With the introduction of asset tracking software, asset tracking for professional services has evolved from manual to digital monitoring . If you're in the professional services sector such as engineering, banking, and IT consulting, using this asset tracking software benefits you significantly in terms of improved efficiency and productivity. Another reason for employing this software is the ability to control and operate tracking systems from your mobile phone. 

What's more, tracking systems have made it easy to prevent and trace some thefts. For example, GPS solutions often help to trace thefts that employees orchestrate. Tracking software lets you create customized reports on how company assets have been used, where they are, and their cost. If you run a private clinic, a tracking system can alert you about impending maintenance for equipment such as anaesthesia machines. A tracking solution can help prevent unforeseen equipment breakdowns. 

Professional services providers are spoilt for choice when selecting tracking systems for their daily operations. The size of your business doesn't matter, as there are suitable asset tracking solutions for small, middle, and large enterprises. 

5 Ways Professional Services Can Track Assets

If your company's assets are always in transit, you may want to explore several options for asset tracking systems. Even when your equipment stays indoors, you may still want to monitor everything. There is a suitable tracking option for every situation. The most common methods of tracking assets are:

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

This asset tracking technology uses RFID chips and receivers to trace asset location. Each tracked asset employs an individual RFID chip. RFID is advantageous over manual methods since it can track many assets simultaneously without being incorrect. Hospitals utilize automated RFID tracking technology for patient and equipment identification.

Using RFID tags, you can mitigate common mistakes that occur in the medical field. For instance, wrong medication prescription, conducting wrong tests, or not having access to a patient's medical history. To avoid misdiagnosis and other errors, employ RFID tracking technology to identify the correct patients. 

The issue of equipment theft is also controllable with RFID technology because it allows you to track down missing resources and track absent hospital staff and unavailable clinical documents.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

This type of asset tracking for professional services is used by those in this field like IT consultants, health care providers, lawyers, and education institutions in monitoring assets like IT equipment, reading materials, and computers. GPS visibility is applicable for both short and long distances anywhere in the world.

Owners of fuel or electricity-powered assets utilize GPS to communicate location, time and even speed through cellular network transmission. The location transmission alerts can happen at planned intervals. That is why it is ideal for fleet management. With GPS, you can easily notice when assets in transit end up at a non-designated location. You get notifications of your employee's whereabouts and anytime they make a non-planned diversion.

Gryphon Recovery, a company that offers car recovery services in Miami Dade County, told us that GPS installation had helped their fleet company keep track of their vehicles. They also had an easy time with the billing and insurance processes due to an automated asset tracking system that produced up-to-date information.

Barcodes

Probably the oldest asset tracking for professional services, barcodes are affordable, quicker, and accurate in keeping your company records updated. If you are in the insurance or law industry, you can use barcode tags to find agreement files, contract documents, and other critical company files.

Using barcode tags, you can also track your workplace gadgets, like laptops and smartphones. The tags are fixed on documents so the asset tracking software can update and generate asset information. This simplifies the identification of the location of your urgent paperwork in the system and any missing files.

Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN)

Professional services like parcel delivery companies are increasingly adopting LPWAN because of its long-distance coverage capability. It is usable in both indoor and outdoor settings. LPWAN applies little power and is friendly for scalability purposes too. You can combine it with other technologies like GPS and Wi-Fi to offer up-to-date asset details. 

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Beacons

You can accomplish detection and tracking of asset location through the use of BLE beacons. Just use your smartphone to connect or pair tags that are fixed on assets to get the signals. The method has low power usage and can link to other technologies to give real-time BLE. It is extensively utilized in enclosed settings like malls and hospitals with a distance range of up to 300 meters. 

Types of Professional Services That Use Asset Tracking Systems

The following are examples of professional services that rely on asset tracking services to streamline daily operations.

Parcel Delivering Companies

Package delivery has never been easier, ever since parcel tracking services were introduced. Parcel delivery companies can trace the whereabouts of parcels on a global scale. You can monitor the movement of parcels headed to different destinations concurrently, including the amount of time spent in customs. Your parcel recipients can do the same after you send them the reference number of their parcel.

Information Technologies

The IT sector provides professional services having expensive assets in use - laptops, mobile phones, and other devices. Anything may happen, from people abusing corporate equipment to them being stolen. Alarm systems and security cameras are commonly used, but when it comes to recovering stolen property, most people are left without a solid strategy.

With asset tracking solutions, keeping all assets under control and preventing theft is easier. For example, real-time notifications allow you to access your trackers' precise location and history instantly.

How to Choose an Asset Tracking System 

After figuring out that you need a tracking system to monitor your assets, it is crucial to pay attention to several factors to make an informed choice. By doing this, you will invest in a system that maximizes your ROI.

Numerous factors determine your selection of asset tracking for professional services. For example, you should consider:

• Indoor or outdoor tracking - are your assets traversing cities, counties, or nations? Are they within the confines of a warehouse? If your business is spread out in different locations, you should go for an asset monitoring system that can manage all those areas of operations at a go.
  Outdoor movement of assets such as parcels requires asset tracking systems that offer wider coverage, like GPS or LPWAN. On the other hand, if your company operates in an indoor setting like a hospital or a warehouse, you can settle for indoor coverage tracking systems like RFID and BLE. 
  
  
• Cost - handling high-value assets like a fleet of trucks or trailers may require a costly asset tracking system to facilitate meticulous coverage. Ensure that the budget for implementing an asset tracking system is achievable and justifiable against the company assets.

• Productivity - you may incur losses if you don't settle for a system that improves productivity in your business. A reliable system should increase employee efficiency and streamline business operations by eliminating manual methods that are slow and prone to mistakes.
  Helpful Hands, Inc, a residential and commercial cleaning company, disclosed how using Spytec tracking software enabled them to manage mileage by using GPS-guided routes that helped them reduce transport costs. This is a good example of how tracking systems can increase productivity by improvising faster and more cost-effective solutions. 

Asset Tracking Service Providers to Your Rescue

You may disregard incorporating asset tracking into your business until an unforeseen event like equipment theft hits you. If you value your business, do not wait for such incidents to happen, so you can think about having an asset tracking system. Contact us today for business solutions.