Business Management ABCs

Asset Tags in Action

Asset tags are not very sexy. Bits of metal or plastic with some graphics on them. Where’s the excitement? And why does just about every major company use them in their asset management systems? Why are they attached to trillions of assets worldwide?

The inherent value of an asset tag is its form and function.

The form is usually a flat, rounded rectangle of some durable substrate like aluminum and polyester. Asset tags must be rugged to persevere throughout the life of an asset. They might endure wretched conditions in the harsh outdoors or permanent bliss in an air-conditioned office. They fly out to job sites and return with the dirt, sweat and grease of a hard day’s work to deliver a perfect read from the resident bar code scanner. Asset tags get scraped up and ground down. They get scalded and sunburned, weathered away or seared by harsh chemicals. Yet they shine forth through years of this brutal treatment with stunning efficacy.

Its function is equally important. An asset tag is the common denominator between valuable property and the records of a database. In an information-rich asset management system a simple scan of an asset tag’s bar code will yield extensive details about an asset.

Consider a high-end workstation purchased on a certain date under specific financial terms. It is under warranty for a limited duration. All hardware specifications, installed software applications, patches and drivers can be retrieved remotely by technicians when performing upgrades. Periodically it might be assigned to different users. While in service this asset requires investment and helps generate revenue. Every year it depreciates according to a complex function. At some point it is sold or otherwise disposed of. The life and times of this computer generate an extensive library of information which might be automatically compiled and utilized simply by scanning its asset tag and making a change. The ultimate benefit is the asset’s optimal utility and the company’s maximum return on investment. Beyond the passage of the asset its legacy in reports will facilitate sound decisions for future acquisitions.

Asset tags also ride shotgun on heavy-duty construction equipment, vehicles, furniture and fixed assets like machinery and warehouse infrastructure. They stay or go as needed – to the moon or the bottom of the ocean, on a missile rocketing towards detonation or attached to medical equipment saving a life. Across the varying surfaces an asset tag provides a common surface for reading a number, scanning a bar code or – in the case of stolen property recovered by authorities – who owns the item in question.

Asset tags forge extraordinary careers. As passive passengers on a high-energy roller-coaster ride they witness damage and destruction, creative construction, theft and recovery. Asset tags are present when entrepreneurs blaze new trails, brilliant minds compose concertos or design sophisticated machinery, and hard-working professionals tear up the asphalt with a jackhammer.

Alliance Tag has been manufacturing high-quality asset tags since 1984. Over 40 million Alliance asset tags are now in service worldwide. You can customize and order asset tags within minutes. Get your asset tags today before they jet off to some thrilling adventure!