An asset inventory system is a tool used to help a company keep track of assets by assisting a company in recording its assets and keeping track of where the assets go. Generally, assets tracked by this type of system include physical assets as well as intellectual and technology properties, but this type of system can also be used to track capital assets, most commonly known as money. An asset inventory system is most often used in the field of inventory management or asset tracking. It is most frequently seen in use in stores that carry physical products.
Though some companies might employ non-software asset inventory system techniques, asset inventory systems are usually software programs. Types of equipment tracked by asset inventory systems can include company machinery, vehicles, and real estate, but can also include patents, software, and any information that is valuable to a company. Keeping track of these assets using this type of system can ensure that a company has enough on hand without incurring the extra cost of keeping extra on hand to avoid running out. Rather, this type of system, when used correctly, will tell the business owner tracking assets exactly how many of what types of assets are on hand for use.
An asset inventory system is part of a larger system designed to track and protect assets within a company and is frequently used as part of loss prevention. Without an asset inventory system, a company will be left unaware of what assets it has available for its use. A lack of information about the assets a company owns can make it easier for unscrupulous employees to take or make unauthorized use of assets that belong to a company. This type of system can also help a company track which of its employees used company assets and when so that damage or misuse can be reliably tracked back to the culprit.
Types of asset inventory systems can include fixed asset inventory systems, information services inventory systems, and inventory management systems. In addition to keeping track of the assets a company has, asset inventory systems can give a company information about how and when assets are used within a company. This can be useful if a company handles sales of a product because it can give the company information about what sells and when it is likely to sell.
Asset inventory system software can go a long way in easing the difficult process of taking inventory of a company's property. Most software of this type allows a business owner to check in and track the availability of assets. Sometimes, an asset inventory system includes means of more easily recording assets into a system, like bar code scanning and and numerical input. Retail asset inventory system software may also integrate with a store's sales system to provide up-to-date information on the available product assets within a company.