The latest innovations in asset tracking for business owners are GPS monitoring systems. They can be used to locate vehicles, equipment and other valuable assets around the country or around the world. Here’s a brief look at how it works.

GPS is short for “Global Positioning System”. It was originally developed for military applications, but since it became functional in 1995, it has been used by civilians around the world for navigational purposes.

Any vehicles or machinery equipped with receivers can easily be located with the help of an orbiting satellite. Map making and surveying is easier. Games have been created that make use of the system.

Making use of the orbiting satellites is free for all individuals, regardless of their country of origin. The only fees that users pay are for the receivers, which are available in a variety of formats and devices. The receiver module itself is very small. So, it can easily be used for all kinds of asset tracking.

One of the common uses for GPS tracking is in the mining industry. Large operations may have equipment scattered over hundreds of square miles. If each piece of equipment is equipped with a receiver, employees can easily locate and monitor the position of the inventory.

Another common use is in the shipping industry. Packages are tracked according to what truck or other vehicle they are on. This use allows customers and business owners alike to have a better idea of when and where their package is at any given moment. Taxis and limousines can easily be equipped with receivers. Most large companies are already making use of them. This allows the owner to locate vehicles quickly. It can be used to deter theft and personal use as well. When it comes to small business asset tracking, GPS receivers help owners save time and money. A large company might be able to afford to “lose” thousands of dollars worth of equipment. A small business cannot.

As time goes by, the receivers become a real necessity. Luckily, they are very affordable. Prices start at under $40. If you need a number of devices for your business, it’s a good idea to shop around. Some companies offer volume discounts. The accuracy and speed of the devices depends on the number of channels included in the receiver. The typical range is between 12 and 20. If you are using the devices for asset tracking, go with more channels. It doesn’t affect the price much at all.

About the Author

Tom Gruich is a professional database and software designer with 40 years experience in systems analysis and design of database software applications. For more database business mapping thoughts and money-making design ideas please visit Expert Knowledge Databases or his Smart Database website at => http://www.adaptcode.com

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As a business grows, so do its needs. Just as we watch a little child develop, our fledgling business attempts go through much the same growing stages.

At first things are pretty straightforward. We perceive a need, or come up with a really good idea, then begin by trial and error to produce a product or provide a service. Maybe you build a prototype, or have some software written.

Gradually we test the market, come up with an affordable advertising strategy, perhaps even attend a few trade shows. As the company gains clients money starts to flow and before you know it, you’re balancing sales, production, human resources, and accounting.

It’s at this point that the small business owner realizes that they are wearing too many hats. Whether your growing company is in retail, manufacturing, education, IT, distribution, government, or health care, it becomes perfectly clear that help is needed to ensure continued success.

The words, asset tracking, inventory tracking, stock control, and asset management, are terms you have heard in conjunction with large companies. You know there are complicated software solutions for large firms, and you’ve heard that they come with a pretty hefty price tag. Thankfully you have discovered that there are systems specifically designed for the small to medium sized company as well.

But even though you know your present system is inadequate, perhaps you are finding it difficult to visualize exactly how a computerized tracking and control system can benefit your company in the areas of efficiency, productivity and profitability. This is where some examples of successful implementation can shed some light

Let’s say a company needs to keep track of the shipping containers, shopping carts, or wooden pallets that are needed to facilitate every single sale. At first, spread sheets, or invoices are used for this purpose. However with the steady increase of sales, these simple methods break down. Even offering a “reward” for the return of these valuable assets is not enough. The loss of these items can start to adversely affect your company’s bottom line.

A solution would be to implement an accurate computer database with mobile data collectors. In these situations, each container, cart or pallet would be marked with an identifiable code that is scanned by a person holding a reader or scanner. Then when a shipment is sent out, every detail is recorded, and when the container is returned, that fact is recorded as well. Check in and out procedures become completely accurate and guess work is totally eliminated.

If you are in the IT field and struggling with manual tracking and traditional spreadsheets, your company can greatly benefit from computerized asset management software. Where valuable equipment is used it is imperative to track its precise location and keep accurate data regarding ongoing maintenance and repair.

The cost of replacing expensive assets that simply go missing, or are deliberately stolen is substantially reduced when everyone in the company knows that inventory and stock control are marked with a barcode, itemized in a database, and tracked.

With a completely transparent tracking system in place, a company can maintain high standards in every area of business, including customer satisfaction, quality control, and company assets. With tighter controls in place, a entrepreneur gains the ability to confidently expand to larger markets. When this happens, the future can look very bright indeed.

See a full range of asset tracking software at Wasp Barcode. In the UK see a full range of asset tracking software and asset management software.

Rick Hendershot does online promotion for clients who want to vault over their competition in the search engine rankings. Linknet Promotions does aggressive article writing and blog posting services for clients as well as using Web 2.0 resources to generate links, search engine rankings, and targeted traffic

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It is becoming common knowledge that database information can greatly assist asset tracking efforts using GPS monitoring systems. What is not so commonly known is that software assisted management of specialized interfaces can contribute additional value by synchronizing real-world data with historically verified data.

GPS and RFID technologies combine to form tag-identifiable virtual communication channels by combining their software operations with master database business queries. The software operations detect variations based on the combination of current real-time GPS/RFID readings matched with correlated queries.

When it comes to small business asset tracking, GPS electronic-receivers and RFID transceivers help owners save time and money but an even greater pay-back is received by the company that merges GPS/RFID receivers with wireless communication channels and corresponding database coordination.

For example, a vehicle inventory program using RFID tags attached to company owned vehicles that are located in several different lots along with GPS receivers attached to the same vehicles represents the static set up. The dynamic tracking idea is accomplished when the RFID tag readings along with their GPS locations are transmitted to a central server where database records are updated.

At this point, the updated information is now available for real-time display on your system display monitors or your printing devices. Also, additional calculations and comparisons with historical data can now contribute to management reporting requests through the same output channels.

The stored data takes advantage of bringing together otherwise unreported values because the real-time occurrences of transmitted location readings take place simultaneously but table-record query automatically combines the two location tags. This of course could happen within a computer program whose values are stored temporarily in variables but programming technique does not account for sensor errors and wireless interruptions that need to be verified over a longer time period.

The most advantageous position for your data collection system to take is to incorporate a database record that includes historical data along with most recent sensor readings. This assures sufficient sampling intervals with sufficient verifiable measurement opportunities.

In conclusion, with more available data over a longer measurement interval, your database assisted GPS asset tracking system will provide you with better results and more accurate tracking data.

Tom Gruich is a professional database designer with 40 years experience in systems analysis and design of database software applications. For more database business mapping thoughts and design ideas please visit Software Database Validation or his Smart Database website at => http://www.adaptcode.com

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These kinds of features have been helpful to companies with construction projects in areas of the world where the theft of large assets is high.  The company can know exactly where they can retrieve their property.

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