Asset Tracking Guide

Practical step-by-step instructions for tracking IT

and other fixed assets

Version 2.5 - August 2009

Authored by

Thomas Watson
President and Co-Founder
Asset Management International

Asset Management International

1008 Western Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
(877) 297-7618

http://www.assetmgi.com
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Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 3
2 BUILDING YOUR REQUIREMENTS.............................................................................................. 3
2.1 IDENTIFY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................ 3
2.2 CHOOSE THE TYPES OF ASSETS TO TRACK ...................................................................................... 4
2.3 IDENTIFY YOUR DATA SOURCES ..................................................................................................... 5
3 THE ASSET LIFECYCLE .................................................................................................................. 7
3.1 ASSET LIFECYCLE DIAGRAM ........................................................................................................... 7
3.2 LIFECYCLE STAGES DEFINED .......................................................................................................... 8
3.3 DEVELOPING PROCESSES FOR EACH LIFECYCLE TRANSITION ......................................................... 8
4 ASSEMBLING THE TOOLS ............................................................................................................. 9
4.1 ASSET REPOSITORY (DATABASE AND ADMIN USER INTERFACE) .................................................... 9
4.2 ASSET TAGS .................................................................................................................................... 9
4.3 MOBILE DEVICES .......................................................................................................................... 10
5 RECOMMENDED ASSET TRACKING PROCESSES ................................................................ 11
5.1 BASELINE INVENTORY .................................................................................................................. 11
5.2 RECEIVING ASSETS ....................................................................................................................... 15
5.3 INSTALLING/STAGING ASSETS ...................................................................................................... 18
5.4 MOVING ASSETS (IMAC PROCESS)............................................................................................... 19
5.5 DISPOSING ASSETS ........................................................................................................................ 19
6 AUDITING YOUR DATABASE ...................................................................................................... 20
6.1 AUDIT SCOPE AND SCHEDULE ....................................................................................................... 20
6.2 AUDIT PROCESS ............................................................................................................................ 20
7 ADVANCED TOPICS ....................................................................................................................... 22
7.1 RECONCILING COLLECTED DATA .................................................................................................. 22
7.2 IMPORTING VENDOR ADVANCED SHIPPING NOTICES .................................................................... 22
7.3 RFID ............................................................................................................................................. 23
7.4 INTEGRATING PHYSICAL TRACKING DATA WITH AUTO-DISCOVERY ............................................ 23
8 ABOUT THE AUTHOR .................................................................................................................... 24

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1 Introduction
This document provides guidelines for implementing an asset tracking solution at an
organization of any size. It is intended for asset managers that need to keep track of a
large number of physical assets such as computer equipment, vehicles, furniture or
other high-value objects.

The most common method for tracking assets is to perform regular wall-to-wall
inventories. Inventories are time consuming and expensive, and since assets move
around on a daily basis, the data collected during an inventory is outdated before the
finished reports are even published.

By including processes that update your asset database during the activities that
change asset information, you can keep your database up to date. The objective of this
document is to show you how to use technology to make capturing these changes
fast,easy, and less expensive using mobile and web-based technology.

2 Building Your Requirements

Before you begin tracking asset data you need to ask yourself why you even need to.
Determine who in your organization needs access to your asset data. What do they
need the information for and how do they want to see it delivered?

From there you can set the scope of;

· what types of assets you need to track
· identify the data elements required in your asset database
· and locate the sources of information relevant to asset tracking within your
organization.

Defining requirements is an essential first step to ensure your solution tracks all the
data you need. This will also help you to reuse existing data in your organization,
eliminating the creation of redundant sources of information that have to be maintained
separately.

2.1 Identify Reporting Requirements

The whole point of an asset tracking system is to produce reports that help your
organization make intelligent business decisions. Thus, the first step in your solution
design should be to specify the reports your tracking system needs to produce, and
work backwards from there.

There can be many different audiences for asset reports, and you must identify and
interview each of them. Get a list of the reports they need and identify each piece of
information that is needed to make each report.

Examples of reporting audiences:

Ø Purchasing needs to know when assets have been received in order to

reconcile invoices for payment, therefore you need to capture purchasing
information such as purchase order number, the cost and the date of
acquisition.

Ø Helpdesk needs to know which assets are in use by which personnel to aid in
support calls, therefore you must capture the assigned user and model

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information.

Ø The CIO needs to know how many computers must be upgraded to support a
new operating system such as Vista, therefore you must capture hardware
configuration about each on-network and off-network asset.

