You know it’s there….but where? — Asset Tracking
It’s the time spent in searching assets that reduces efficiency and brings in frustration
“How can I quickly find what I am looking for”, is by far the most common question I get asked, whether it’s about tracking equipment, tracking finished goods in a warehouse, or just knowing that it’s there.
Everyone agrees that searching for any valuable in a warehouse is the most dreadful of tasks and if only we could find quickly what we wanted, we could save so much time and reduce frustration. We all understand the benefits of electronic asset tracking, but we really struggle to decide what tools and methodologies could be used to track assets within an organization.
So, how should one develop and implement a simple asset tracking strategy?
Step 1: Select the most critical asset types that need to be tracked
I believe it is very easy to get carried away when you can see that technology can track almost about everything, by just adding an asset tag to the asset, but here, it is important to make sure that you pick up the assets that are most valuable and critical for business. This can be scaled up to eventually cover all the assets, like returnable packaging, pallets, finished goods, forklifts, etc.
Step 2: Define the locations on the layout, that are easily identifiable
Some people have a very high expectation from the asset tracking technology where they want the precise location of the asset at centimeter-level accuracy, and though there are systems like UWB (Ultra-WideBand) that offer that level of precision, the costs, and maintenance process associated with it are not justifiable and the whole project comes to a standstill.
A better way, I believe is to define zones (just like we define bays) in the warehouse and set the search location expectation of 3sq.mt. area, or 10sq.mt. area, where the said asset can be located and found. This way the entire implementation becomes practical, achievable, and cost-effective. BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technology today has been able to track assets instantly and in real-time
Step 3: Select the most suitable asset tracking device & asset tracking software
The form factor, the battery type, maintenance, and reliability are the most important elements when it comes to selecting the most suitable asset tracking devices. Passive tags like the RFID Tags, should not be used for real-time asset tracking as they either require costly UHF (Ultra High Frequency) RFID Readers or handheld readers (that defeats the purpose, as there is a human dependency). I suggest the use of BLE Asset Tags, as these send Bluetooth signals and have a range of 100 meters. The BLE Readers continue to read signals from these asset tags on a continuous basis. This ensures that if and when the asset to which this asset tag is attached moves from its designated location, the reader is able to quickly update the interface. Now, based upon a hyper decision rule defined in the system, an appropriate decision can be taken.
So, for example, if an item with HU (Handling Unit) code SWD28746 is supposed to sit in Bay 03 and if it moves away from its location to a wrong location, the decision framework can be configured to send an alert/message in real-time. This way losses can be controlled in real-time.
Once you have selected the right asset tracking device, it’s important to configure and tweak the asset tracking software to suit your organizations need.
4: Set KPI’s and Conduct a Pilot
In Peter Druker's words, you cannot improve what you cannot measure, and thus before conducting any pilot for any technology, you need to put down the key performance indicators (KPI’s). The most important KPI’s for warehouses is as under
1. Customer Cycle Order Time is the cycle time when an order arrives from the customer and ends when those goods are shipped out and recorded into the inventory management system. This KPI gets hit hard as searching for the goods ordered takes the most time, especially during month ends.
2. On time Ready To Ship is calculated as a percentage of orders ready for shipment with all necessary inventory gathered at the planned time.
On time shipment readiness = (Number of orders shipped on time / total number of orders shipped) × 100
3.OTIF — On Time in Full measures whether the supply chain was able to deliver: the expected products in the quantity ordered by the customer at the place agreed by the customer at the time expected by the customer. This KPI is recognized by the industry around the world and the best way to achieve this KPI is to
a) Identify and reduce changes: analyse the process and set up consistency
b)Identify and remove bottlenecks : locate root cause of deliveries that take longer for example time taken to search for inventory based on FIFO
c) Automate processes: Some sub processes like inventory tracking should be automated with Bluetooth based pallet tracking
4. Order Completion Index is a result that measures four major components of an Perfect Order (i) Delivered On-Time (ii) Shipped Complete (iii) Shipped Damage Free (iv) Correct inventory and Documentation
5. Inventory Location Accuracy is the most important KPI in warehouse management as the physical count of the inventory and that in the books must match and the location of the inventory in the system must match with the physical location. In most cases this does not match and this KPI takes a hit. Adding a Bluetooth based asset tracking system makes this seamless.
6. On-Time Shipment Readiness measures the company’s reliability in getting shipment prepared in time. This KPI can be impacted by inefficient order entry operations, un-optimized loading docks, poor inventory management (again a need for asset tracking), or a lack of controls in place for order picking.
Once the KPI’s have been set and the business stake holders are now ready to track these KPI’s, set up a location where the Asset Tracking can be implemented. Now set up a team that will make sure that the project is a success,. Make sure that the pilot is a paid one so that you can get the maximum output from the effort.
Step 5: Optimize and Scale — 5 Step Process
There is a five step process to help an organization ‘Optimize and Scale’. Consistentcy and Standards are two very important elements when it comes to scaling operations. This ‘Five-Step Framework’ will help overcome potential roadblocks to Scaling.
1. Define and Monitor KPI’s that we have learnt in the earlier section. Extend the KPI’s to people and process and define who the rules apply to. This activity will make sure that every person has a skin in the game and if one loses, the others loose too.
2. Standardize processes, even if it means defining which doors have to be used for getting material in and which to get material out. Define how the boxes will be tagged and how they will be stacked on a pallet. Use technology to improve standardization. Handheld devices can help set alarms if the process is not followed and BLE Tags can help keep the inventory in the correct area.
3. Monitor, Educate and Train is a cycle that needs to be repeated at regular intervals. It may be a system driven notification of breach in process or a manual inspection, in both these cases, it’s important to identify the root cause and train the necessary team(s) so that the same mistakes are not repeated and the KPI’s can be achieved.
4. Review the existing process for its effectiveness and optimize it. It is like driving a car in the night. Your headlights can only give you the clarity for a few hundred meters, but its only when you have covered the next few meters are you able to see the next road. So, keep your options open and review the process to help optimize it
5. Scale Up: Now that the first four steps have been achieved, you can scale up the operations in other areas of the business. It could be, covering all the inventory or covering assets like forklifts and fixtures.
There is absolutely no denying that an asset tracking system is more efficient than manually tracking assets using spreadsheets. With a powerful real-time tracking interface, a hyper decision framework, support for smartphones for wayfinding and scanning, and cloud infrastructure that can deliver tracking results, anywhere anytime; QuicSolv’s asset tracking software can help an organization track and trace their valuables and moreover reduce wastages.
