Digitize Your Maintenance Inventory

Digitize maintenance inventory to avoid costly shutdown surprises. Imagine you’re preparing for a critical maintenance event, but a spare part marked ‘in stock’ in your ERP is nowhere to be found. This scenario leads to unplanned downtime, operational delays, and emergency procurement. Digitized inventory eliminates this risk by offering real-time visibility and traceability of every asset in your warehouse.

In this guide, you’ll learn how combining RFID technology with CODASOL’s i-Stock inventory verification tool enables real-time visibility, reduces human error, and integrates seamlessly with ERP systems across industries like manufacturing, energy, EPC, and beyond.

Why Traditional Inventory Management Falls Short

Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) inventory is critical for plant uptime. Yet most facilities still rely on spreadsheets, manual counts, or outdated CMMS systems.

Common pain points include:

• Ghost inventory (items listed but not physically present)
• Duplicate or mislabeled spares
• Misaligned ERP stock values
• Tedious, time-consuming audits

For complex environments like refineries, mining sites, or data centers, these issues cost millions in downtime, procurement delays, and compliance failures.

Asset Tagging vs UNSPSC Code Implementation: Which One Improves Inventory Management?

What Does It Mean to Digitize Maintenance Inventory?

To “digitize” inventory means transforming every physical asset and spare part into a traceable, auditable, and system-connected record.

This involves:

• Tagging each item with a scannable RFID or QR label
• Using tools like i-Stock to validate and capture real-time inventory data
• Syncing this data with your ERP or EAM system (SAP, Oracle, Maximo)

You will get to see a single source of truth for inventory across maintenance, procurement, and operations.

Step-by-Step: How to Digitize Inventory with RFID and i-Stock

Here’s a structured approach to get started:

1. Inventory Mapping & Asset Classification

Conduct a detailed walkthrough of warehouses and storage areas. Identify:

• What materials exist
• What’s critical vs. obsolete
• Storage locations, bin numbers, and zones

2. Tagging with RFID / QR Codes

Based on environment and scan requirements:

• RFID for high-volume or remote scan zones
• QR Codes for mobile visibility and inspections

Each tag is encoded with item metadata: part number, description, quantity, location, usage history.

3. i-Stock Deployment

CODASOL’s i-Stock app on Android devices for:

• Real-time cycle counts
• Physical verification with image capture
• Barcode/QR/RFID scanning
• Role-based access and audit logs

4. Data Sync with ERP

i-Stock is integrated with CODASOL’s PROSOL platform and syncs with:

• SAP
• Oracle
• IBM Maximo
• In-house ERPs

Updates to quantity, location, and condition are reflected in real time.

How i-Stock Helps with Physical Verification of Industrial Assets

5. Reporting & Compliance Dashboards

Generate customized reports for:

• Audit & financial compliance
• Material aging and surplus detection
• Inventory movement and trends

RFID vs. QR: Which Tagging Method Works Best?

Criteria	RFID	QR Code
Scan Range	Long-range (up to 10m)	Short-range, line-of-sight
Environment	Harsh, high-volume	Field and indoor operations
Cost per Tag	Higher	Lower
Use Cases	Palletized goods, bulk spares	Tools, tagged bins, equipment
ERP Compatibility	Yes (via PROSOL/i-Stock)	Yes (via PROSOL/i-Stock)

How Plant Managers Can Leverage Asset Tagging for Smarter Maintenance and Inventory Management

Case Study:

Digitizing Inventory in the UAE Power Sector

A leading power generation company in the UAE was struggling with misplaced and underutilized high-value spare parts scattered across eight large warehouses. Despite having an ERP system in place, discrepancies between physical stock and system records led to operational inefficiencies and procurement delays.

To solve this, the company partnered with CODASOL to deploy RFID tagging in combination with the i-Stock physical verification tool across all warehouse locations. Each spare was tagged, scanned, and validated using i-Stock’s mobile interface, with real-time updates synced to their ERP system.

Within just six months, the initiative resulted in the recovery of $128,000 worth of previously unaccounted inventory. Additionally, audit times were cut in half, and stock traceability reached over 98% accuracy, laying the foundation for long-term inventory control and cost reduction.

Benefits of Digitizing Maintenance Inventory

Want to go a step further? Our Inventory Optimization Services help you not only digitize but also streamline excess, obsolete, and underutilized stock to reduce working capital and improve planning accuracy.

• Zero ghost stock through real-time audits
• Accurate planning for preventive maintenance
• Faster audits and reduced manual labor
• Better ERP alignment for procurement and operations
• Improved compliance with ISO, GS1, and internal controls

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the cost of digitizing maintenance inventory?

Costs vary based on number of assets, tag type (RFID is pricier), and ERP complexity. ROI typically realized in 6–9 months.

2. How long does implementation take?

Most mid-sized plants (10,000+ SKUs) complete RFID tagging + i-Stock rollout in 4–6 weeks.

Asset Tagging for Effective Inventory and Maintenance Management

3. Does i-Stock support offline mode?

Yes. i-Stock works without internet and syncs once reconnected.

4. Can this work across multiple warehouses?

Absolutely. Multi-site and multi-user support is built in.

5. Is i-Stock customizable for our ERP?

Yes. CODASOL’s PROSOL platform enables seamless integration with major ERPs and CMMS tools.