Ø Accounting needs to know the value of assets by each state to ensure property
taxes are paid accurately, therefore you must track the physical location of
every asset as well as the current depreciated value.

These are just a few examples. You will certainly have others that need access to
asset data.

If you do not identify your reporting requirements ahead of time, there is no way to
ensure you will capture the necessary information. This puts you at risk of failing to
meet your business requirements and losing support for your asset tracking solution.

2.2 Choose the Types of Assets to Track

One of the biggest mistakes asset managers make when setting up asset tracking
solutions is trying to track too much. The starting position for most people is to track
everything owned, but experience shows items like keyboards, mice and other low-
value assets should not be tracked. There is simply too much effort required to track
low value assets such as these, and little value in doing so. Save time by focusing on
high-value assets first, and then expand to include other asset types as your tracking
solution matures.

For IT departments, we recommend tracking the following assets:

Definitely Recommended Not Recommended

Desktops Personal Printers Keyboards
Laptops PDAs Mice
Servers Phones
Network Printers Monitors
Switches
Routers

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2.3 Identify Your Data Sources

Next, identify the existing sources of information within your organization that your asset
tracking solution needs. This includes your HR list, physical locations list, model
catalog, etc., that may already exist in another system. By identifying the master
sources of data in your organization, you can set up initial exports or regular feeds from
those sources into your asset tracking database. This will keep your asset tracking
system synchronized with your organizational data, and minimize redundant data entry.

2.3.1 Locations
Your data collectors should select from a pre-existing location list when assigning
assets to a physical location. If you have a facilities management system that contains
location information, export it from that system once, or set up an automatic feed of
location data from your facilities system. The latter is more difficult, but once
established, any new locations added to your facilities system will automatically be
added to your asset tracking system.

If you do not have an electronic source of location information, you will need to
establish one on your own. In this case, we recommend creating a location record for
each building in your organization as a simple, flat list. If your organization is quite
large with multiple campuses or spread across the globe in many countries, you may
organize your environment into a more complex hierarchy that groups your locations
together.

Note - You can reorganize your locations into a more complex hierarchy
at a later time. It is best to start with a simple, flat list of locations first, then
organize locations into groups once you understand your reporting
requirements. Starting off with a complex location hierarchy will create more
work and data entry errors, which isn’t worth it until you understand your
reporting requirements.

2.3.2 Models
Each asset in your asset database should be assigned manufacturer and model
information that identifies the kind of asset (e.g. “Dell Latitude D610”). You will want to
pre-populate your database with as many models as you know exist in your
environment to facilitate fast, accurate and consistent data entry.

If your organization uses a procurement system that contains model information, you
should use that the same model information in your asset tracking solution. This will
facilitate easier reconciliation with purchasing since you will be able to compare
received assets to the items on purchase orders.

If you do not have a pre-existing model list, you will need to manually create one. Like
locations, we recommend that you keep your model list clean and simple. For each
variation of a particular model, such as the numerous configurations of the Latitude
D620 from Dell, create a new model record for each configuration. For example, create
two model records for each Latitude configuration, such as “Latitude D620 512MB” and
“Latitude D620 1024MB.”

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2.3.3 Employees
Identify the source of employee information within your organization, such as
PeopleSoft, Active Directory, SAP or internally developed application. Import this data
into your asset tracking solution on a regular basis. When possible, attach location
information to these employee records. This will make it possible to filter which
employee records are sent to which mobile devices by only sending employees within a
given set of locations. This filtering will help with performance of your data entry
screens and increase accuracy by reducing the number of choices presented to your
data entry personnel.

2.3.4 Organizational Units/Cost Centers

Your organization is undoubtedly broken into some sort of hierarchy of divisions,
business units, cost centers, etc. Each asset in your asset tracking solution can be
assigned to a particular entity within your organization, which is essential for
chargeback reporting.

Organizational unit lists are typically not as large as locations and employee lists, and
can therefore be managed manually. However, you want to be sure your organizational
data matches those defined by your administration so that the asset reports you
generate are meaningful to the rest of your organization.

2.3.5 Assets
In some cases you may already have an existing asset database on hand, such as an
Excel spreadsheet or Access database you are attempting to replace with a more
robust asset tracking solution. You can leverage this existing work by doing a one-time
import of asset data into your new asset database. However, you should only do this if
you trust the data in that original asset database. Otherwise it may be better to start
over by performing a new baseline inventory.

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3 The Asset Lifecycle

When developing asset tracking solutions, the first place to start is to define the various
stages through which assets move as they are procured, received, used and eventually
disposed by your organization. We call this the "Asset Lifecycle." By defining your
asset lifecycle, you can see the transitions that take place for a given asset. These
transitions are where you need to put in processes to update your asset repository.
We’ve often heard these transitions called “Catch Points.”

