How can Modern Technologies Help us Make Inventory Smart?

The end of the calendar year is, for every entrepreneur, a time of inventory of fixed assets. Unfortunately, inventory often generates frustration – especially if the company’s processes are not digitized and it is necessary to check manually where and in what quantity a given asset is located. In such a situation, innovative Industry 4.0 solutions can come to the aid of entrepreneurs.

One of the main goals of the inventory is to determine the actual state of fixed assets, meaning what the company owns and in what quantity. In companies where this process takes place entirely or at least partially manually, this may prove problematic. Searching the production plant or warehouse for resources, then counting them manually involves many employees unnecessarily and, above all, wastes time that can be used in a more effective way.

Periodic inventory – where to start?

When preparing for the inventory process, one should also consider how comprehensively we approach the subject of resource management, and what challenges we have encountered in this area throughout the year, or even in the previous few years. Let’s consider a few basic questions:

• Do you always know where your resources are at any given time? That includes the small ones, used regularly and which often change their location?
• How can you be sure that you are managing the warranty status of your assets properly if you are not monitoring them? It may be a simple omission or a manifestation of unawareness, but can still expose the enterprise to large losses.
• How does the flow of resources affect the efficiency of the plant’s production processes? Are you aware of the movement of your fixed assets? If so, how do you measure this?
• Can you define bottlenecks and places in processes that are worth improving?

Make inventory smarter

Fortunately, there are modern IoT ecosystem solutions that will help streamline the annual inventory process by tracking the location of specific assets. Not only do they greatly facilitate this process in itself, but they also support the daily management of the company’s resources. The implementation of this type of technology is an ideal opportunity for an entrepreneur to enter the world of Industry 4.0 and digitization by combining the real world (tangible resources) with the digital world.

Ongoing monitoring of an enterprise’s fixed assets allows you to obtain information that can be used to create a data-driven environment. Thanks to this, you can easily and practically justify the decisions made in the organization every day, as well as predict the results of the enterprise based on data from the assets. Modern technologies are therefore a route to optimizing and strengthening processes, and increasing control over uncertain, risky situations.

Try Comarch Asset Tracking

Comarch Asset Tracking is a modern, cloud-based solution that involves placing tags or sensors on specific company resources. They can be used on resources of various sizes – from those as small as a key, to large pieces of equipment, products, part-products, and even vehicles. Tags or sensors connect directly to systems that store and analyze the data collected from them.

Comarch Asset Tracking is a useful tool which enables you to monitor the location, movements and behavior of assets in real time. Such comprehensive knowledge of the company’s resources can contribute to the discovery of the potential hidden in operational processes, and even generate new sources of revenue that will allow your company to grow.

If you would like to learn more about our IoT ecosystem solutions, including Comarch Asset Tracking, please visit the www.comarch.com website or email us using the contact form.

Katarzyna Strzebońska, Comarch IoT