MILITARY SECRETS DECODED: How You Can Track. Locate Equipment and Assets Like the Military. and

Transcription

1 MILITARY SECRETS DECODED: How You Can Track and Locate Equipment and Assets Like the Military

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2 Auto ID Systems Choosing Barcode, RFID, or Both 3 Total Accountability 4 Turnkey Asset Tracking Systems 6 Track and Trace 8 About A2B 9 1

3 INTRODUCTION Over the past 10 years, the US military has undergone a major transformation in asset tracking and supply chain visibility. It s one of the most complex supply chains in the world, with hundreds of millions of assets being tracked and managed every day. One of the main reasons that the military is so effective at managing their equipment and assets is because they re under strict rules and regulations. Failure to comply with increasingly stringent processes and quality standards isn t an option. At A2B, we ve seen both large and small businesses lose track of their most valuable assets and, as a result, lose time and money because of duplicate purchases, lost or stolen equipment, and failed audits. With our state-of-the-art technology, you can manage your assets with military precision and efficiency. In this ebook, we ll discuss how your business can decode military secrets by understanding barcode and RFID technology, total accountability, turnkey asset tracking systems, and tracking and tracing your items at the drop of a hat. 2

4 AUTO ID SYSTEMS CHOOSING BARCODE, RFID, OR BOTH No matter where you fall on the scale, from production to disposition, it s important to ensure item readiness for supply, usability, and inventory audits. RFID and barcode technology has advanced to the point where just about anything can be tracked, regardless of the size, shape, or type of asset. Incorporating an automatic ID system into your business operations will make your company more efficient and increase your mission readiness and profitability by improving your operational performance and providing you with necessary data that will help you make better decisions across your enterprise. Barcode, RFID, and turnkey asset tracking systems can manage inventory and track serialized and non-serialized items and assets with military precision using the same systems the U.S. military and the U.S. Department of Defense use to manage their warehouses and supply chains and keep track of supplies and equipment in support of deployed U.S. troops. Now you can put A2B expertise to work at your company and effectively leverage barcode and RFID technology to identify, mark, track, and trace assets, parts and equipment through every step of your operation from inventory to movement along the supply chain. A2B has a long history of helping the military stay in compliance and keep track of its assets on and off the battlefield. A2B technology helps the military to track and manage spare parts and other critical equipment and supplies in real time, allowing the military to deliver materials to the battlefield at the right time and place. The military also uses RFID technology to keep supplies secure by placing tags on equipment and supplies to alert authorities if an unauthorized person has opened or moved an item. A2B technology also helps businesses keep track of, manage, and inventory all their assets. 3

5 A2B has worked with every branch of the U.S. military, as well as defense and commercial enterprises, to deliver barcode and RFID technology that identifies and tracks critical items and assets throughout their life cycles. A2B s barcode and RFID technology enables businesses like yours to precisely manage production, inventory, and supply chain logistics that are essential to their long-term competitiveness and preparedness. And it s not just the military that uses barcode and RFID technology to keep track of equipment, supplies, and inventory. State and federal governments, education and research institutions, museums, corporations, healthcare, transportation, and telecommunications all use A2B technology to keep control over, move, track, and manage their supplies, inventory, and equipment. Now you can put A2B s state-of-the-art technology to work at your company, allowing you to minimize loss, avoid duplicate purchases, and locate items easily. A2B helps the military stay in compliance and keep track of their assets. A2B can help your company track and manage your assets, which will lead to increased efficiency, transparency, and profitability across your enterprise. TOTAL ACCOUNTABILITY Having constant visibility into your asset data will help you capture and manage assets from point A to point B. If you re responsible for your operation s assets, there s nothing more important than knowing what you have, where it is, and how to access and locate it. This means capturing your asset data accurately from the beginning and effectively managing your assets from the time they enter your facility to the time they leave your facility and even when they re traveling to their next location. In addition 4

6 to tracking your asset s location, barcode and RFID technology allows you to follow their value, their movements, and their condition. Having this type of visibility over your assets will make your company more efficient and increase your profitability. Imagine a customer calling to find out when the widget they ordered will be delivered. With barcode and RFID technology, you can tell them with confidence their widget s value, location, and condition, along with the day and time when they ll be receiving their widget. Think about how this total accountability will positively affect your mission success and bottom line. A2B can help track location and movement, access real-time data, perform inventory quickly, and collaborate across your enterprise. At A2B, we re experts at tracking assets and inventory in highly regulated environments, which demand accuracy and precision. For instance, A2B provides the US military the technology to leverage the Item Unique Identification (IUID) standard which involves the use of 2D barcode for tracking assets. You can put A2B s expertise helping the military to keep track of its assets to work at your company, helping your business to keep track of and manage all of your assets in a similar precise fashion. A2B Tracking s Asset Management solutions puts the power of data management in your hands, giving you real-time access to your assets and allowing you to make better business decisions, expedite planning, and avoid duplicate purchases and costly shipping mistakes. We start with automated solutions for data capture, then manage that data from the time the item enters your facility to the moment it leaves and as it moves throughout the supply chain, using comprehensive cloud-based tracking software, labels, industrial hardware, mobile applications, and a broad range of services. With A2B Tracking s Asset Management you can: > Track movements of your asset from the moment it arrives at your facility to the end of its life cycle. > Access data on your assets anytime and from anywhere with cloud-based tracking software. > Inventory your assets from anywhere, quickly and accurately. > Collaborate with departments across your enterprise, improving performance and efficiency. 5