3.1 Asset Lifecycle Diagram

The following diagram shows the typical stages of the asset lifecycle:

The items in the diagram above are the different statuses that an asset may have. In
the above diagram, an asset starts off as being On Order and moves through various
lifecycle stages until the asset is eventually disposed.

The color coding shows you which organization has physical possession of the asset at
each stage. The arrows between lifecycle stages show how assets may move from one
stage to another. These arrows are the business processes that you must evaluate to
ensure your asset database is properly updated as the status of assets change.

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3.2 Lifecycle Stages Defined

The following list describes each of the stages as defined by AMI. As we get further
into building asset tracking solutions together, I will be using these definitions to explain
how the solutions should work.

On Order On Order assets are those which have been ordered but have not yet been
shipped by the vendor.
Shipped An asset is Shipped when it is in transit from the vendor to your company.
The vendor may provide an Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) as assets are
shipped. An ASN is an electronic file which can be sent to your company and
imported into the repository ahead of the receipt of equipment.
Received An asset is Received once your receiving personnel take possession of the
asset. An asset may be received when it is first shipped from a vendor, or if it
is returned from a remote employee. Received assets can then be stored in
the warehouse or forwarded to the Staging/Configuration department for
installation to an end user.
Stored Stored assets are usable assets in a stock location. Fulfillment coordinators
should check for Stored assets to determine what assets are available to
fulfill new equipment requests.
Installed Installed assets are asset currently deployed to end users and in use.
In Repair In Repair assets are those that have been returned to a vendor for repair,
and are expected to be returned to your company.
Retired Retired assets are assets that are no longer of use to your company but have
not yet been properly disposed. Retired assets are still in the possession of
your company and may be retained for a certain period to keep employee
data while a new asset is used. Retired assets must be properly disposed
before the assets are taken off the books.
Returned A Returned asset is one sent back to a vendor, such as a lease return or item
returned for credit.
Disposed A Disposed asset is one that has been (or at least should have been)
officially wiped of data, transferred to a disposal company and the disposal
company has provided an official certificate of disposal. Once an asset is
Disposed, it may be removed from the fixed asset and taxable property
registers. The asset record remains in the asset repository for reporting
purposes.

3.3 Developing Processes for each Lifecycle Transition

To design your asset tracking solution, look at the ways that assets currently move
between lifecycle stages (receiving, staging, install and disposal, etc.), and document
your current processes. Then, add the use of the appropriate tools such as mobile
devices and barcodes into these processes that make it easy to update your asset
database.

We will discuss AMI’s best practice recommendations for performing inventories,

receiving, installs, moves and disposals, later in this document.

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4 Assembling the Tools

Before you start designing an asset tracking solution for your organization, you will
need to make a few decisions about the hardware and software you have available.

4.1 Asset Repository (Database and Admin User Interface)

Asset information must be stored in a centralized database accessible by your entire
organization via the intranet. There are numerous products on the market at varying
price and feature levels, from basic off-the-shelf shrink-wrapped applications to
enterprise-class IT management suites.

AMI recommends using a scalable repository product with a data reconciliation

interface, allowing asset managers to review and validate data collected before
changes are applied to the database. The system should allow for customization of
fields and forms, have robust search and export capabilities, and provide an API
enabling integration with existing systems at your organization.

4.2 Asset Tags

Every asset in your environment needs to have a unique asset tag with barcode and/or
RFID label to make it easy to update asset information using a mobile device.

You have the choice of purchasing a barcode label printer with software, or purchasing
pre-printed barcode labels from a label manufacturer. While barcode printers and
software provide a level of flexibility, pre-printed barcode labels are not expensive, have
generally higher quality, and are easier than purchasing a printer and creating your own
tags.

Choosing the appropriate kind of label depends on its application. There are few
attributes to consider

Ø Material: (Polyurethane, Metal, Paper) Label material correlates to durability.

Metal and polyurethane labels are more expensive, but last a lot longer and are
nearly impossible to tamper with.

Ø Adhesive: Aggressive adhesives are highly durable and make labels extremely
difficult to remove. While a bit more expensive, these labels are quite effective.

Ø Format: Choosing a format for asset tag values can help with asset tracking.
For example, choosing an asset tag format that requires “MOD137 check digit
verification” means asset tags can be validated by your mobile computer or
web form at data entry time. This helps with tags that are keyed in manually,
as if a character is mistyped, the validation will fail alerting the user right away.

