Sustainable and smart management of furniture must begin with an inventory, which is why an Asset Management System is essential. However, existing Asset Management Systems do not have the ability to track individual items of furniture and do not contain detailed product information such as current state and value. This lack of essential information makes preventive maintenance, replacement of furniture and the application of circular business models challenging. It is for these reasons why Ahrend has developed a new Asset Management System that enables organisations to extend the life cycle of their furniture, manage their assets in a sustainable and responsible way and save costs. By gaining valuable insights into where your furniture is located, active maintenance of furniture is possible.
Optimal life cycle management
Ahrend’s Asset Management System works with an RFID tag and a QR code, that are both applied to the furniture. As well as the unique combination of RFID and QR, Ahrend’s system distinguishes itself by providing detailed product information and insights into the raw material. In the Asset Management System, organisations gain an easy understanding of the furniture’s location, type, state, purchase and current value. This enables the user to perform preventive maintenance and thereby extend the lifespan of furniture. Damage issues can also be easily managed and monitored in the system. The system charts the value after depreciation, which makes it possible to charge overhead costs internally.
Arnold Struik, Marketing & Innovation Director at Ahrend: “We must transform our economy from linear to circular and encourage organisations to deal with their inventory in a conscious and sustainable way. We save companies money and time, as well as help avoid waste by providing organisations insight into the potential value of their depreciated furniture. For example, our division Ahrend Reuse takes used furniture, refurbishes this furniture and giving it a new lease of life. The new Ahrend Asset Management System also helps us achieve our circular goals. For instance, we use the system in order to offer our circular business model which is based on usage instead of ownership. The customer purchases according to a pay-per-use model, in which Ahrend remains the owner of the furniture. Recent organisations which have adopted this pay-per-use model include the Ellen MacArthur Foundation headquarters and Fashion for Good, both of which have embraced this circular model.’’
Asset management system is brand independent
The Ahrend Asset Management System will be available at the end of the summer of 2017and is available standalone but can also be integrated into a current Facility Management Information System (FMIS). The system is brand independent, meaning third party office products can also be added into the system, as long as the needed productinformation is available.