Sep 21, 2023

Manufacturing companies have seen their share of ups and downs over the years. They aren’t invincible to every problem they come across either. Some of the biggest challenges that distributors are coming across this year include…

• Supply chain disruptions
• Inventory management and scaling
• Higher consumer demand and orders
• Workplace safety and communication
• Sustainability effort and goals

The problems can begin to pile up on a business that may be trying to grow or remain consistent, leading to askew productivity, increases in shipping errors and missing products, and a negative public appearance to the public. Finding long-term solutions amidst the shift from traditional to modern warehouse practices presents these industries with more problems than ever before.

So how exactly can asset management come to the rescue?

Manufacturers are extremely asset-heavy services and therefore need to create a streamlined process to handle inventory from the moment it’s created to when it arrives at someone’s door and beyond. Asset management systems (AMS) offer solutions to these tasks and responsibilities that are custom tailored for the specific client they are designed for.

What Exactly is Asset Management?

Asset management within manufacturing involves the system a company uses for both tracking and handling equipment, inventory, machines, tools, and more. Managing one’s asset portfolio includes deciding how assets could be used, but it also involves the process of future investments.

Exploring options for asset investment is important with manufacturing as companies begin adapting to a world of digitization. Businesses that handle manufacturing have incentives to try and reduce operational costs, install sustainable efforts, and overall improve their supply chain.

Asset management includes the automation of tasks, tracking asset location and status, and scheduling maintenance and repairs. These systems can ultimately assist in manufacturers’ production and efficiency.

Asset Management Systems vs Enterprise Resource Planning

A similar system that many businesses use, enterprise resource planning (ERP) handles a wide variety of day-to-day operational tasks over a larger range. ERP’s range of responsibilities includes manufacturing and distribution. Similar to asset management, these systems can handle the automation of production processes, giving employees more freedom for more complex tasks they may not normally have the time to handle.

So what’s the difference, and why is asset management a better solution for your company?

AMS is a more precise process, handling maintenance and asset life cycles, whereas ERP is very general in the tasks they work on. AMS is also better at predicting outliers or issues and can create a preemptive solution before a problem even occurs. Asset management handles physical assets better due to how specific its processes are. Asset management automates day-to-day tasks better than ERP as well.

While both systems can help benefit a company, an AMS can ultimately be the better solution in the long run due to how specific it can be regarding handling inventory and other tools and equipment with a more specialized, automated process.

The Bottom Line: 7 Ways That Asset Management Can Fix Manufacturing Problems

When considering the decision to implement an asset management solution for your business, there are a lot of benefits that can help a business improve its bottom line. Here are several things that asset management can help to alleviate:

1. Reduce downtime and delays – One of the biggest challenges faced by manufacturers is delays and/or downtime that occur during the ordering process. Missed deadlines can cost a company money. Collecting data across the board, including any equipment improvements, or tracking packages, can prevent these from happening.
2. Lower maintenance costs – Knowing exactly what your business needs and doesn’t need can help reduce costs and get the most out of any maintenance priorities. Asset control can regulate this by building a proper maintenance schedule when things aren’t as busy during the day.
3. Better asset tracking and monitoring – Asset monitoring is an umbrella, with both items within the company and products being shipped and delivered daily. Companies need real-time updates for better planning, scheduling, and solution creation. Asset management can help.
4. Improved communication – Your workforce needs to remain connected each day to remain on the same page. The same is true when it comes to controlling and managing assets. This includes updates on equipment repair, tracking packages or other deliverables, and keeping stock of inventory. Effective control of assets can help workers be in the loop more consistently
5. Create specialization – Another important part of the workplace is specialization amongst your team. Knowing what everyone is capable of, factored in with the total number of employees on staff, means working towards getting the most out of each worker based on their abilities. AMS allows companies to assign specific tasks or jobs to the proper teams or individuals, thereby increasing productivity on a daily basis.
6. Prioritized sustainability efforts ­–An investment in a better asset control system can help a business in achieving their sustainability aspirations. Asset management can result in better supply chain visibility. This in turn can present companies a better look into how they can reduce their carbon footprint within their processes, which presents them with a better public image over time.
7. Create more customer satisfaction – The bottom line is to keep up with customer demand to keep a positive outward appearance and keep people coming back to interact with the business and continue to see profits increase. Consumers are constantly demanding more, and they don’t wait around for companies that are unable to keep up. Staying productive means knowing what works and doesn’t work, from heavy machinery to one barcode scanner. Proper asset control can help keep business processes running smoothly and keep customers satisfied.

Asset management is a critical part of manufacturing companies. The time to install a system and increase your company’s productivity is now. At Heartland, we strive to help businesses excel in their workflow with smarter solutions and available products. Keeping your company AlwaysConnected is what we do. Contact us to discover how your business can get the most out of proper asset management policies and services.