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4.3 Mobile Devices

Mobile devices make it easy to update information for large numbers of assets over a
wide area. Using devices with barcode or RFID scanners allows you to quickly and
accurately capture asset information in a very non-invasive way. Spreadsheets and
other manual data entry methods are time consuming, which often lead to personnel
failing to comply with proper asset tracking procedures. In addition, the number of data
entry errors is reduced dramatically by using barcodes or RFID tags, saving you a lot of
time tracking down information so you can fix problems with the data.

4.3.1 For the Warehouse

For high-volume warehouse environments, ruggedized mobile devices that can
withstand drops and harsh conditions are preferred. While more expensive, ruggedized
devices withstand harsh environments and are less expensive to operate in the long
run. Motorola, Intermec, Honeywell and Psion are companies that create rugged
Windows Mobile™ devices.

4.3.2 For Field Technicians

For personnel roaming around your environment, such as break/fix technicians,
enterprise PDA devices that provide additional functionality such as phone, email and
web browsing are often preferred, as these devices enable asset tracking applications
without requiring techs to carry additional hardware. Enterprise PDA devices may or
may not have integrated barcodes scanners. If not, Bluetooth or SDIO/Compact Flash
barcode readers are available as add-ons. Check your mobile device manual for
compatibility before choosing barcode accessories.

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5 Recommended Asset Tracking Processes

Once you have done your homework, identified your reporting requirements and
existing data sources, modeled your asset lifecycle, and identified the tools you have
available, you can begin designing your asset tracking processes. There will be many
processes: one for each stage in the asset lifecycle you have defined. These
processes should be easily documented so that your staff can follow the steps without
difficulty.

The processes mapped out here assume you have mobile data collection technology
like AssetTrack software from AMI.

5.1 Baseline Inventory

If you are starting from scratch or your asset database is wildly inaccurate, a “wall to
wall” baseline inventory is needed to capture everything you have deployed so you are
starting with a good set of data. Once you have a solid baseline inventory, you then
implement day-to-day processes that keep your asset database current as changes
occur.

5.1.1 Planning your Inventory Locations

Inventories are performed cube-to-cube, room-to-room and no matter how you cut it will
require a decent chunk of effort. The key to making inventories efficient is planning and
tools.

To begin, take your physical location list and estimate the number of IT users in each
location. This will give you a baseline estimate on the number of resources needed at
each location. After you run a pilot you will be able to plan a schedule of visits to each
location to perform your baseline inventory.

5.1.2 Selecting a Pilot Location

Select one of your locations to inventory as a pilot. You will use this pilot location to
measure the speed at which inventory data can be collected per person. You will then
be able to estimate the resources required to inventory the rest of your environment.
We recommend performing an inventory of 1000 assets as a pilot.

5.1.3 Preparing your Data Collectors

Each data collector for your inventory project will need a mobile computer with scanning
software, a roll of pre-printed unique barcode labels, and if using AMI’s AssetTrack
software, Scan Sheets that enable fast entry of location or model information. The
availability of Scan Sheets and other features will be dependent on which mobile
software you choose to use to collect your baseline inventory.

Assign each data collector one or more locations to visit, inform them on which asset
types are considered in scope, and have them report back with their collected inventory
data.

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5.1.4 Performing the Inventory

Use the following process to capture inventory data in each room or cube in your
environment.

Then follow these steps for each cube:

1. Enter the room/cube and visually identify each of the assets that are in scope
for the inventory.

2. Apply a unique asset tag to each asset in a location that is easy to access once
the equipment is installed. For desktops, place the asset tag at the top front of
the computer, so that it can be scanned without having to climb underneath the
user’s desk. For laptops, place the tag on the top cover near the front of the
computer, in a place accessible when the laptop is docked.

Asset Tag Placement

Desktops Laptops

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3. Enter the location information into the mobile device for the room/cube. If using
a tool like AssetTrack, scan the appropriate Site and/or Floor code from your
scan sheet, then key in the room/cube number using the virtual keyboard.

4. Next, choose the user responsible for the assets in this room/cube. Most
mobile tools will let you search for the end user by tapping in the first few
characters of the user’s last name. If you are lucky enough to work for an
organization that has barcodes for employee IDs on a user’s badge, you can
scan that badge number to select the assignee.

5. For each asset in the room/cube:

a. Choose the model, manufacturer and Asset Type for the first asset.
For example, if the first asset is a Dell Latitude 610, choose that model
from your model list. If using AssetTrack software, scan the
appropriate model barcode from your scan sheet to have all three fields
automatically completed for you.

b. Now that you have selected the model for the laptop, scan the asset
tag that you have applied to it.

c. Next, scan the serial number for the laptop. The asset should be
added to your asset list.