7 The supply chain is getting increasingly complicated and, if you re moving supplies around the globe, your company is becoming more vulnerable to large and small supply chain disruptions. Businesses need to develop strategies for managing supply chain disruptions. A2B helps you track your assets through an increasingly complex supply chain by allowing you to effectively follow the movement of your items and trace their path, permitting you to minimize theft, diversion, and loss. This type of real-time tracking also eliminates duplication of inventory, and ensures accountability throughout your enterprise. You ll see savings in labor and time because you can track your inventory faster and more accurately. You ll be able to track items that in the past have been hard to reach and track manually. Whether your assets are stationary, moving around your facility, being transported between buildings, or moving across the supply chain by train, boat, or truck, you ll know what you have, where it is, and how to locate and access it. TURNKEY ASSET TRACKING SYSTEMS With A2B, we can provide you with a turnkey system that has all the components you need for an end-to-end, in-house barcode or RFID solution, including: > Scanners and Mobile Handheld Computers > Software to Create Bar Codes and RFID Tags, Manage Data, and Track Assets and Items > WAWF and IUID Registry Submission (If You re the US Military or a Supplier to the U.S. Military) > Thermal Transfer and RFID Printers and Laser Engravers > 2D Data Matrix Verifiers > Label and Plate Materials A turnkey asset tracking system from A2B can be tailored to your company s exact requirements and will deliver the capacity you need to track your assets. A2B looks at your company s unique business model and asks about your pain points, then finds affordable solutions to manage your assets. Our complete solution includes tracking software, asset tags, industrial hardware, mobile computing applications, and a broad range of professional 6

8 services to sustain the long-term benefits of automated asset identification, making your business smarter, more efficient, and increasing your profitability and mission readiness. Our Item Unique Identification (IUID) systems provide fully electronic, paperless auto ID technology that enables IUID compliance and asset management across your enterprise, similar to the technology A2B provides to the military to help them stay in compliance and track all their assets. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and all defense contractors must account for all critical DoD assets using IUID barcode labels and plates. For the DoD and its contractors, achieving a consistent approach to IUID compliance is critical to its success. IUID compliance helps commercial businesses to get paid on time, to meet their contractual obligations, and allows them to avoid costly errors such as lost or stolen items, rejected shipments and a failed audit. A2B keeps the military in compliance. In fact, CIO Review Magazine recently recognized A2B as one of the top-20 companies focused on delivering innovative and cost-effective solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense, ensuring mission readiness, and helping to close a critical gap between human and technology resources now and in the future. A2B is the largest U.S. Department of Defense IUID program partner and a leader in enterprise-class solutions for identifying, marking, and tracking critical assets in highly regulated environments. Put A2B s turnkey asset tracking technology to work for your company, and track and manage your assets with military precision. A2B s turnkey system can easily integrate into your existing workflow using today s advanced cloud-based networking technology to provide fast and accurate inventory, reduce your overhead costs, generate and maintain precise data, and help you make better management decisions. 7

9 TRACK AND TRACE With U.S. military operations located in areas of the world that are less than ideal on the national security scale, having the ability to track and trace critical assets is of utmost importance. However, it s just as important for your business. In this section, we ll discuss the importance of tracking your assets during all stages of the process and how A2B makes it possible to do so. A2B helps you effectively track and trace your items through a complex supply chain that s becoming increasingly vulnerable to large and small supply chain disruptions. With A2B s technology, you ll create a unique identity for each of your assets that will allow you to track their movement, custody, condition, value, and create a complete and reliable audit trail. You can locate items by unit, case, pallet, or container. This will enable precise and efficient asset movement and recall while ensuring items are authentic and not tampered with, allowing you to minimize theft, diversion, and loss. It will also prevent counterfeit products from entering the supply chain. Counterfeit products can erode brand, undermine security, and deplete your company s revenues. Putting your hands on the right assets when you need them will save you time and money in product recalls and returns, and ensure that you have the materials and supplies you need, when you need them. A2B technology will allow you to: > Track your asset s movement throughout your facility and the supply chain. > Expedite recalls and confirm an item s authenticity. > Achieve asset transparency and drive organizational accountability throughout your enterprise. > Integrate track-and-trace capabilities down to the component level both on- and off-premises. Our real-time track and trace capability also prevents duplication of inventory, creates asset transparency, and ensures accountability throughout your enterprise. Track and trace capability will save you time and labor because you ll be able to track your inventory faster and more accurately regardless of whether those assets are fixed, moving through your facility, or being transferred to another location. 8

10 ABOUT A2B We help businesses, government agencies, the military, and other organizations gain total control of their inventories and supply chains using our proprietary, cloud-based asset tracking and data management software, which incorporates today s advanced barcode and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. It allows us to provide a precise, data-centric solution that generates, updates, and leverages unique item information to better manage assets, optimize their utilization, and save money. We also facilitate compliance with various industry and military standards, and integrate automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) systems seamlessly into enterprise processes and diverse workflows. A2B offers a range of barcode and RFID tags, readers, barcode labels, and integrated tracking software to give you visibility into your inventory and assets. We work with world-class hardware manufacturers to deliver affordable and reliable integrated solutions that are designed to help you minimize loss, avoid duplicate purchases, and locate items within the custody of your department or enterprise. (800) sales@a2btracking.com 9