Seven types of asset management can be categorized according to the kind of asset they manage and the level of service they offer. Whatever the asset type, managing it unlocks efficiency and increased accountability. Finding out about various asset management models will help you research the finest solution for your company and make informed decisions.
The first step in putting into practice a new and better way of working with your assets is finding one that fits well with the nature of your business and benefits both your staff and clients.
Decision-makers in the supply chain, COOs of businesses with physical assets of any kind, particularly those engaged in fieldwork, and organizations in charge of many different types of equipment will find the most value in this piece.
Here are the seven types of asset management.
Financial Asset Management
The area of the financial services business that handles the management of investment funds and client investment accounts is known as financial asset management, or simply asset management. One of the first types of asset management includes all of an organization’s intangible investments, including investments, real estate holdings, brokerage services, and other assets.
Asset management in this category entails keeping tabs on exchange rates, tax obligations, and other financial obligations like debts and interest calculations. Financial asset management aims to reduce risk while gradually increasing earnings.
Enterprise Asset Management
Management of an organization’s fixed assets, which includes purchase, use, maintenance, and decommissioning. Intangible assets are occasionally included to the definition. This is an area that is rapidly expanding. Any physical asset or infrastructure that a corporation has is organized, integrated, and optimized during their entire existence. This includes records of productivity, inventory, and the state of the facilities, among other things.
EAM is another name for enterprise asset management. EAM differs from the other asset management strategies mentioned above in that it takes a comprehensive approach to tracking and organizing.
Infrastructure Asset Management
Cities and other developed areas are livable because of their infrastructure. Roads, water access, power, and civil engineering are all included in it.
Therefore, infrastructure asset management is the umbrella word encompassing the methods used to maintain, update, and maybe remove these essential services. Infrastructure asset management frequently focuses on how to replace a piece of equipment in the most effective, cost-effective, safest, and environmentally responsible manner at the end of its useful life. To function effectively, many organizations depend on cooperation with civil and national governing bodies. So, understanding infrastructure asset management is crucial to utilizing one’s own resources and abilities effectively.
Public Asset Management
It is comparable to one of the other types of asset management, such as Infrastructure Asset Management, but its scope is wider. A complete approach to planning, managing, using, and disposing of all public assets owned by local governments is known as public asset management. Local governments possess a wide range of public assets, including waterworks and sewage systems as well as structures like schools, offices, and community centers.
In this context, local governments are adopting public asset management based on broad management plans, including for public facilities, and specific facility plans in response to requests from the national government. According to the actual conditions in the area, the comprehensive plan lays out a comprehensive and methodical management of public assets (including infrastructure) owned by the local government. Individual facility plans, on the other hand, describe unique policies (measure priorities, specifics, timing of implementation, etc.) for each facility. Based on these plans, each local government is obligated to carry out sustainable urban management for the long term.
IT Asset Management
IT Asset Management refers to IT hardware and software management and governance. The management of contracts, accounting, and maintenance for IT assets are all included in IT asset management. Intangible assets including software subscriptions (SaaS), licenses, patents, and network infrastructure fall down in this category, in addition to company-owned items like computers, routers, and other comparable IT equipment.
IT asset management contributes to security, time and cost savings, and the development of a solid technological foundation for the future. Information storage, retrieval, organization, and sharing are all part of the process, both internally and online.
Hard drives are used to store digital files, and cloud backups allow for easy asset tracking and maintenance. An efficient search and storage system saves time. Both messaging and video conferences are conducted securely.
Fixed Assets Management
This is the process of keeping track of fixed assets for maintenance, accounting, and loss prevention. Even if a company is supply chain-focused, it should nevertheless give regard to the management of fixed assets. All of an organization’s revenue-producing assets are known as fixed assets, and they typically stay in their installed locations. Appliances, machinery, and plumbing fixtures are a few examples of fixed assets. PP&E, or “property, plant, and equipment,” is another name for them. They are often large investments that last the business for a number of years and lose value as they age.
Why does an asset require management if it is fixed? These assets still need to be tracked. They require preventive maintenance, generate data for research, and may need ongoing supervision. All of this and more can be offered via fixed asset management.
Digital Asset Management
The topic of digital asset management is quickly developing. It entails processing, storing, and effectively organizing digital content and media. This process is continuous and uses metadata.
Stakeholders save money by limiting access to things like meeting records, building plans, and intellectual property rights, which don’t require keeping multiple copies of in storage. More significantly, customers may relax knowing that they are more safeguarded against fire, flood, and natural disaster damage.
A strong digital asset management system enables instantaneous distribution of digital items and information, accountability in accessing the digital assets, opportunities for repurposing digital assets, quick and simple searching of digital items without specialized training, effective brand consistency, and valuable information on which clients access digital items—who, what, when, and for how long—all of which are extremely useful in developing digital products.
The use of digital asset management can be profitable for even non-digital goods selling businesses.
