What is Asset Management?
Asset management is the process of developing, maintaining, operating, and selling assets in a cost-effective manner on behalf of others.
Whether you are an individual or a firm — it is important to keep track of your assets. This will provide you with a clear idea of the available assets, and you can use this information to make way for optimal returns.
More often than not, assets can be categorized into two — fixed and current. Fixed assets are generally meant for long term use, while the current assets are the ones that can be converted into cash on the go.
Importance of Asset Management
Asset management should be an important part of your investment strategy, because:
It helps you keep tabs on all your assets
Whether you have fixed assets or liquid ones, asset management provides you with a clear idea of where your assets are and how you can put them to good use. This makes way for handsome returns.
It helps you manage risks
Since asset management works by identifying and managing the assets, it also recognizes the risks in the process. This way, it makes you capable of handling any challenges that might come your way.
It helps in wealth management
While asset management helps companies improve acquisition and use, it helps individuals in managing their wealth properly.
Types of Asset Management
Asset management is a broad umbrella term. When you just say “I need asset management services”, you’re not providing complete clarity. It can mean different things since there are various types of asset management depending on what you want to be managed.
Financial asset
This is the most common type of asset management where someone manages your money or finances. This can be in the form of cash, bank accounts, investment funds, etc. So overall, he or she manages your financial health.
Physical asset (Infrastructure asset)
This is where physical assets like real estate, buildings, complexes are managed. This brings in financial, economic, engineering, and management together into one place, and hence requires more specialization.
Enterprise asset
When you say “Enterprise asset management”, you typically refer to the software and information system that supports asset management. So this is completely different from the previous two.
Intellectual or non-physical asset
Intellectual asset means anything that is not in a physical form and exists only either as a software or patents or user’s rights.
How Asset Tracking Saves Time and Money
Asset tracking plays a major role in every form of asset management mentioned above. It is recommended by many experts as it saves time, money, and effort. But how exactly? Here’s how:
By improving efficiency
With asset tracking systems in place, you’ll be able to visualize how your assets are moving from one location to another. In the case of money, you can see how it is transferred. In the case of physical goods, you can track them using barcode labels. This tracking helps check the efficiency of the movement.
Improved customer service
This is important for infrastructure or physical asset management. By learning about how your assets are moving, you can respond in advance to your customers and provide a better experience.
By reducing compliance cost
When your assets are being transferred from one location to another, they are dealing with multiple parties in the process. But to do so, you need to be compliant with each party. Asset tracking systems ensure you’re compliant on the go, which reduces friction and dispute.
Future of Asset Management Tracking
Asset management is an evergreen industry and there will always be a need to manage the assets. But it is evolving since there’s always room for improvement.
As per the experts, the future of asset management is digital. The asset management systems that you’re interacting with currently are just the beginning. With the adoption of technologies like AI, ML, Big Data, and IoT, we’ll see multi-fold efficiency in asset management tracking and services. Essentially, it’ll move from in-time to in-advance.
That being said, I simply feel proud that I am working with the leading asset management company, Asset Panda. We help firms and individuals make the most out of their assets, help them mitigate the risks, and plan for the brighter future ahead.