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d. Repeat steps 5.a through 5.c for each additional asset in this location.
If there are multiple assets of the same model in the cube, scan those
together to prevent having to reselect the model from the product
catalog.

Save the record and move to the next cube.

Once you’ve finished scanning all the assets at the given location, return the device to
your asset manager, or upload the data directly to the server if you have a system like
AssetTrack that is capable of doing so.

5.1.5 Reconciling Inventory Data

The data collected by your data collectors should not be applied directly to your
database. The data should be collected and normalized before it is applied. This
reconciliation process will allow you to:

Ø Find duplicated models, location and assignees that were created during data
collection.

Ø Identify which data collectors need training.

Ø Identify locations that were missed during the inventory.

We recommend using a system like AssetTrack with an upload queue and automated
scrubbing tools so you can review the scanned data before applying the changes to
your database. You can optionally use spreadsheets and Excel to work with collected
data in a more manual fashion.

See Reconciling Collected Data later in this document for more information on
scrubbing data.

5.1.6 Moving Beyond the Baseline Inventory

Now that you have captured a baseline, ideally you should never have to again. But
that depends on how well you set up your day-to-day asset tracking processes so that
you capture changes to asset information as they occur. If you don’t track properly on a
day-to-day basis, then you will eventually have to do another baseline inventory as your
data gets out of date.

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5.2 Receiving Assets

When assets show up at the door you need to establish a process for registering the
new assets into your database and to show that they have been received. The process
you design must be easy and accurate, otherwise your receiving personnel will not
comply with the process.

5.2.1 Designing a Receiving Process

The process you establish for receiving will depend on a few factors about your
environment and your vendors:

5.2.1.1 Are Advanced Shipping Notices Available from your Vendors?

Do your vendors provide electronic feeds of asset that are shipped that you can import
into your asset repository before the assets arrive? If Advanced Shipping Notices
(ASN) are available, you can and should set up a nightly import routine that creates
asset records in your repository before the equipment arrives. Using ASNs, you
minimize data entry at receiving time since you won’t have to capture information like
model, serial number, cost, and PO number at the receiving dock. This information will
be created when the ASN is imported.

However, not all vendors provide ASNs, so you need to determine whether you can
take advantage of them. Don’t worry, even if ASNs are not available, receiving can be
made pretty efficient with the use of the correct tools.

5.2.1.2 Are all assets received in a centralized location?

Do you have a centralized receiving location or do you have assets shipped directly to
your end users? If you do not have centralized receiving, it will be extremely difficult to
develop an effective receiving process. People just won’t follow the process if someone
isn’t watching them. End users especially will never understand why it’s so important to
properly receive assets, and will simply ignore whatever mandates you send to them in
email.

Centralized receiving allows you to control how assets are registered in your repository
and tagged. Our clients have both centralized and end user set-ups. AMI recommends
centralized receiving to ensure receiving is done properly. This will prevent your asset
environment from becoming populated with assets not in your database (at AMI we call
these “Rogue” assets). This is counter-intuitive to many people who feel drop-shipping
saves a lot of time and money. It does, until you are audited.

5.2.1.3 Do your vendors apply barcodes?

Do your vendors ship assets in boxes that contain serial numbers to the outside? If
they don’t, you should probably find a new vendor, but until you do realize that you will
have to crack open every box at the receiving dock since you won’t have access to a
barcode that you can use to identify the asset.

5.2.2 Preparing Your Receiving Personnel

AMI recommends the use of mobile scanners to make capturing details about received
assets fast and accurate. Provide at least one mobile scanner, a roll of pre-printed
barcode asset tags and Scan Sheets if you are using AMI AssetTrack to each receiving
location. Create scan sheets that have the location for each receiving point available as
a barcode. Ensure your mobile devices are loaded with the latest and greatest data
from your repository before starting to receive assets.

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5.2.3 Receiving Assets

To receive assets when they arrive at the dock:

1. First, group the assets by purchase order.

2. Next subdivide the assets in each order by model. For example, take all the
Dell Latitude D610 laptops from a single PO and put them together. The assets
in each group should be the same model number. This will make it easier for
you to scan the assets with your mobile computer.

3. Next, enter the receiving location for the assets into the mobile computer. You
should only have to do this once. The location information should remain on
the form as you move through each group. If you are using a product like
AssetTrack, scan the appropriate receiving location barcode from your Scan
Sheet.

