Latest Trends in Asset Tags – and Asset Tracking

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We are often asked “what’s next” for asset tags. Given that an average asset tag survives on a particular piece of equipment for over ten years, it’s always important, when developing a tracking program, to look forward.

Will my assets still need tags in ten years?

Asset tags are vital to the success of any asset management or inventory system. They are also the tangible nexus of an inventory system and evidence that a company’s tracking methods are logical and efficient. Ultimately, asset tags must follow trends in asset tracking . So let’s start there. What are the general trends in the asset tracking world?

Asset Tracking – Top Ten Trends

More and more assets are being tracked. Traditionally, only large, capital assets were tracked, but increasingly companies and individuals are tracking all assets, capital or not, even those written off long ago. Even if they are fully depreciated, they are still valuable and still need to be counted. After all, they are still potentially valuable, given tax write-off schedules and active online markets for used equipment.

Smaller and smaller assets are being tracked. A 10-ton punch press will always be tracked, but now smaller and smaller items are more and more valuable. As schools, clinics, and business begin to track laptops, medicinal tools, and electronica, asset tracking and tags become universal.

Intangible Intellectual Property (IP) assets are being tracked. Server- and web-hosted prints, databases, and files have enormous value. Physical forms and the backups of the IP (e.g. the PC, the server, tapes, file cabinet, DVD of images, etc.), have been tracked as long as files have become digital, but companies are now recording access times, security clearances, and relevant database files for IP assets.

Given the increasing value (and tracking of) physically small or intangible assets, it is easy to see that a related trend can – and does – emerge: asset theft. Physically, these assets are easier to steal than a wooden desk, and financially, these assets are more valuable to steal than a wood desk. For some larger institutions, the real problem is actually not just theft, but “spontaneous appropriation” of inadequately protected information by another department.

Asset tracking software is being used by smaller and smaller organizations. The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 1998 had a major impact on how public businesses track assets. But the regulations imposed by the Act have also had an indirect and trickle-down effect on practices of small 501 (c) 3 organizations and primary schools. School district funding, in many cases, is now awarded and renewed based on asset holdings, and contingent upon their exact tracking. Donors to not-for-profits and trustees of charitable foundations want to know how their gifts are utilized, which assets are purchased with them, and when and whether these purchases are decommissioned. To retain and encourage donors, recipient organizations need to ensure (and articulate the fact that) funds or taxes are not used frivolously. In that case, every dollar must be counted – and every asset, tracked.

Consumers are tracking their assets, too! That is, everybody keeps track of the things they love, whether labeling bottles in a wine cellar, books on a shelf, or golf clubs and tools in a home garage. Any bike owner knows that an unregistered bike, once lost or stolen, is never coming back. The solution is a site like this free bike registry, which enables individuals or schools to track, catalog, (and occasionally find!) each bike. And of course, a home asset tracking system assists in insurance claims, in case of theft or accident.

SmartPhone barcode scanning is another growing trend in asset tracking. Free SmartPhone applications allow any smartphone owner to photograph a printed barcode and instantly read it. The code can even automatically link the user to that asset’s web page. Another way of saying: Why purchase a Motorola / Symbol scanner for $500 when you can just use your iPhone?

Assets are tracked across remote locations. For any school district, large business, or other multi-locational network, an asset tracking system that crosses geographical boundaries increases both efficient use of assets and accountability in case of loss. This not only streamlines transfer of assets from one office to another, but exerts a powerful deterrent to asset leakage (e.g. somehow losing a valuable from an office that has little direct supervision).

Assets don’t live in isolation. Their value depends on regular system maintenance and fast turn-around. Valuable assets tend to get used more frequently (users need to a reserve a time to get access to the asset). As a result, more and more asset tracking systems incorporate maintenance scheduling as well as Check-In/Check-Out functions.

Asset tracking is moving to the Cloud. Original stand-alone software costs as much as $1,000, and requires time and people to train in its maintenance. Now, that software is growing my moving rapidly to the web – at cheaper cost. More secure, remotely accessible and easy to learn, web-based asset tracking systems, and the asset tags that are their hallmarks, are compelling, practical, and low-cost methods of asset maintenance, inventory, and recovery.

Asset Tags – Top Six Trends

Declining Costs per Tag.

The average price of industry-standard metal asset tags for a typical order of a few hundred tags has decreased from over $3.00/tag to under $1.00/tag. For plastic asset labels, the price reductions have been just as significant.

Smaller Asset Tags.

Smaller assets need smaller tags. Assets may also need to be labeled with multiple tags, to better facilitate its tracking (and to ensure its return in case of misappropriation). Smaller tags, in both cases, are becoming a necessity, and a rapidly implemented trend in tag manufacturing and sales.

More Barcodes on Asset Tags.

Barcodes are becoming the norm – as are asset tags with 2D barcodes.

More Logos.

Everybody loves a personal touch. Whether adding a school mascot or showing off a company logo, more and more tags feature personalized and customizable graphics. The effect is both aesthetically pleasing and practical: logos stave off counterfeiting, and simultaneously aid in branding by building its visibility.

More Materials.

Asset tags are becoming as varied as the assets themselves. Fabric asset tags are used on laptop bags, conformable tags on musical instruments, removable tags for calibration instruments and tamper-proof materials on oft-appropriated equipment.

More Materials.

RFID Asset Tags – Is this the "Next Big Thing"?

There has been a great deal of excitement about the potential for RFID Asset Tags. Tag costs are decreasing and, once implemented, the systems are incredibly impressive. For example, we helped implement a system that tracks both the tool and the contractor, through his RFID employee badge, as they leave the tool crib – all automatically. But, we disappointed to see so few RFID asset implementations. Companies still hesitate, when faced with the real world expense to build, and then maintain, a robust RFID reading and software infrastructure. It’s great for assets that need to be tracked daily such as tools, pallets or Work-in-Progress bins. The readers and tag placement can be fine-tuned – with continuous use. RFID, however, is rarely used for less frequent and periodic fixed asset audits – typical for most asset tracking applications. Additionally, identifying discrete RFID tags for clustered equipment as well the difficulty in consistent reading of tags shielded by metal computer cases has been significant inhibitor to RFID penetration of the asset tag market.

Until we see a truly national standard for RFID asset tags and ubiquitous / low cost reading equipment, we are afraid that RFID will be limited to very large companies - for their most complex and daily tracking problems.

Thirty years ago, asset tracking was something that only large institutions undertook. Like so many other trends, good ideas for businesses trickled down to small organizations, community groups and, now, consumers. The definition of “My Asset” has broadened. An asset worth tracking no longer requires two people to lift it. Assets can fit in your pocket book, or on your hard drive. But, even as the number of assets being tracked and the number of people tracking assets have exploded, there is a countertrend. The costs for software, scanners and the tags themselves have declined precipitously.

Yes, with each year, more assets are being tracked. And yes, with each year, asset tags are getting cheaper. More security for less: these trends are good for everyone.