Blog

The Ultimate Guide to Asset Tracking

Asset tracking is just a process that allows you to keep track of where your assets are. Asset tracking allows you to know the location, status, maintenance, and other important information about your organization's physical assets, and their location using barcode labels or GPS or RFID tags attached to the assets.

There are several benefits of Asset tracking, the most notable of which is increasing customer satisfaction. When your operations run smoothly, your customers will have a better experience, which will increase brand loyalty. An efficient asset tracking system can help you increase productivity, efficiency, and security.

By knowing where your Asset is located, you can protect it from theft, damage, and insecurity. A robust asset tracking system also helps regulatory compliance. In this blog, we look at various spectacular Asset tracking techniques!

Asset tracking technologies

1. QR code and barcode

Barcodes and QR codes have revolutionized inventory control, especially in industries that trace large quantities of goods. They are easy to apply and inexpensive: they can be found printed on almost any retail item.
Although these two tags use electronic scanning equipment to transmit product information, they differ greatly in terms of capability and flexibility. One-dimensional barcode code must be scanned horizontally in one direction.
On the other hand, QR codes can be read from any angle. They're also a lot smaller than barcodes and can carry a lot more data than just price and expiration dates. The read range of these codes is about 1 meter, and they must be scanned with handheld electronic devices.

These codes become unreadable if they are damaged. QR codes are commonly used in construction and leasing, and they're especially useful for tracking assets in situations where:

• wish to keep an accurate record of your assets' information
• have a small number of assets to track
• It is not necessary to track assets automatically and in real-time.

2. RFID

RFID is a tracking technology that employs radiofrequency to search for, identify, track, and communicate with objects and people. RFID tags are essentially smart labels that can contain a variety of information from serial numbers to a short overview and even pages of data.

For a high level of verification and authentication, certain RFID tags contain cryptographic security capabilities. Their radio frequencies are commonly used to identify them: low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and ultra-high frequency (UHF).

RFID tags used in asset tracking are classified as active or passive. The battery-free passive variant delivers signals to an antenna, which bounces them back to a reader placed at a defined "choke point."

These tags, programmed to trigger alarms when passing through choke spots, are extremely useful in preventing theft. These tags, which are compact and lightweight in design, are relatively inexpensive and can be used to scan a large number of products every second.

The short read range of passive RFID tags is a disadvantage. Furthermore, the scanners required to read these tags can be costly. These tags are ideal for keeping track of large amounts of assets.

Battery-powered active tags collaborate with Bluetooth beacons to continuously transmit a wealth of data, including environmental variables such as temperature and humidity. This cutting-edge technology is propelling the IoT asset tracking market for real-time indoor positioning solutions.
Although more expensive than passive RFID tags, they offer a significantly longer read range, removing the need for costly scanners. They can retain a lot more data than their passive counterparts and are ideal for tracking large and important assets in tough conditions.

3. GPS

GPS is the most widely used technology for outdoor asset tracking. It uses receivers to collect radio signals provided by a network of satellites that circle the Earth. then use these signals to calculate and identify an outdoor position expressed in latitude and longitude.

The advantage of this system is that it can communicate over long distances while also keeping accurate, up-to-date logs for everyone who uses it. There are mobile GPS asset tracking systems that can be hardwired into machinery. You can also use a geofence to set up notifications to keep track of huge objects. GPS asset monitoring software allows you to track assets from a simple and centralized dashboard.

The disadvantage is that GPS is an energy-intensive technology with extremely low battery life. GPS gadgets are also fairly large and costly. This method is not well suited to tracking minor movements or indoor placement.
Use GPS if you:
If you need to track assets, use GPS.

• The geographical location of assets must be tracked continuously and automatically.
• are working with high-priced equipment
• wish to ensure that assets remain inside a predetermined border (geofencing).

Conclusion

We hope that after reading this blog, you have a basic understanding of the most common asset tracking system and their uses. With a little vision, these technologies may be combined into a single holistic asset tracking solution to maximize value.

This blog only covers the most widely used asset tracking technologies. There are numerous other choices to consider for your asset tracking needs.