4. If you are not using ASNs, scan or enter the PO number for this shipment.
Capturing the PO number is essential for invoice reconciliation. If you have an
ASN import process working, your PO information should already be in your
repository.

5. Then, start with the first model group in this and select the manufacturer and
model number for that group into the mobile computer. If you are using
AssetTrack, you can simply scan the model barcode from your Scan Sheet.
You only have to do this once per model group.

6. Now that you’ve selected the model for your first group, use the mobile device
to scan the serial numbers of each of the asset in that group. As you scan
each serial number, assets should be added to the received asset list on the
mobile computer with the right technology.

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7. When finished with the first group, move to the next model. Change the
manufacturer and model information, and then proceed with scanning each of
the serial numbers in the next group. Repeat this step for each of the
remaining groups.

Once you’ve finished scanning all the assets, send the receiving data to your asset
manager for processing. We recommend using a system that allows data collectors to
upload the data from their mobile devices to the server directly. We also recommend
using a system with an upload queue so asset managers can review the scanned data
before applying the changes to your database. Clients have agreed with our statement
that the AssetTrack Concole “Queue” is the most valuable tool in the entire process.

See Reconciling Collected Data for more information.

5.2.4 Where Do I Apply Asset Tags?

You’ll notice in the above process that we didn’t put asset tags on the assets. We
received the assets by scanning only the serial number. This means that the assets will
have no asset tag in your database.

We recommend this so that you don’t have to crack open boxes at the receiving dock.
Opening a shipment of laptops is extremely time-consuming. We would prefer that you
affix asset tags to the equipment when staging the assets for deployment. That is the
time when you have to open the box to install the OS, applications, your auto-discovery
agent, etc. anyway. We feel this is the perfect time to affix an asset tag without causing
a major interruption in your daily workflow.

However, some of our customers require that asset tags be placed on every asset as
soon as it is in their possession. This is typically to ensure that the fewest number of
people are responsible for tagging, so that if equipment doesn’t get tagged, you know
who to discipline. If you must tag at the dock, insert a step to capture both the asset tag
and serial number together, to ensure your repository associates the two values
together correctly.

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5.3 Installing/Staging Assets

When assets are deployed to users, your asset database must be updated to reflect the
user and location of the installed assets. This is also the point at which AMI
recommends applying an asset tag to the assets. Some organizations apply asset tags
at the receiving dock, but this requires opening every box which is very time consuming
and unnecessary. When assets are installed, they are unboxed and generally
configured with an image. This is a perfect time to apply an asset tag label to the asset.

To track assets as they are installed:

1. Apply an asset tag label to the asset in a location that is easy to access once
the equipment is installed. See the Inventory process for detailed information
on tag placement.

2. Next, scan the serial number barcode of the asset. This is how the system will
identify the asset since the database doesn’t yet have an asset tag associated
with the piece of equipment.

3. Then, scan the asset tag you just applied. Once you upload and apply your
data, this will associate the serial number and asset tag together.

4. Enter the location where the asset is installed into the mobile computer.

5. Select the user to which the asset is assigned into the mobile computer.

6. Save the record

Once you’ve finished installing all the assets, upload the data from your mobile device
to the server to update your database. We recommend using a system with an upload
queue so you can review the scanned data before applying the changes to your
database. See Reconciling Collected Data for more information.

Note - Your mobile device application should detect if an unknown serial number is
scanned and audibly prompt the technician to enter additional information needed to
create a new asset record, such as make, model and serial number.

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5.4 Moving Assets (IMAC Process)

Assets are constantly being moved from one location to another for a variety of
reasons:

1. New assets are installed from inventory

2. Assets are replaced during a break/fix call

3. And users or departments move to new locations

4. Assets are refreshed

Any time an asset is moved, you should record the move in your asset database in
order to maintain database accuracy. Otherwise you must employ a thorough audit
process to ensure all locations are regularly scanned.

AMI recommends inserting steps into your move processes so that asset location, user
and status information can be updated as the move occurs. In order for these steps to
not interfere with the work the technician must perform, mobile devices with scanning
tools should be used to make the data entry process easy.

To track assets as they are moved, follow the same process as installing equipment:

1. Enter or scan in the new destination location for the assets

2. Enter the new user information for the assets.

3. Send the updated asset data to your asset manager for review and
application to the repository.

As with other processes, AMI recommends that changes to asset data collected by your
field personnel not be applied directly to your database.

