Universities today face growing pressure to maintain accurate, compliant, and transparent records of their capital assets. As campuses expand and regulatory requirements tighten, inefficient manual tracking approaches such as spreadsheets, paper lists, and department-specific databases can’t keep pace. The result is often duplicated effort, incomplete records, and costly audit challenges.
Recognizing these challenges, the University of Michigan reimagined its approach to asset tracking, replacing legacy processes with a centralized, software-driven model that brings consistency, visibility, and control to more than 26,000 assets across three campuses.
From Manual Processes to Modern Systems
Traditional asset tracking methods depend heavily on departmental initiative and human accuracy. Data becomes fragmented, and reconciling physical inventory with financial records can be very time consuming.
Technology enabled asset management eliminates these inefficiencies by centralizing data, automating workflows, and integrating with ERP systems to support compliance and financial reporting. It replaces ad-hoc lists with a living, connected record of every asset, including its location, condition, and status.
For the University of Michigan, this shift meant adopting both RFID technology and KEPR Asset Tracking Software, supported by HCA Asset Management’s capital asset management expertise. Together, these tools allowed the university to move from periodic, manual reconciliation to a continuous state of accountability in its capital asset management program.
What the Shift Enabled
The university’s modernization effort produced measurable improvements that extended far beyond efficiency alone.
By leveraging RFID scanning and KEPR’s modern platform, Michigan achieved:
- 97% asset reconciliation accuracy, strengthening compliance and audit readiness
- More than 50% reduction in inventory time, minimizing disruption to academic departments
- Room-level allocation of assets, enabling more precise depreciation and reporting
- Consistent data visibility, allowing property control staff to act on real-time insights rather than delayed reports
These outcomes demonstrate how technology transforms asset management from a reactive task into a proactive, institution-wide capability.
A Model for Higher Education
Michigan’s success reflects a broader trend in higher education. The move toward centralized, data-driven asset programs that unify finance, facilities, and compliance under one framework.
As grant funding, regulatory expectations, and audit requirements increase, institutions can no longer afford fragmented systems or incomplete data trails. Software-enabled asset tracking offers the transparency and control needed to manage today’s complex capital environments.
Whether a university oversees a few thousand items or hundreds of thousands, the same principles apply. Centralization of data, standardization of processes, and integration of technology is necessary to maintain accountability across the full asset lifecycle.
For many institutions, modernization starts with visibility. Understanding what exists, where it resides, and who is responsible for it provides the foundation for long-term improvement. Starting with an accurate baseline inventory, supported by experienced asset management partners, helps institutions determine where manual effort can be replaced by automation and how software can extend the life of existing capital investments.
Learn more about the university’s program by watching our on-demand webinar, “How the University of Michigan Modernized Asset Management with RFID and KEPR Technology.”