HOW TO STREAMLINE YOUR ASSET INVENTORY PROCESS
HOW TO STREAMLINE YOUR ASSET INVENTORY PROCESS
Remember the last time you cleaned out your garage? There were specific steps you took to reach your goal, which was most likely to have a more organized, easy-to-access, useful space.
Streamlining your asset inventory process is a lot like this. The ultimate goal in this case is to improve efficiency, which most often leads to an increase in the bottom line. To this end, following are three steps any organization can take to streamline their asset inventory process.
1. Create Categories
When you first looked at the assortment of items piled up in your garage, your first reaction may have been to shake your head and wonder where to start. You probably quickly realized that you needed a sorting system, eg: keep, sell, donate, etc.
The same philosophy can be applied to streamlining your inventory process. You first need to create categories. There are many ways to categorize assets, eg, by value, appreciation or depreciation, and/or department, to name a few. There is no right or wrong way to categorize assets. The best way is the one that works for your organization.
The important thing to remember is that assets must be assigned categories so that key particulars like which ones are fixed, moveable, renewable, toxic, etc., can be concretely gleaned, as these are key tangibles that impact the bottom line.
MapYourTag makes it easy to create categories. All you have to do is assign an asset a tag and fill in some information. The technology allows for complete customization, so categories reflect the way your company conducts business.
2. Automate Where Possible
A very general rule of thumb for inventory carrying cost is that it should be somewhere between 20 and 30 percent. With this being said, this is different for every industry; hence, it’s important to know what that number is for your particular business, and where your company falls within those parameters.
Organizations that aren’t precise about this can literally be sitting on thousands of dollars in profit; or bleeding out thousands of dollars in losses. And, this is why automation must be a part of any inventory streamlining process.
Businesses that utilize asset tracking software are able to reduce inventory accounting mistakes; accurately track goods; and quickly scan and enter parts, supplies and equipment. This makes practices like over ordering and under ordering practically a thing of the past.
3. Improve Communication
Misaligned communication cost small and medium-sized business an average of $26,041 per knowledge worker per year in the U.S. and UK, according to a 2009 "Communications Pain Study" by SIS International Research.
Translation: the ability for team members to be able to communicate effectively is critical to the bottom line. It literally costs when they can’t or don’t.
MapYourTag's easy-to-use, cloud-based software stores information in a centralized database. Asset specifics like status, location, expiration and deadlines are available for ease of recall by any authorized user – anywhere, at any time.
4. Conclusion
Effectively managing inventory is an often overlooked or back-burnered business process because it's not flashy or sexy like, for example, sales and marketing.
If you hold too much inventory, you risk getting stuck with it. If you stock too little of it, you risk alienating customers, causing them to turn to your competitors. Either path costs you money, and it’s why inventory management is such a balancing act; one that must be carefully managed to consistently maximize earnings.
Luckily in this digital age, cloud-based, asset control software like MapYourTag is readily and affordably available, which means inventory management doesn’t have to consume a substantial amount of your time resources or … leaving you free to tackle that garage.