5.5 Disposing Assets

Tracking the disposal of assets is one of the most important stages in your asset
tracking process. Removal of equipment from your possession is key to reducing
property tax and insurance liabilities by getting assets off your books, as well as
ensuring compliance with e-waste and data destruction policies mandated by the
government.

To properly dispose assets:

1. Collect the assets to be disposed.

2. Destroy data using a DOD compliant process.

3. Using your mobile device, select a Disposed lifecycle status which indicates
the assets are no longer in your possession.

4. Scan each of the asset tags of the assets that are disposed. Any undetected
asset tags scanned should alert the data collector that additional asset data
is needed.

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6 Auditing Your Database

No matter how effective your asset tracking solution, assets will be moved without
anyone updating the database. Users will simply grab the LCD monitor off the desk of
coworkers that has left. Technicians will take equipment from the warehouse and install
it without notifying asset management. Equipment will be disposed without anyone
recording the changes. Equipment will be stolen.

From time to time you should audit your database to ensure its accuracy. Auditing your
environment helps you to identify the health of your asset tracking process and identify
where things are breaking down. Performing audits also provides a way to “true-up”
your database, ensuring accuracy by updating the database with current information
collected during the audit.

6.1 Audit Scope and Schedule

AMI recommends a rolling audit process where a portion of your environment is audited
on a regular cycle. The cycle and scope of your audits will be based on the size of your
organization and staff levels. However, a good starting place is to perform a monthly
audit of 1/12th of your asset environment. In other words, slice your environment into
twelve pieces, and audit one piece every month and don’t repeat a piece until all pieces
are done. This ensures your entire asset environment is audited each year.

This audit schedule is wildly over-simplified here. You will have to look at your
environment, staff level and available tools to determine your rolling audit schedule.
But if you can establish a schedule that ensures your entire environment is swept, you
will be ensured that assets that have fallen through the cracks will be picked up and
returned to their proper place in your asset database.

6.2 Audit Process

Follow this process to audit a portion of your environment.

6.2.1 Collecting Audit Data

When performing an audit, you really only care about certain pieces of data in your
asset database. These are the location, assigned user, the lifecycle status and
optionally cost center. These fields are the dynamic fields that change throughout the
life of an asset. Other fields such as manufacturer, model, serial, PO number, cost, etc.
never change. We call these static fields; fields that should never change in value
unless you are correcting an initial data entry error.

When performing an audit, you will have your data collection team visit a site and
capture the location, assigned user and status information for each asset, which
necessary for the audit.

Note – When collecting audit data you do not need to capture information such as
model, manufacturer and serial number for assets unless the asset is not currently in
the database. In order to know whether this data needs to be collected, you need
mobile device software that can alert the data collector when an unknown asset tag is
scanned. Check with your tool vendor to determine if this feature is supported.

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6.2.2 Comparing Audit Data

When finished collecting data for the audit, upload the data to a central location. Once
the audit data is collected, it can then be compared to the repository for generating
accuracy statistics.

Note – AMI recommends the use of an asset tracking tool that allows you to easily
collect and review data collected by your entire audit team for use in generating
accuracy reports.

Use a reporting tool or programming interface to compare your collected audit data with
the data in the repository. Some accuracy reports that will help you measure your asset
tracking processes include:

Ø Location accuracy percentage – What percentage of your audited assets have

the correct location information?

Ø User accuracy percentage

Ø Cost center accuracy percentage

Ø Detailed list of assets with non-matching data – Of the audited assets that don’t
match the data in the repository, produce a list of the asset details.

There are many tools you can use to generate these reports. Your asset tracking
software may do this for you or Microsoft Excel and Access both provide facilities to
quickly generate reports based on collected asset data.

6.2.3 Applying Audit Data

Once the audit reports have been generated and saved, you should apply the collected
data to your database to “true-up” the data. Your asset tracking system should provide
the means to apply collected audit data after audit reports have been generated. After
applying your audit data, all assets included in the audit will be updated with the latest
accurate information.

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7 Advanced Topics
7.1 Reconciling Collected Data
AMI recommends reviewing the data collected by the mobile devices or collected via
web forms before applying the changes to your asset database. This is especially
important in environments where there are multiple users collecting data assets, and
where field personnel are different than the asset managers responsible for the quality
of asset data.

The asset tracking tools you select may or may not have facilities for reconciling
collected data. AMI strongly recommends using a tool with a reconciliation system (like
the “Queue”) to prevent data from streaming into the database directly.

The items that you should be checking for in collected data:

Ø New models, locations, assignees, cost centers, etc. that were created during
data collection.

Ø Missing data such as serial numbers or asset tags which are required for every
asset record.

