, and enhanced ability to monitor and report accurately and in a timely manner.
SOX compliance deals mainly with procedural and cultural practices that ensure the integrity, accuracy, and security of corporate records. It is centered on Section 404: Management Assessment of Internal Controls, which includes three requirements:

• Managers are legally responsible for material internal control
• Management must attest that company is controlled, and business and IT processes are documented
• Independent auditors must verify that the company is under control and business and IT processes are documented.

The primary goal of SOX compliance is to prevent costly inventory write-offs and any supply chain events that affects the balance sheet–apart from the main objective of targeting reserves and the expensing of uncontrolled inventories. The backbone of compliance is reliable financial data, whether it is SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act), IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), GAAP, or anything else.

Asset tracking is a real chore for most companies, and if not handled properly, can cause a business a great deal of money in misplaced items, resulting in high overhead. Using RFID technology to track the installation, maintenance, upgrade, movement and decommissioning of fixed assets with unique item numbers that can be stored in the database provides a complete lifecycle asset history. Every asset can contain information about its acquisition date, location, current value, billed account, warranty, purchase order, contract maintenance, insured value, depreciation schedule, and value.

Using RFID technology, businesses can create a complete, low cost, real-time asset management system that assures performance and reliability. Industries like manufacturing, utilities, hi-tech, retail, construction, equipment and defense can all benefit from the RFID technology to track, trace and know their real time asset information.