Is Tracking Your Assets More Difficult Than It is Worth?

As a Divisional manager with large asset investments or as a CIO’s looking to help enable controls, asset tracking has been long on promises but high on complexity in terms of implementation and management. An article recently exposed how one government state within a decade lost more than 1,500 items valued at over $3M with only a small portion attributed to theft, yet they recognized the need to implement a solution but also lamented at the complexity of implementation. Perhaps you and your organization are experiencing a similar dilemma.

Typical problems associated with asset tracking are…
Whether tracking a fleet of ships utilizing FleetBroadband monitoring the speed of trucks using Iridium satellite phones and pinpointing the location of agents via their Blackberry or Apple device. Managing all of these assets can be a daunting task. Logging into each individual system separately can waste valuable time and money. Some tracking solutions can be too complex making the task even more time consuming.

What makes a good asset tracking solution?
A good tracking solution tackles the business problem that it was designed to address. You will also want to make sure that it can help in the most effective and efficient way possible. When talking with providers about tracking we found that we also wanted the most functional features such as: geo-fencing, alerts based on speed or time, distress alert and safety options as well as affordable basic tracking.

Here is a listing of some key items to look for:

1. The ability to manage all types of inventory. A complete tracking solution is what you need.  Write down the functions you require, weather tracking your product en route, being notified when a vehicle leaves an area or arrives and being able to contact a driver in a remote area. Then compare your list to the tracking solution making sure it covers all your needs.
 
2. Consider the cost (both initial and ongoing). Tracking solutions incur a monthly subscription fee. This initial fee is for activation and continued licensed use of the software. Most tracking solutions have a minimal initial fee with a one year subscription term. The ongoing fees may include advanced options for tracking or special features. Another fee to consider is the airtime usage for a third party device such as tracking with a satellite or GPS subscription. Make sure the tracking cost is lower or equivalent to sending an SMS with your service subscription.
 
3. Ease-of-use: Your solution needs to be easy to learn, easy to use and easy to get going. The best software and hardware will require little to no IT support. It is very important that the tracking solution be simple to manipulate and user friendly.

Our company, an independent solutions provider of communication tools recently undertook a review of a broad base of hardware and software providers of tracking solutions for industry.

Using the above as criteria we quickly began to eliminate many of the vendors. Upon finalization of the review it was clear only one vendor has truly been paying attention to the customer requirements and has developed a comprehensive package to address this persistent yet highly valuable problem.

GSatTrack.

GSatTrack is a web based integrated tracking system that works on a multilingual platform. It brings together all the positions of every manufactured product under one location allowing you to display and manage them in a single unified interface.

GSatTrack supports the largest amount of assets and now works on 70+ GPS enabled devices including iPhones, satellite phones, FleetBroadband and BGAN. With GSatTrack you are able to do more than just track one of these devices. You will be able to do a remote configuration and over the air firmware updates, receive alerts based on speed, overlay geo-fences and have direct access to critical safety information, anywhere, anytime. Also GSatTrack allows you to integrate a panic button for assistance in dangerous situations increasing personnel and fleet safety.

The GSatTrack service is based on a modular system making it extremely affordable. You start with the basic tracking service and add additional features as necessary. Therefore you only pay for what you need and nothing more.
 
Companies benefit from the easy to use software that GSatTrack offers. A GSatTrack application can be downloaded onto a Smartphone or tablet allowing for real time tracking information. This App is another feature that makes GSatTrack stand out above the rest. A CEO can tap on the App to view all company assets and their actions on one simple to use interface.
 
Defining Your Needs.
If asset tracking is on your list of corporate priorities consider contacting us so we can walk through your specific needs to determine if this is the right fit for you. If it is, we’d be happy to arrange a demo day and enable you with some devices. Contact a sales representative here to arrange your quote or demo. For more information on GSatTrack and other communication needs view our site at www.gmpcs-us.com