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What
is asset management?
Successful asset management stems from the ability to forecast the
useful life of an instrument in a laboratory. Armed with this
knowledge, research and development organizations can proactively plan.
Newer technology can
be acquired to coincide with the timely disposal of older
instrumentation,
maximizing the value back into the budget.
What drives asset management?
The mechanism that controls a successful asset management program is a
lease. A lease is put into place on an instrument with a definitive end
date.
Notification is provided prior to the lease expiring. This is the
catalyst
which drives the replacement technology, and the de-installation and
certification
of the older technology which will be returned to McKinley Scientific.
Why use asset management?
The asset management program decreases maintenance and utility expenses
by providing a systematic instrument replacement program without using
capital funds. This program eliminates the risk of project or
technology obsolescence and maximizes equipment residual value. New
equipment increases productivity by decreasing equipment size and down
time while increasing sensitivity,
functionality, speed, and regulatory compliance. The asset management
program
eliminates equipment depreciation and related expenses (write-off,
transport,
storage, disposal, and personnel). Generally, employee retention and
new employee
recruitment is enhanced by providing state-of-the-art equipment and
facilities.
How is the asset management program
implemented?
A comprehensive, systematic asset management program could take years
to fully implement. The first step is for your company to evaluate your
equipment needs based on business drivers. Establish an equipment
replacement
plan that meets personnel and budget requirements. McKinley Scientific
will
determine the market value for current scientific equipment and help
establish
the useful life, economic life and future utility value for all new
equipment.
Establish an equipment renting/leasing process that coordinates the
scientist’s
equipment needs with finance and procurement.
Is asset management expensive?
On the contrary, purchasing instruments that do not have a long-term
usefulness is very expensive and can lack the discipline of timely
disposal. Often instruments are kept around for years but lie idle.
When they are eventually sold they return pennies on the dollar because
their functionality cannot be guaranteed and therefore value is lost.
Leasing maximizes the value by recognizing
that an installed and maintained instrument has none of these
uncertainties.
McKinley Scientific will invest in the technology and gain a return
when
the instrument is sold at the end of the lease. The investment lowers
the
lease payment cost by accounting for the future value at the start of
the
lease. The net result is an efficient method for paying for usage of
the
instrument.
What are the pitfalls?
As long as we work as partners, there are none. There are multiple
lease structures that provide for flexibility if usage is uncertain. At
the end of the lease if equipment is returned complete, working and
certified, McKinley Scientific will be able to resell the instrument
into secondary and tertiary markets, recover our investment, enabling
us to continue to invest in new technology with you.
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