Do you know where all of your valuable assets are at any given time? Can you look on the computer and know exactly where your vehicles, tools, or other items are? If not, it might be time to upgrade your business with an RFID tracking system for your assets.
When you know exactly where your assets are and can track them in real-time, you’ll cut down on lost and missing items, and it will deter theft.
If you’re not already taking advantage of RFID technology for asset tracking, here’s why it’s a smart idea to implement this right away.
1. See your asset locations and movement in real-time
When you use RFID chips to track your assets, you can record their movement in real-time because the scanners can read the chips from a short distance as they pass by. This means anyone walking by with a chipped tool, for example, will create a record of that movement.
When you have scanners in multiple locations, you can see how each item moves from point-to-point. This can help you find misplaced and lost items more easily. It can also give you a clue when something is stolen.
This technology is easy to implement and readily available to anyone. Whether you need a big setup across a warehouse or something simple, there are many types of RFID scanners that offer different features to meet your needs and budget.
This is useful if you have assets like vehicles, laptops, tools, company PDAs, or tablets. Placing readers at every exit will tell you when something has been removed from the property without authorization.
2. You shouldn’t have to pay for new assets unnecessarily
Tracking your assets means there’s less chance you’ll need to replace them because they’ve gone missing. Not only can you find missing or lost items more easily based on their last scanned locations, but when employees know items are chipped, they won’t be as likely to steal them. It’s unfortunate that companies have to deal with theft in the first place, but it’s a reality you need to protect against.
There is no reason you should have to buy new assets just because people have been careless with company tools or have decided to steal something from your company. Getting RFID scanners to track your assets will make your life easier and give you more peace of mind. It will encourage people to take better care of things like tools and pieces of inventory, and all of these things will positively support your business.
3. RFID can scan multiple items simultaneously for better inventory control
RFID makes inventory easier. Compared to traditional barcodes, which can only be scanned one at a time, RFID scanners can pick up and scan multiple chips at once, provided they are within range. This means you can place a scanner near a giant bin of items and it will scan everything in that bin immediately. You won’t have to have an employee sift through each item and manually scan each barcode to count what you have on hand.
One of the most common ways retail stores set up their back rooms is to have shelves full of separate bins for each product, and each bin gets a single barcode. When an item goes into a bin, it gets scanned in manually. When an item gets taken out of a bin, it gets scanned out. This process is time-consuming and prone to error. It’s ideal to have a specific location for each item, but RFID technology is better than barcodes. Instead of manually scanning items in and out of locations with barcodes, they can be automatically scanned using RFID scanners.
There are many different ways you can use RFID technology to control inventory, but no matter how you set it up, it’s highly efficient compared to other methods. When you use RFID for inventory management, you’ll save money on labor and reduce errors that can lead to overordering and tying up capital in stock that doesn’t sell.
4. Identify which retail items are attractive to thieves
If you run a retail establishment, tracking items with RFID can tell you what people like to steal most often. From there, you can lock it up or put larger ink-filled security tags on the items that need to be released by the cashier. These are the tags that spill ink all over if they are forcibly removed. Although these tags don’t prevent items from being stolen, they significantly deter theft.
Protect your assets with RFID technology
There’s no better way to protect your company’s valuable assets than by using RFID technology. Don’t rely on manual or outdated methods like sign-in sheets for checking out tools and vehicles. Most loss can be prevented by equipping your assets and inventory with RFID chips.
