According to a recent WhereNet (www.wherenet.com) survey on asset management, you probably still rely on manual techniques to locate and track physical assets.

A surprising number of respondents (84%) still rely on traditional techniques such as physical searches or bar code scanning. And 100% indicate that their asset management data is inaccurate to some degree.

In addition, all respondents say that delayed updates of current inventory systems results in the incorrect location of assets including high-value inventory.

"The results of this survey clearly substantiate the need for real-time visibility of supply chain assets to support lean manufacturing, synchronous material flow, enhanced operational efficiencies, and bottom line cost savings," says Tom Turner, senior vice president of WhereNet, a supplier of real-time inventory locator systems. Right now these solutions are proving most useful for the manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, and retail vertical markets, says Turner.

According to Matt Armanino, WhereNet's vice president of business development, the reason companies are still relying on traditional methods is because it's the way it has been done for a long time.