What is an Asset Management System?

Managing a business involves keeping track of a number of tangible and intangible assets over time. Assets can include physical items such as equipment, machinery, vehicles, or inventory, as well as intangible assets like software licenses, patents, or intellectual property. As a company grows, its assets grow — as do the number of people interacting with those assets on a daily basis. An asset management system is a systematic way of tracking, monitoring, and managing an organization's assets to improve productivity, avoid equipment failure, remain compliant, improve customer satisfaction, and keep employees safe.

What is the Purpose of an Asset Management System?

The primary purpose of an asset management system is to provide comprehensive visibility and control over an organization's assets, allowing for efficient planning, utilization, maintenance, and disposal of those assets. It typically involves the use of specialized software or tools that enable the collection, storage, and analysis of data related to the assets, including information about their location, condition, maintenance history, depreciation, and other relevant details.

How Does an Asset Management System Work?

Typically, a comprehensive asset management system involves a lot of moving parts. It can touch nearly every aspect of the business and involves a number of systems and teams. A good asset management system encompasses a variety of functions, including:

• Asset tracking: An asset management system enables the identification and tracking of assets using unique identifiers such as barcodes or RFID tags. This helps in equipment location tracking and maintaining accurate records.
• Maintenance and scheduling: It facilitates the planning and scheduling of maintenance activities, including regular inspections, repairs, and servicing, to ensure optimal asset performance and longevity through timely preventative maintenance.
• Asset lifecycle management: The system employs best practices for asset lifecycle management, which allow for the maintenance of assets from acquisition to disposal, including procurement, depreciation tracking, and retirement or replacement planning.
• Asset utilization and optimization: Asset management systems provide insights into asset utilization rates, availability, and performance metrics to help optimize asset allocation and utilization across the organization.
• Compliance and risk management: An asset management system may include features to ensure regulatory compliance, monitor asset-related risks, and maintain documentation for audits and reporting purposes.
• Reporting and analytics: It offers reporting capabilities to generate customized reports on asset data, including usage, maintenance costs, depreciation, and other key performance indicators. This information can be used for strategic decision-making and resource planning.

All of these functions work together to improve operational efficiency, cut cost through optimized asset utilization and maintenance, ensure compliance, reduce downtime, and enhance decision-making based on accurate asset data.

What is Asset Management Software?

Asset management software is specifically designed to support asset management systems by helping companies track, monitor, and manage assets over time. It often includes key features like equipment location tracking with multi-site capacities, inventory management, preventive maintenance scheduling, asset utilization data, advanced reporting, dashboards, and more.

Though there are many asset management software options available on the market, Maintenance Connection has consistently been a market leader among enterprise asset management and computerized maintenance management systems.

What are Some Types of Asset Management Software?

There are many different types of asset management software that are built for companies of varying sizes or in specific industries. Some are built to support an all-encompassing asset management system whereas others are scaled back and address one specific element of asset management. Here are some of the most common types of asset management software.

• Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Software: This is one of the most comprehensive types of asset management software, allowing larger enterprises to track, manage, and analyze asset performance and costs throughout the asset lifecycle. It is typically designed for companies with a significant number of assets to track and includes detailed analytics and the ability to track assets across several sites.
• Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS): CMMS software is highly focused on asset maintenance. It helps companies by automating work orders, improving equipment reliability, streamlining maintenance tasks, lowering costs, improving inventory accuracy, and maintaining industry-specific regulatory compliance.
• IT Asset Management (ITAM) Software: ITAM software specifically helps companies manage digital assets, including hardware, software licenses, and digital documents. ITAM typically tracks asset usage, software compliance, license management, and cybersecurity activity.
• Facility Management Software: This type of software is used to manage assets related to facilities and real estate, such as buildings, infrastructure, utilities, and space allocation. Companies invest in facility management software to improve initiatives related to maintenance planning, space optimization, lease management, and energy management.
• Inventory Management Software: More often than not, asset management software will include inventory management as part of its offering. But for companies only looking for software to track stock levels, record inventory and manage warehouse operations, inventory management software might be the right solution.

There are many types of asset management software, but CMMS and EAM tend to be the most popular choices. However, the decision on which software to invest in ultimately comes down to the specific needs of the organization.

Why Use Asset Management Software?

Asset management software can provide many benefits to an organization, especially large enterprises that are managing a lot of equipment across several sites. Though there are many reasons to invest in asset management software, here are a few of the top benefits.

