Lean asset management in manufacturing
Why lean asset management in manufacturing works back to front and how it cuts out the seven types of waste in the production process.
The 3 big asset management project killers and how to avoid them
How to avoid the most common mistakes that will derail your project
Written by: John de Robeck • Published: March 25, 2015 • Updated: March 10, 2026Sam was enthusiastic and friendly as she told me about her project to look for a new asset management system. Her company had built the current system in-house, but as they grew they realised they needed something a bit more comprehensive. It sounded like a great project, but being new to asset management software I didn’t see the warning signs.
Fast-forward 9 months and Sam sounded a lot less enthusiastic and I felt the same. Despite all the initial enthusiasm, and a lot of work, we were still no closer to deciding if the project would go ahead. Where did it all go so wrong?
Looking back, we made three simple mistakes that can derail any asset management project before it even gets going:
1) Resources
Sam’s title should have been a red flag – “Project Support”. It was not her fault, but she did not have the experience or authority to drive through a project this big. When a project does not have an internal project sponsor or ‘champion’ with the authority to agree or veto changes, they usually just get passed on to the potential supplier as an additional feature request.
The lack of a clear, well thought through and targeted project specification increases the risk of an overly complex solution that is delivered late and over budget. The worst case scenario is that the project gets bogged down through a lack of direction and multiple layers of complexity. It eventually gets shelved without ever being delivered, but still at a significant cost to the client.
CHECKLIST
✓ Plan for the project sponsor to be actively involved
✓ Ensure the sponsor has the authority to agree the scope and specifications
✓ Establish the budget early on to avoid shocks at a later date
2) Planning
George Harrison’s lyrics to ‘Any Road‘ could have been the theme for this project – “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there”. Asset management systems can cover anything from purchasing through production and sales orders, as well as depreciation, tracking and maintenance.
Typically, asset management projects will involve finance, operations and IT as a minimum, so the potential for scope creep is a big risk. Sam’s task was to find the best system, except no one really knew what that looked like.
CHECKLIST
✓ Establish a cross functional project team before you start
✓ List your must-haves and nice-to-haves for any potential supplier
✓ Agree scenarios for suppliers to show you rather than a generic demo
3) Integration
When I asked Sam which finance package her company used, she sounded a bit surprised and asked why I needed to know. It had not occurred to her that any asset she managed would need to be loaded from somewhere and its value posted back.
A recent survey by the Access Group estimates that almost half of employees in the UK waste 3 hours a day or more on inefficient systems. A lack of integration can wipe out the savings that your new system is intended to deliver.
CHECKLIST
✓ Map the asset life cycle to see how and where each stage will be recorded
✓ Check what software integration each supplier provides
✓ Record all your interfaces centrally for future upgrades or new software
For more information on getting asset management systems right, have a read of the 10 Steps Guide to Asset Management.
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5 reasons to beware of the fixed asset spreadsheet
Learn about the risks of using spreadsheets to manage fixed assets in this insightful article from FMIS. Discover the five reasons why relying on spreadsheets can be dangerous, and find out how you can improve your asset management processes to ensure accuracy and reliability.
Sales Order Processing case study
Engineering Sales Order Processing case study
Written by: John de Robeck • Published: May 13, 2014 • Updated: March 10, 2026The customer, a comprehensive professional services firm providing design solutions to private and public sector clients, required an efficient sales order processing system integrating with Deltek Vision. Key requirements included: billing interface with Vision, accounts payable interface via invoice matching, strong control over product item master records, including complex bill of material assembly.
Sales Order Processing
Sales Order Processing flow chart
The sales order can be made up of many combinations of assemblies, items and services. As a user constructs the sales order the system provides real time control over margins and build specifications. The system allowed an easy set up of all required parts and a straight forward authorisation trail.
Fulfilment: purchase or stock
The purchase order will be automatically routed to the preferred vendor for the associated items within the bill of assembly. Vendor selection can be overridden on the sales order if required. The user can also select the item to come from stock, selecting a specific batch quantity or serial number to be added to the packing list. Any final purchase orders will be emailed to the vendor once any authorisation has been completed.
Purchasing
Vendors receive the purchase order by mail or by email. A system alert manager monitors the progress of the purchase against the required delivery dates. Purchase order amendments can be raised at any time. Utility bills and other contracted costs can also be entered as purchase contracts.
Goods receipt
Each category of product has its own set of attributes to be used when recording the eventual receipt of the goods or service. Any serialised item can have make, model, year of manufacture, serial number or any other items captured by electronic entry, manual entry or through the punch-out service.
Equipment and inventory
Any IT equipment is logged into the physical asset register passing on all of the prior information collated to date. The Equipment system allows for asset tracking and automatic reconciliation with the Fixed Asset register.
Invoice matching
Vendor invoices can now be easily matched (two, three or four-way) against the system. The batch of vendor invoices are automatically generated into the Vision Accounts Payable system. Any variances, subject to route and category limits, will automate the production of a new purchase order change request.
Shipping/billing
All part/full shipments will generate a billing entry in Vision with the correct sales order references, quantity and values. Shipping documents can be formatted and templated by the system.
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