When dealing with managing your assets, there are numerous ways to do this. These range from pen and paper to spreadsheets and custom software. Deciding which is best for you is a decision that can take time.
Using any of these solutions can help you track and monitor your assets, help control costs, and help you use reports to have a better understanding of your fleet.
Let's take a look at the 5 approaches to asset management for fleets of all sizes. We will look at how they work and the pros and cons of each type of system.
Analog Approach
When businesses start up, they typically have an informal system for their asset management. This is usually due to the small number of employees, which makes it easier to use a notebook, or some other written form of record-keeping to keep track of the limited number of assets.
When starting out small, this way of tracking your assets gives you and your team more flexibility when building your system. This allows you to manage and organize your notes in a way that best suits you. In addition to this, you are also able to avoid entering large amounts of data, and just take the notes that you need. This ability means that you do not have to deal with the learning curve associated with most systems.
However, the more your business grows, the faster you will outgrow this process.
When using the pen and paper system, you lose the ability to perform the features that come with electronic-based systems. This includes the ability to run reports and see real-time data for multiple locations. Your search time for assets will also increase, as you do not have a search function, or the ability to track and set reminders for your maintenance program.
The two biggest issues with the pen and paper system are that you do not have a digital backup, and you have an increase in the possibility of human error.
Cost
When looking at the pricing for this style of tracking, you more than likely already have everything that you need. If not, the items that you need are fairly inexpensive and easily found.
The biggest question mark in the pricing of this system is how much value you place on time. Manually keeping the records is an extremely time-consuming process. This will decrease the time that you get to spend on any additional tasks that you need to complete. When starting with this option, make sure you take the time to plan for how things need to be done in the future. Is this solution a long-term option for you, or do you need to start looking at other options quickly? If you do switch systems, then you will have to take the time to re-enter all of your information into your new system again.
Spreadsheets
The next option that there is includes using either Excel or Google Sheets. With this option, you will still have to input data manually, but you are able to customize your data a little more.
In either of these workbooks, you are able to various formulas that will help you sort your data by quantity, some value, or date. As with the pen and paper method, you will need to make sure that all of the data is accurate to be able to effectively use the formulas.
Both Excel and Google Sheets are low-cost options. There is a good chance that you already have access to one or both. Learning the software is relatively easy, which will allow you to train people to keep the records easily. If you know how to use one of these, you know how to use the other.
When using spreadsheets to manage your inventory, the biggest issue that you will run into is the data can get very messy when you start adding additional people to help manage it. This makes it easier for mistakes to be made by accident. In addition to this, the more assets that are in your spreadsheets, the slower it is to load and update.
Cost
If you already have access to either Excel or Google Sheets, then using these for your asset management system could cost nothing extra. If you do not have either of these, then getting Microsoft 365, which includes Excel and other Microsoft tools, can cost as little as $5 a month. If you prefer to use Google Sheets, then personal accounts are free, but if you want this for your business, then the plans start at around $6 a month.
Just like with the pen and paper method, the cost for this way can be low, however, it can be just as time-consuming and tedious to do as the pen and paper method. Make sure that you have the time dedicated to this if it is your preferred method.
Workaround Solution
If your business is already using the spreadsheet method, then you may want to think about the Workaround solution to enhance your capabilities. This plan is great for those who want to be able to do more, but are not ready to fully switch to asset management software.
The most common way people are doing this is by using Zapier in conjunction with their spreadsheet.
Zapier is a solution that allows you to link to numerous different applications through your work platform. This will help you to handle all of the repetitive tasks in your workflow.
While Zapier is great for automating tasks, there is a learning curve for getting started. You do this by sending our zaps, and it is not uncommon for these to break out. With this, the more zaps you have in your different tasks, the more expensive it gets. This can cause your workaround solution to take more time to fix bugs and could cost you more upfront than some asset management software that is out there.
Cost
As we mentioned in the last paragraph, Zapier plans get more costly as you automate more processes in your workflow. They do have a limited free plan, but as with most free-level products, there is a limit to it. For the paid levels, these can cost anywhere from $19.99/month to $898.50/month. On the plus side, automating tasks can save your team a lot of time, which will help them to be able to complete more tasks.
Custom Solutions
Next, there is the option that you can build your own asset management solution This option is best suited for large companies that have people that are dedicated to programming, and large budgets to spend on this type of system. Going this route allows you to address unique needs that are specific to what you are doing.
Having your team create your own software gives you the flexibility to be able to control what features are released into your system. In addition to controlling these features, you are also able to decide how the system integrates with any of the other systems that your company uses and can be personalized to fit your brand.
Even if you are able to fund this kind of project, this still might not be the solution for you. Here are some factors to keep in mind when deciding whether to build or buy your system.
Keep in mind that the cost of paying your in-house or outsourced developer to build the software is not the only expense. They will also have to maintain and update the software over time. One key factor here is if you link this to your other system, then you will need to keep that link up-to-date.
In addition to this cost, also consider the time that it takes to build such a system. If you need something to be implemented quickly, then building custom software might not be the way to go. If you are not prepared to wait for the product to be finished, including any delays that might happen, then going another route might be your best option. If you do decide to go this route, then make sure that you have a plan in place for how you are going to handle your assets in the meantime.
Cost
This is a significant investment. Before moving forward, you will need to scope out the work to have a base for the initial cost. More than likely, you will end up paying more than the cost of a ready-made system, along with the additional cost of upgrades, maintenance, and support for your staff.
Make sure that you also research other systems before you decide to make this move.
Asset Management Software
Having dedicated asset management software allows you to take away the painstaking manual tracking of your physical and software assets. These types of systems allow you to track important data, such as asset health and maintenance costs in real time. Due to this, you are easily able to tag, scan, and search for your assets. With these capabilities, it also makes it easier to prioritize maintenance, perform audits, and determine the lifetime cost of your assets. Having these abilities will allow you to create more in-depth reports than you would be able to in spreadsheets.
These systems are ready to go starting on the day they are purchased. They are usually able to be used across numerous devices including mobile devices, and some have dedicated mobile applications.
Cost
The cost of these systems varies from company to company. However, they are cost-effective in terms of both time and money.