• Improved asset visibility: Asset management software provides a centralized database that allows you to track and monitor all your assets in one place. You can easily access information such as asset location, status, maintenance history, and other relevant data. This improves asset visibility and enables efficient asset tracking.
• Enhanced efficiency and productivity: By automating manual processes and streamlining workflows, asset management software can save valuable time. It eliminates the need for spreadsheets or paper-based tracking systems, reducing human error and administrative overhead. With quick access to asset information, employees can locate assets faster, schedule maintenance tasks efficiently, and optimize asset utilization.
• Cost savings: Effective asset management software helps optimize asset utilization and minimize downtime. By monitoring asset performance, scheduling proactive maintenance, and identifying underutilized assets, you can reduce unnecessary expenses, extend asset lifecycles, and avoid costly breakdowns or repairs. Additionally, accurate tracking and depreciation calculations assist in financial planning and budgeting. When implemented properly, organizations can experience a significant ROI on their asset management system.
• Regulatory compliance: Many industries have specific regulations and compliance requirements regarding asset management. Asset management software can help ensure compliance by maintaining accurate records, documenting maintenance activities, and generating reports for audits or regulatory purposes. This reduces the risk of penalties or legal issues related to non-compliance.
• Data-driven decision-making: Asset management software provides valuable insights and analytics about asset performance, utilization, and costs. By analyzing this data, you can make informed decisions about asset investments, maintenance strategies, and resource allocation. These data-driven decisions can optimize asset utilization, reduce costs, and improve overall operational efficiency.
• Scalability and growth: As your organization grows or acquires new assets, manual tracking methods become increasingly challenging. Asset management software provides scalability to accommodate a growing asset base. It allows you to easily add new assets, update information, and scale the system to meet evolving needs.

Overall, asset management software offers a systematic approach to managing assets, which leads to improved efficiency, a positive return on your investment, compliance, and informed decision-making. It helps organizations streamline operations, reduce risks, and maximize the value of their assets throughout their lifecycle.

How to Find the Best Asset Management System for Your Needs 

Finding the right asset management system for your organization requires careful consideration and evaluation of your specific needs. Here are some steps you can follow to find the most suitable asset management system:

1. Identify your requirements: Start by understanding your organization's asset management needs. Consider factors such as the type and quantity of assets you need to manage, specific features and functionalities you require, integration with other systems, and any regulatory or compliance requirements. Make a list of your priorities and essential features.

2. Conduct a thorough assessment: Evaluate your current asset management processes and systems. Identify the pain points, challenges, and inefficiencies you are experiencing. Determine what improvements or enhancements you are looking for in an asset management system. This assessment will help you understand your specific requirements and guide your selection process.

3. Research available options: Explore different asset management software solutions available in the market. Look for reputable vendors with a track record of providing reliable and robust asset management systems. Read online reviews, check vendor websites, and seek recommendations from industry peers or professional networks.

4. Shortlist potential solutions: Narrow down your options based on your requirements and the features offered by the asset management systems. Create a list of a few potential solutions that align with your needs.

5. Evaluate features and functionality: Review the features and functionalities offered by each shortlisted asset management system. Consider aspects such as asset tracking capabilities, maintenance management, reporting and analytics, integration with existing systems, scalability, ease of use, and customization options. Assess how well each system meets your requirements and aligns with your organizational goals.

6. Request demos and trials: Contact the vendors of the shortlisted asset management systems and request product demonstrations or trials. This will give you a hands-on experience of the software's user interface, functionality, and usability. It will also provide an opportunity to ask questions and clarify any doubts.

7. Consider implementation and support: Assess the implementation process and ongoing support provided by the vendors. Understand the level of assistance available during the implementation phase, training options for your staff, and the availability of technical support or customer service.

8. Make an informed decision: Finally, based on your evaluation, compare the shortlisted asset management systems and select the one that best meets your requirements, aligns with your budget, and offers the highest potential for success. Ensure that the chosen system is scalable, adaptable to future needs, and can grow with your organization.

Remember, selecting an asset management system is an important decision, so you need to invest time and effort into the evaluation process. By following these steps, you can find the right asset management system for your organization's needs.

Maintenance Connection CMMS by Accruent

When looking for the right enterprise asset management software for your business, Maintenance Connection CMMS is a top-rated choice that users love. Maintenance Connection is a powerful maintenance management system that allows users to consolidate their key data, automate day-to-day tasks and optimize critical SOPs and processes. Experience Maintenance Connection firsthand with a product walkthrough or contact us today to learn more.