"Where Is All of Our Stuff?"
Do you find yourself asking the question above when it comes to your company's fixed assets? With budgets being tightened and having to do more with less, keeping track of your valuable assets has become even more important. It can be embarrassing or uncomfortable when you are asked the question of where is this $1000 item and you don't have an answer. There are several ways to manage assets: pen and paper, Excel spreadsheets, Access database,
asset management software, barcodes, and RFID.
RFID? Yes, I said
RFID, the technology that has been talked about for years that will revolutionize data capture and make every business 100 times more efficient. Even though there are some applications for inventory control that are working well with RFID, there are still some holes and challenges that need to be filled when it comes to inventory management with RFID. However, RFID with active tags for asset management is a real solution that works.
Active tags are battery powered and send out a beacon every 10 seconds or another specified time interval. There is an RFID reader in the ceiling that works similarly to how an access point would work. The reader is constantly listening for the beacons of the tag. Between the communication of the reader, tags, and asset management software, the user can determine where product is. There can also be settings that will notify or given an alert if a product goes missing from its location. The other benefit is that asset management with active RFID has become an affordable solution. Finally, after all the hoopla about RFID, there is a solution where it makes sense and works. The next time you get asked the question where is the $1000 item you can provide the response fast and not worry about the embarrassing "I don't know."
