Transforming asset inventory management with digitalized tracking and monitoring solution built on AWS
Maximize device utilization and efficiency with a unified inventory tracking solution that streamlines asset management, reduces errors and ensures accurate real-time visibility across operations.
The Objective
Optimize asset inventory management and maximize test-bed utilization through a unified tracking and monitoring system.
The Challenge
- Customer operates more than 60 labs and five stores worldwide to test and showcase the performance of various consumer devices and wearables
- The customer wanted to optimize the process and reduce the effort/time required to track and manage assets
- Device inventory and tracking is carried out manually, leading to inaccurate inventory counts, incorrect data entries and inefficient asset management.
- Challenges in tracing the misplaced devices and equipment across the labs.
- Getting the exact status and utilization of the devices was a challenge.
- Device monitoring, usage/utilization and management data is not available in real-time
The Solution
To address these challenges, HCLTech leveraged an RFID-based asset tracking system, "Smart Material Tracking (SMT)" and "DECoDe," deployed on the AWS cloud. SMT monitors the movement and usage of assets within a facility and provides real-time visibility into asset location and utilization through fixed readers, mobile app tracking and regular inventory checks.
DECoDe (Dynamic Ecosystem of Connected Devices) is another HCLTech solution, focused on managing the device lifecycle through a unified dashboard. It allows for the consolidation of device management across various platforms.
- RFID tagging and tracking infrastructure
- Unique asset identification: Each asset receives a unique RFID tag for individual identification and tracking, e.g., test beds, mobile devices and PCBs
- Fixed reader deployment: Stationary RFID readers are installed at strategic entry/exit points (gate-mounted) to track asset movement, enabling real-time tracking automatically
- Mobile-based tracking: Handheld RFID readers and mobile apps facilitate on-demand tracking of assets within locations or for specific searches
- SMT implemented IATM middleware components (local webapp, middleware service, PostgreSQL) at the edge. This allowed for on-site processing and filtering of RFID data, resulting in faster performance and more efficient use of bandwidth, while securely communicating with the cloud for broader management
- SMT established a reliable and efficient communication channel between its local middleware (IATM) and the cloud backend by implementing Amazon MQ, a managed message broker. This facilitated the secure and high-speed transfer of RFID data for asset tracking. Amazon MQ was used to enable communication between different services. It acted as a buffer to handle high traffic and improve overall system performance and stability
- Firmware updates, real-time monitoring and alerts
- Decode upgraded test bed, mobile devices to the required firmware and software versions and triggered over-the-air (OTA) updates for connected equipment as needed
- AWS IoT Core was used to manage and collect the telemetric information from the test beds and other devices over the MQTT protocol
- Real-time inventory tracking: Continuous RFID scanning keeps inventory records constantly updated, reflecting the actual location and status of assets
- Movement alerts: Fixed readers provide real-time notifications to lab managers when assets are moved from designated areas, enabling prompt action
- IATM services use Amazon SQS/SNS to publish data and trigger a Lambda function to process the data and send email notifications, which decouple the services, ensuring reliable communication and scalable email delivery
- Enhanced efficiency and accuracy in inventory management and tracking
- Automated audits: RFID enables rapid and accurate inventory checks and reconciliations, replacing time-consuming manual processes and improving overall inventory accuracy
- Handheld mobile readers were used to conduct a floor-walk audit of lab and other assets, effectively tracking items even inside cabinets and racks
- Precise asset location: The "SMT Locate" feature, accessed via a mobile app and handheld reader, also helps in searching for any misplaced device by pinpointing the exact physical location of assets, even within storage or in a pile of other assets
- Data insights reports and test bed optimization dashboard
- Utilization reporting: The system generates reports detailing the actual usage and utilization of assets, providing valuable insights for optimization and decision-making
- Improved asset management: The comprehensive data collected through the RFID solution supports better asset lifecycle management, including maintenance planning, replacement strategies and resource allocation
- HCL Decode solution was used to gather test bed performance reports and real-time metrics, including CPU, memory and resource utilization. This data was published to the cloud for real-time analysis, with dashboards built for live monitoring and management. Customized reports were also generated to provide detailed device and utilization insights
- Amazon RDS for MySQL provides the relational data store for IATM's backend microservices
- AWS CloudFront is a Content Delivery Network (CDN) that improves web performance and security
- HCLTech's Smart Material Tracking (SMT) solution leverages a wide array of AWS services to manage the full lifecycle of assets. ELB, S3, AWS Parameter Store, Certificate Manager, IAM, ROUTE 53, CloudWatch, Event Bridge, CloudFormation, API Gateway, ECS, ECR, etc.
The Impact
- 100% tracking of assets at the entry/exit location
- Reduction of missing/lost assets by 20%
- Upgradation of the latest/required FW/SW version to devices, mobiles and accessories and trigger OTA for connected devices/accessories
- 90% operational efficiency for the planned audits
- Monitoring dashboard generation displaying test execution, performance details and real-time utilization metrics for test bed devices
