HOW MUCH MONEY DO LOST ASSETS COST A COMPANY?

Nearly any business is familiar with the costs and the lost revenues caused by searching for and replacing missing, lost, damaged, stolen or expired assets.

However, it can be hard to value “lost” assets because they are typically not quantified and it’s even harder to tell the related indirect costs.

Here some facts:

  • According to a recent American survey, workplace theft costs up to $ 50 billions per year in the U.S. alone, due to the loss of valuable assets such as electronic devices and construction equipment;
  • Laptop theft is a big problem also for sensitive information that may fall into the wrong hands;
  • The indirect costs related to misplaced or internally lost items are staggering: it is reported that companies spend more than 45% of their time just looking for the right item, tool or document and this significantly hampers also the chance to produce or deliver on additional sales;
  • Losing items is hardly the only cause of unplanned production downtime, but it is a persistent one;
  • Imagine the risks of losing something that could expire when it’s forgotten out too long or gets too warm: this is a massive, expensive problem in food cold chain, agriculture or pharmaceutical goods;
  • Logistics processes-gone-wrong cost a fortune every year in terms of “empty” kilometers vehicles travel beyond what’s actually required;
  • Workers safety could be improved with information about the precise location of dangerous assets or exposed personnel.

We could go on … but NOW simply think about how many added revenues you could raise from NOT losing stuff … if only technology could help.

RFID IS THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS?

RFID tags provide a quick and easy method of tracking assets and do an inventory.

RFID asset tags offer the opportunity to easily track, locate and manage different assets since they are customizable and available in forms, shapes, frequencies and materials that can fit different situations, uses and goods.

Moreover, RFID asset tags can be active or passive, are programmable, printable and metal mountable thus assuring complete efficiency and the most cost-effective option.

Through antennas and RFID readers the data stored in the tags are acquired and sent to the tracking systems of the assets.

WHY RFID IS BETTER?

In comparison to other available options, RFID technology for asset management turns out better since:

  • It enables the tracking of multiple assets at once, making the process quicker, automated, and more efficient;
  • It allows reading without the need of a line-of-sight, so allowing scanning from a distance;
  • It helps in reducing human intervention and errors;
  • It improves real-time data collection, accuracy and assets visibility;
  • It reduces time when locating lost or misplaced assets.

A USE CASE FROM OUR EXPERIENCE

We helped one of our customers, an important financial institution, in introducing RFID technology for asset management.

The starting need was the optimization of sureties’ management: our customer was first looking for a solution to identify and track documents but soon the application was extended to all assets: IT devices, furniture, fire extinguishers and also valuable artworks.

To identify goods, we used smart RFID labels, equipped with both barcodes and tags. All data were collected and stored into a tracking system with date, classification (serial number, brand, status), location, service notes (to report any breakage or anomaly).

We had to choose different tag types according to the use: adhesive labels for non-metallic surfaces, special labels for curtains and artworks, special tags for the assembly on fire extinguishers, metal tables and cabinets.

Today all inventories are carried out with portable RFID readers and thanks to the massive reading allowed by the RFID technology the process is efficient, fast and precise.

Used in more than 20 subsidiaries the application helps precise traceability and location of various assets and allows a simpler and faster inventory.

EAGER TO KNOW MORE ABOUT RFID?

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