Ø Other inconsistencies such as a large shipment of laptops received for which

there is no corresponding order in purchasing.

Ø Static data that is changing, such as changing model number, manufacturers or

asset types. This information should not change unless there was an initial
error in data entry.

There will undoubtedly be other business rules specific to your organization that will
need to be checked, further stressing the point that your asset tracking process should
include a data reconciliation system of some kind.

7.2 Importing Vendor Advanced Shipping Notices

7.2.1 What is an Advanced Shipping Notice?
In an ideal world hardware vendors are able to produce and deliver ‘Advanced Shipping
Notices’ when they ship equipment to you. These notices are files that contain the
serial number, manufacturer, make, and model information for each of the assets in the
shipment. Your vendor should send these to you ahead of the shipment so that you
can import the asset data before the equipment arrives. If you do this, you will save
yourself a ton of time at the receiving dock, since you won’t have to capture this
information manually.

7.2.2 Normalizing ASN Data

First, a warning: ASN files can be messy and can often contain extra data that is not
needed. AMI has seen many ASN files with line items for shipping charges and
discounts, multiple values for the same manufacturer (“Dell” and “Dell Inc.”), and
varying product descriptions for similar products (“Dell Latitude D610” and “D610 Back
To School Special!!!!”).

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7.2.3 Importing the ASN

To import ASN files, you will need a tool like AMI’s ASN Processor that can trim and
normalize the files sent by your vendor into a format that can be easily imported into
your asset database. The tool you select must be “trainable” so that you can set up
rules for normalizing the data the way you need. This training involves mapping strings
representing model numbers to models in your asset repository, so that as assets are
entered into your repository with the correct model information.

7.3 RFID
Everyone loves the idea of RFID because it eliminates the need for human intervention.
Here are some things to consider.

Ø RFID tags don’t prevent theft. An end user can place their hand over the RFID
tag and prevent the tag from being read by many door readers.

Ø To set up a comprehensive RFID tracking system, you must have fixed readers
throughout your environment. This means every door, elevator and room
depending on how granular you need your location accuracy. Figure $5000
USD per reader and do the math to figure out the cost.

Ø Metal cases require that you have a ¼” space between the metal material and
the RFID chip. Therefore the .15c RFID tags won’t work on laptops and
servers.

Ø Passive RFID tags, which are the cheaper ones, have a much shorter read
range than expensive Active tags.

Ø Before you implement and RFID solution, you need a consulting company to
come on-site and do an assessment of your environment. They will check the
types of assets you want to track to select the proper tags, the RF environment
to check for conflicts in certain frequency ranges, and to map your physical
environment so they can quote the correct number of fixed and mobile readers,
antennae and installation services.

So, bottom line is that everyone wants RFID to be easy, but it’s not yet. RFID will
mature over the coming years as some of the physical issues like tags, chips and
readers are figured out. During that time, business software such as Microsoft BizTalk
RFID and AMI’s AssetTrack will streamline RFID implementations.

7.4 Integrating Physical Tracking Data with Auto-Discovery

When you have both physical asset tracking using scanners as well as network
discovery, having both systems feed a common asset repository is a great way to
leverage both technologies.

Typically joining asset tracking data and discovery data is handled by matching serial
numbers, so that the barcode or RFID tag on the outside of the device matches the
serial number detected by the discovery agent. When this is available, you can have
both systems update the same asset record, giving you the ability to see both sets of
data together in reports.

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Auto-discovery systems alone fail to capture assets that are not on the wire, which
includes everything in the warehouse plus all non-discoverable assets in the field. By
implementing both systems together, you provide a complete tracking system that
misses nothing. Also, by implementing physical and auto discovery tracking, you have
two data sources to compare and find exceptions, such as all assets that have been
scanned by not discovered and vice versa. This can help you find gaps in your tracking
tools and fix errors with discovery agents that are not installed or working properly.

8 About the Author

Thomas Watson is the President and Co-founder of Asset Management International
(AMI) in Seattle, WA. AMI offers asset tracking software and solutions to enterprise
and small-to-midsize (SMB) organizations, as well as comprehensive ITIL solutions
integrated with the CA, HP, and Provance platforms. Watson has been working in IT
asset tracking software space for ten years and has developed line-of-business
software applications for seventeen.

For more information, you can contact him directly at [email protected].

Asset Management International

1008 Western Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
(877) 297-7618

http://www.assetmgi.com

If you would like to speak with us about specific questions you have about AssetTrack,
please contact one of our Solution Architects.

[email protected]
(877) 297-7618 Option 1

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