Most businesses don't know how ineffective they are at managing equipment and other physical assets. It’s hard to say what you have and where it’s located without a system for tracking assets, including equipment labels for each item.
Let’s look at the value of an asset tracking system and the considerations for tagging equipment to maximize your return.
The Bottom Line Value of Equipment Labels
Keeping track of equipment, especially your assets that aren’t connected digitally, always requires a time and money investment.
Without a system that labels and tracks assets, the investment is typically much higher as you’ll spend more time searching for equipment and often more money buying duplicate equipment to compensate for the lack of visible inventory.
Conversely, the time and money efficiency that comes from knowing what you have and where it’s located creates tremendous bottom-line value. It’s also worth noting that equipment labels improve customer experiences, too. For example, fast, accurate tracking for inventory control translates to purchase and shipping promises you can keep.
Equipment Label Applications
We’ve seen a tremendous range of asset tracking applications, and we often design custom labels for challenging applications. Here are a few of the more common cases for durable equipment labeling.
Fundamentally, we provide equipment labels for production assets. Often the goal is to track tools and ensure proper equipment maintenance. Inventory control, from production to finished goods, also typically requires inventory labels.
We also see a lot of investment in labeling and tracking reusable packaging. Whether its containers that travel in a manufacturing environment or pallets that support product shipment, the ability to accurately track this equipment and use it repeatedly saves real money thanks to durable equipment labels.
Another very common application is tracking distributed assets – equipment used by a mobile workforce or rental inventory in the hands of customers. Visibility for these applications is especially important for customer service.
Choosing Equipment Labels
Depending on the application, we deliver barcode, RFID, or a combination of both technologies in our asset labels and tags. Generally, the operating environment and value of the tracked equipment dictates which technologies are used. Regardless of the technologies used in the asset tracking system, we’re proven to deliver durable equipment labels suited for all types of equipment.
Let’s explore the core considerations – durability and attachment – to guide your search for the perfect asset tags.
Label Materials
Investing in durable equipment labels ensures that your tracking system remains efficient. You want to always be able to read a tag, and you don’t want to have to spend the time and money to label something twice. We’ve designed asset tags that withstand environmental exposures ranging from coffee spills to hurricanes.
For milder, indoor applications, polyester or foil labels work great. We print sub-surface graphics to further the durability of these label products.
When customers’ equipment will be exposed to caustic substances, heavy abrasion or other harsh conditions, we have anodized aluminum and stainless steel labels proven to last.
Label Attachment
Most equipment labels are attached with adhesives engineered for wood, metal, or glass. Still, it’s important to consider the item and its environment when selected an attachment method. Many of our labels and tags can be mechanically fastened to your equipment; rivets and screws ensure rugged performance. We’ve also found hang tags to be an important form factor when attaching to vehicles, work in process and other equipment that needs a temporary but reusable tag. We even make cable labels – typically a challenge to durably identify and track.
Equipment Labeling for Strategic Advantage
We see asset tracking systems, supported by durable equipment labels, generating healthy returns for our customers. Again, many companies don't know how inefficiently they manage their physical assets, so the value of labeling for your own efficiency grows further by outsmarting the competition.
By considering the function, durability, and attachment needed for your application, it should be easy to find affordable, durable equipment labels. Of course, if you still have questions, a Metalcraft ID Specialist is available to help through the email of [email protected] or at 800-437-5283.
About the Author: Marianne Alvarado
Marianne Alvarado is our Vice President of Sales. Alvarado joined Metalcraft in March of 2000 as a Territory Specialist, became Sales Manager in January 2022 and was named Vice President of Sales during August of 2023. She leads both the Outside and Inside Sales teams. Marianne lives in Davenport with her husband, Dave Beeman.
Mobile Phone: 641-529-9492
Email: [email protected]
Office: 3360 9th St. SW, Mason City, IA 50401
Office Phone: 641-423-9460
