The CG4 Asset Tracking System (ATS) for Cherwell
Overview
The CG4 Asset Tracking System for Cherwell will significantly enhance or enable any corporate asset tracking initiative. CG4 works with Cherwell to send and receive your asset data to and from barcode scanners, RFID readers (mobile and fixed), various smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PC browsers. The CG4 integration has been certified by Cherwell as part of our participation in Cherwell’s Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) Program.
CG4 is an off-the-shelf solution, not a development package. All the good ideas and functionality from over 21 years of creating asset tracking software are rolled into the CG4 general release software. This contributes to a robust, dependable asset tracking tool.
You can install CG4 in the Cloud or locally on your server.
When using CG4 on mobile scanning devices, you can configure custom modules and rules in a matter of minutes without involving technical programming personnel. You can create custom modules for each step of an asset life cycle (Receiving, Stocking, Inventory, Deployment, Repair, Retirement, Disposal, and any other process where you would like to scan the barcode or RFID tag). Within each custom module, you can define rules that ensure clean data is entered by the technicians. At the server level, you can define additional rules that stop edits before they are sent to Cherwell for update. Both levels of rules contribute to accurate asset updates.
CG4 offers real-time/online and batch/offline methods of making updates to asset records. This allows you to match the proper device and mode of operation with each functional group of technicians. The result of using CG4 with Cherwell is that your asset information is more current and accurate.
The CG4 Asset Tracking System supports many models of smartphones/tablets/Zebra integrated scanners.
CG4 combines the ease of mobile handheld scanners with the power of a web-based management console. With these variety of devices, steps in your asset life cycle, such as physical inventories, audits, moves, adds, changes, and any other step in your asset life cycle are easily accomplished.
When using CG4 on fixed RFID readers, CG4 can provide functionality (reports, alerts, dashboards, etc.) to provide meaningful and actionable information. This will enhance your management of existing internal rules and protocols in a more automated fashion, which saves money and avoids potential compliance issues.
CG4 can provide extensive capabilities beyond the normal “ITSM stack” that many Cherwell customers may believe is the boundary of a typical Cherwell CSM implementation. Our experience and Cherwell expertise puts us in a position to provide comprehensive solutions to difficult tasks.
Whether you have a few thousand assets or hundreds of thousands of assets, CG4 will help you track your assets accurately.
Questions
CG4 asked a few questions to some of our customers about our Asset Tracking System:
If you were giving one comment to someone who is considering using CG4, what would you tell them?
From an asset management perspective, it is the easiest and most cost effective software I have used.
How many assets are you tracking in how many locations using CG4?
We are tracking more than 75,000 assets in well over 100 locations around the world using CG4.
With having asset scanning technicians around the world, do you have a lot of CG4 support issues?
After the initial transition and adoption of the new scanning process and procedure, we have not had any technical issues due to the software. Any issues that we have encountered have been a result of rules that we have implemented at the server level restricting access.
Does Discovery use a mixture of integrated scanners, smartphones, tablets, PC browsers, USB scanners, and Bluetooth scanners to update assets in CG4 and, if so, about what percent do you use of each?
scanner connected to my laptop, as well as a Socket Mobile scanner attached to my Microsoft Surface and iOS phone. Many users find it convenient to update assets from a PC browser screen from a workstation.
What is your favorite feature of CG4?
The customization of the modules and the administration portion.
Some asset tracking solutions might be more of a development environment rather than off-the-shelf software such as CG4 Asset Tracking software. What would you say to someone who asked you if using the off-the-shelf CG4 Asset Tracking software has met your evolving asset tracking needs?
CG4 is very configurable. We are able to create our own modules without having a programmer on staff and without having to call CG4 technical support. When I need a new module or a new rule, I create what I need independently. Development platforms may have their advantages, but CG4 affords us the flexibility and ease we need.
CG4 does not push updates out to customers unless the customer approves the update. In the three years Discovery has been using CG4 Asset Tracking, have you liked the fact that CG4 does not push upgrades out to you or does not require that you upgrade CG4 versions?
Yes. Keeping CG4 up and running does not require continually updating the CG4 software with patches. Most of our time is spent working on data issues and not on the CG4 asset tracking tool.
Have you ever requested additional functionality from CG4 and how was that experience?
We wanted a CG4 module that allowed us to select the user and to allow that user to potentially have multiple locations. CG4 worked with us and now that functionality is included in the out-of-the-box CG4 Asset Tracking software, adding to the value of the CG4 software. When Discovery upgrades to a new CG4 release, the new feature is already included – for Discovery and anyone else who wants the functionality – and we do not incur any additional service hours.
When you need a new asset tracking module for one of the steps in your asset life cycle, what do you do?
I create it, add any rules, and then give it to one of our user groups. The key is that I am doing the work when needed, without being dependent on anyone else. Because of this, we can organically grow our implementation as needed.
For more information, please reach out to:
Partner Type: Technology
Geography: North America
