If you were managing a supply chain involving perishable goods, would you be content with simply knowing the location of the goods or would you find even greater value in being able to manage the actual condition of the goods while in transit? How about the processing of large quantities of liquids? If service data could be embedded directly into the pumps you use, would such a facility make your job easier?

The answer to these questions may seem obvious and simple, but the thinking, technology, and experience to actually provide such capabilities are anything but simple. To do what some call “intelligent asset management” requires understanding the convergence of a number of technology and business trends, such as machine-to-machine communications, as well as the strategic possibilities of doing things in radically different ways.

The business payoff, though, is compelling because we’re not just talking about creating greater operational efficiencies here. There is also the opportunity to develop entirely new business models and revenue streams. As manufacturers continue to struggle with industry structural change and the effects of a global recession, the notion of business transformation through the innovative use of advanced technologies should be cheered as the arrival of a modern day cavalry.

The examples I cited above are not theoretical. They are already real. They came to my attention during a briefing I had recently with Deloitte Consulting LLP. With the help of Deloitte, which has been a pioneer in intelligent asset management for the past five years, a major fresh fruit company, which declined to be identified, is now managing temperature and air conditions within containers carrying its products to market. Another company helped by Deloitte, a major manufacturer of pumps, has moved beyond traditional MRO activities to a new service model for its products.

“We’ve learned that it’s possible to apply intelligence to almost any asset class,” says Douglas Standley, a principal with Deloitte who is leading the firm’s work in asset management innovation. “If it’s important, it can become intelligent. And if it’s intelligent, it can transform business models, shifting the value proposition from reactive, to proactive, to predictive. Products themselves become drivers of services and potential competitive disruption.”

A key piece in enabling intelligent asset management is an underlying technology platform that can facilitate the connection of assets wherever they may be. In March, Deloitte announced an alliance with Axeda Corp., a developer of on-demand remote service software, under which Axeda’s technology will power Deloitte’s Live Intelligence Platform for asset management.

Doug Engel, a Deloitte senior partner, says that, like many technology trends, the ideas of pervasive computing and machine-to-machine communications have taken longer to develop than initially foreseen, but now they are coming of age and manufacturers can take advantage of them — if they are prepared to do so.

It’s that last point, not surprisingly, that’s the linchpin of this new vision of intelligent asset management. Manufacturing leaders, both on the business side and in the technology department, need to understand emerging trends and the possibilities the idea offers. This will require some effort, Standley says, because right now awareness levels are “low” in the executive suites of many companies.

But this hurdle can be cleared, and, once it is, manufacturers will have the opportunity to move forward with a powerful new idea.

What are your thoughts about asset management? Write to me at Dbrousell@thomaspublishing.com.