Transforming Enterprise Asset Management through Digitalization
The effective management of physical assets provides the foundation for companies across industries to achieve operational excellence. From maximising production uptime for a manufacturer to optimising fleet utilisation at a transportation company, asset performance sits at the heart of the business performance. However, traditional approaches to asset management often fail to deliver the full benefits. Enterprises are now digitally transforming their asset management practices through a combination of interconnected technologies collectively known as Enterprise Asset Management (EAM).
Aligning Enterprise Asset Management Strategy with Business Objectives:
For many companies, asset management has traditionally been a siloed activity focused on preventative maintenance Execution lacked ties to wider business goals beyond keeping assets running. Enterprise asset management breaks down these barriers by taking a top-down approach that aligns with financial and operational key performance indicators. Some examples include:
➢ Evaluating asset investments for ROI impact on product margin goals
➢ Prioritizing maintenance activity based on production schedule requirements
➢ Assessing asset life cycle costs when making build vs buy decisions
With a digital EAM system, companies connect physical asset data to financial planning tools. This enables asset-centric decision making across the organization rather than having management occur in isolation.
Transitioning from Preventive to Predictive Models:
Traditionally, asset management has relied on routine or time-based preventative maintenance to minimize downtime. However with the proliferation of sensors and data flows from equipment, enterprise asset management opens the door for predictive maintenance. This moves maintenance from a fixed schedule to a flexible, condition-based approach.
Predictive capabilities on asset health allows for advantages such as:
➢ Automated monitoring without need for manual inspection
➢ Identification of abnormal deterioration rates
➢ Maintenance triggered by output data vs assumptions
➢ Extended optimized equipment lifespan
Machine learning algorithms within EAM systems help build predictive models that minimize disruption and continue advancing. This represents a major evolution beyond reactive or preemptive approaches to maintenance.
Breaking Down Information Silos through Digital Integration:
A persistent challenge for asset managers has been consolidating data from disparate sources into contextualized information for decision makers. EAM software centralizes asset data across departments, systems, and formats onto a single platform. Integration capabilities also eliminate data duplication by enabling two-flow communication between EAM systems and other core applications like:
➢ ERP – finance, procurement, inventory
➢ MES – manufacturing operations
➢ SCM – supply chain logistics
➢ IoT – connected devices
This creates a “single source of truth” for asset data to inform maintenance crews, managers, and executives alike. The interoperability of modern EAM software unlocks new value from data trapped in silos.
Empowering Informed Decisions across Roles:
While asset managers operate EAM software, the digitalization of these systems means asset performance insights get democratized across the enterprise:
➢ Executives can track asset ROI, total cost of ownership, and contribution to key performance metrics. This enables strategic decision-making on capital allocation optimization.
➢ Finance can predictively model changes to net working capital from parts inventory reduction through reliability gains. This ties EAM’s impact directly to balance sheet strength.
➢ Operations can sequence production plans based on projected maintenance downtimes rather than guessing. This synchronizes plant floor execution to equipment realities.
By connecting asset data to business contexts, EAM allows every role to leverage equipment insights tailored to their needs, an advancement from one-size-fits-all reporting.
Conclusion
As the technologies underpinning enterprise asset management continue advancing, leading companies are digitally transforming maintenance from a cost center to a strategic lever for availability, efficiency, risk management and sustainability. EAM shifts asset data from stranded silos to networked visibility. This convergence of OT, IT and now FinOps unlocks a new era where assets and operations dynamically sync to optimise total enterprise performance. For more details and services, visit CherryBerry ERP.