5 Real time asset tracking methods that will help you grow in 2021
Asset tracking is the way through which companies can track the location of their assets like trucks, vans, shipper boxes, crates, pallets, etc. The objective is primarily to gain valuable business information as well as maximize operational efficiency. Asset tracking is a critical part of operations management for any business. It entails several benefits to the company as well. For starters, it lets you know the location of your business assets quickly and what is the current state of the asset. Company assets attain optimal utilization and can be tracked accurately for theft, loss, and misuse.
Conventionally, asset tracking has entirely been a manual job. It involved making entries into registers and maintenance of logbooks. It slowly moved to spreadsheets with advancements in computer tech. The data collection at various points generates enormous chunks of information that needs to be stored and assessed in order to make it useful. Computer database management made the handling of such vast data easy. With developments in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT), the process of asset tracking is moving to complete autonomy.
IoT enabled devices can now work on their own and record the data generated via onboard sensors. The data is uploaded to a cloud where the central database is maintained. The data capture system may use barcodes or be completely autonomous. GPS capabilities of these IoT devices attached to the assets provide for accurate location monitoring and tracking. The location data thus generated is transmitted to a cloud database via Wi-Fi or Cellular data or even Bluetooth technology. This standalone system can be integrated within the company’s order management system to improve system efficiencies. Employees can log in to the central system and allocate or transfer assets virtually and track the physical location. Managers can have an overview of the complete asset movement and status on their dashboard. Hence use the capability of improving utilization and productivity of each asset.
We discuss 5 real time asset tracking methods that will help you grow in 2021
Barcode or QR Code Scanning
Barcodes marked a revolution in real-time asset tracking. It was perhaps the first technology that proved super effective and reliable for monitoring of company’s assets. Barcode for a novice may look like just a series of thick and thin black parallel lines. But it is caused quite a stir in the retail world. It is quite economical to implement and run. It is easily scalable, and with the click of a button on the database, you can find where the product was last scanned. Barcodes are so common these days, you will rarely find a product that does not have a barcode printed on it. It is there on almost every product.
Barcode automates a big portion of asset tracking. Persons handling the tracking operations do not physically inspect the items for their dimensions and type to enter their details into the database. It simplifies the tracking process. The person with a barcode reader just needs to point it to the barcodes, and the rest of the process is automatic. The data thus generated can be used for several analytics and forecasting uses.
Barcode technology and process have certain issues. The most prominent being the problem of the need to aligning the codes properly along with the reader. This needs to be done in order to ensure proper scanning to capture the information. Any tampering with the barcodes renders them useless. The next generation for barcodes are QR-codes. They capture much more information fields and can carry lots of information. They typically come in the shape of a square with a lot of pixelated black dots.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
RFID takes the capabilities to pass on the barcode-like information wirelessly. The technology uses chips that get activated in the presence of certain frequency radio waves. RFID works from a distance and is quite fast in comparison to barcodes scanning. Radio waves quickly track product information within a certain range. The data is encoded onto the Radio Frequency Identification tags.
A radio frequency enabled reader can scan the item data from the RFID tag attached to it. The data reading rates are fast, and data is immediately transferred to the database. RFID tags are waterproof and tamper-proof. This gives them an added layer of security.
Near Field Communication (NFC)
NFC is a relatively less accepted technology, perhaps due to cost of implementation and shorter reading distance. NFCis much more secure in digitally transferring the information. NFC and RFID are pretty similar to one another. No particular alignment is required to read NFC tags. Assets can be tracked and scanned even using a NFC-enabled smartphone. As already mentioned, the reading range is pretty short.
NFC is much faster in reading the information in comparison with barcodes and RFID. And a whole lot of information can be transferred and in a much more secure manner. It is so secure that modern credit cards and popular payments platforms like Google Pay and Apple Pay make use of it to safely accept payments.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
Bluetooth technology has undergone several improvements during the last decade. The Bluetooth 5.0 enabled IoT devices have evolved into low energy consumption and long-range transmitting devices. It works by using radio waves as a mode of communication between devices. The Bluetooth applications in industry demand for power savings, frequent exchange of data, long term battery life and slightly longer communication ranges.
Bluetooth low energy (BLE) devices exchange small packets of information at periodic time intervals. They save power by staying in ‘sleep’ mode in between communications. Bluetooth Asset Tracking Devices only use small button cell batteries and can run up to 3 years or even more. Another prominent feature of Bluetooth low energy is to be able to communicate one-on-one, one to many Bluetooth devices in the vicinity, making them ideal for use as the Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
A GPS tracker is like a black box for your fleet. It is a small piece of hardware that monitors each of the vehicles in your fleet for its location. Most of the GPS Fleet Tracking Devices connect to your vehicle via the OBD-II connection. The device has GPS received, Cellular connection equipment, storage, and processing modules.
They act as an “eye in the sky” for your assets traveling around the globe. It is hard to believe that such a small piece of equipment can improve productivity, enforce driver and cargo safety, help reduce fuel costs, and control maintenance costs.
Custom geofencing location boundary breaches can also be reported in real-time. You can monitor the time spent by drivers on each of their trips. You can track your fleet to optimize workflow, reduce layover times, and prevent irregularities in time reporting.
Benefits of asset tracking and management
A company can achieve several benefits by using asset tracking systems. You can monitor your company assets around the clock and in real-time. This directly helps reduce operation costs. It also helps keep the assets secure and protected from fraud and theft. It enables easy recovery of lost assets.
You can track all of your assets indoors as well as outdoors (traveling by land, sea or air). You can access such information anywhere you are, at work, at home, or even traveling. You can access your tracking dashboard from your computer, tablet or smartphone. Teams can allocate, transfer and take possession of assets virtually. Asset maintenance and servicing alerts can be customized into the system.