Running a business is no trivial task. There are countless responsibilities that ultimately fall back to you in order to keep everything running smoothly. Every company has assets that need to be properly managed to ensure a smooth operation. You need your goods and services to be handled efficiently and the numbers in your business ledger to stay out of the red. Here are some tips to help you simplify your asset management and keep things running as efficiently as possible.
Identify Your Key Assets
Before you can manage anything, you need to identify what is most critical. Any business is likely to have both tangible and intangible assets to manage that range from buildings, inventory and equipment to brand recognition, reputation and company trademark. You need to keep an up-to-date list of what assets are most essential to your business’s operation. The priority of these assets will shift as your business grows, depending on what areas need the most attention. Start by determining how each of these assets relate to how your business operates and prioritize them accordingly.
Maintain Asset Tracking
Inventory is key to any business that handles tangible goods. Two key components of any loss prevention strategy are to keep a constantly updated inventory and track any stock that is currently being transported. Keeping an accurate inventory requires a reliable method, like using a barcode system to scan and update inventory into a local database. This works well for logging new inventory and recording sales or shipments. For shipment tracking, you should invest in quality fleet tracking devices that use GPS location systems. These allow you to monitor location, vehicle speed, and even driver behavior to better ensure the safety and reliability of your goods while in transit.
Insure Everything
You should insure all of your business assets to cover them against theft and damage. Company vehicles need auto insurance that covers repair and replacement. Employees need insurance to cover workplace injuries. Inventory needs coverage against damage during transport or acts of nature like floods and fires. These are added costs, but without these types of insurance policies, your company would be financially liable for all of its lost assets. By insuring them in advance, your business will soften the financial burden of losses when they occur and mitigate the impact that has on your daily operation.
Plan Around Asset Longevity
Your physical assets will depreciate over time due to natural wear and tear. This reduces not only the monetary value of your equipment but also the efficiency of your operation. By preparing in advance, you will be able to make smarter equipment purchases and invest in quality replacements. Everything tangible has a life cycle, and all physical assets will eventually wear out. Knowing how long something will last will determine its priority when it comes to your next physical upgrades. This is also good information to have when calculating whether or not something is an efficient addition to your business.
Implement the Right Software
One of the best ways to manage your company’s assets is through automation. Managing everything manually is a time-sink. If you want to get the most out of your asset management, you should implement automated software solutions to calculate asset depreciation, schedule maintenance, and give you feedback on the expense-to-cost analytics of your overall business operations. This comes in the form of accounting software to keep track of your expense balance and inventory as well as AI-enable software to sync with other tracking systems you already use, such as GPS tracking devices and surveillance equipment.
Whether your business is just getting started or you have been in business for years, having a good asset management strategy is essential to an efficiently run business. Every business is unique, and different businesses will need to prioritize their assets accordingly. Regardless, no matter what type of assets your business requires managing, following these tips will help get you on the right track.
