Ⅰ. Introduction
Asset Tracking proves to be beneficial in tracking assets contributing highly to the overall revenue. The concern is not always the value of the asset but the cost of not knowing where and how many assets there are.
Asset Tracking involves tracing of physical assets such as office furniture and fixtures, laboratory equipment, automobiles, memorabilia, and equipment as well as returnable items such as videos, jewelry and library books.
1. Ineffective present technology: Today barcode technology is used for asset tracking but it is not a viable in critical processes because often it is time consuming and labour intensive. Also it is more prone to errors due to the tags not being properly read.
2. Chaotic work-flow: People and equipment do not necessarily move along a fixed path. It does becomes difficult to get accurate and timely data on location and status of assets disrupting the work-flow and leading to reduced efficiencies.
3. Loss of revenue: Difficulty in locating a asset that has to be directly delivered to a customer leads to delays resulting in loss of sales and hence revenue.
4. Inefficient utilization of assets: Often inability to track assets results in under utilization of the assets currently present and unnecessary purchase of new assets thus reducing throughput.
5. Improper Maintenance Schedule: Where large volumes of assets are involved the difficulty lies in not only tracking of assets but also tracking their maintenance on a regular basis as outdated and worn out assets may decrease efficiencies and lower productivity.
Displaced or missing equipment, tools or files can have a profound impact to the bottom line of any organization. The implementation of an RFID tracking system is an efficient method to save time, increase productivity and ultimately, drive profits.
The use of RFID provides an automated way to combine asset visibility, inventory accuracy, employee accountability, and statistical reporting about items and locations offering the ability to provide:
RFID asset tracking solutions address the unique challenges associated with asset tracking applications and adds additional functionality centered on a scalable solution leveraging RFID and taking asset visibility and security to the next level
Fixed on strategic locations this reader picks up data related to the assets and its location and sends it to the server on a frequent basis.