Asset Management Company

AMR Provides Expanding Real Estate Brokerage House with Baseline Asset Inventory for 1,100 sites in 26 States

An expanding real estate brokerage company determined that its existing fixed asset ledger was inadequate to support effective asset management. The scope of the inventory included company-owned furniture, office equipment, computers, and telecommunications equipment at 1,100 sites in 26 states. The company estimated the total asset range to be 80,000 to 100,000.

The Challenge

The real estate brokerage company needed a baseline fixed asset inventory to support corporate-wide asset management initiatives.

AMR Inventory and Reconciliation Service

AMR provided a comprehensive solution that satisfied all of the company's requirements. This solution followed AMR's proven delivery model focused on accurate, verifiable results delivered in a professionally executed manner.

Planning

AMR dedicated significant resources during the planning phase of the project to ensure that all client objectives were achieved. To facilitate this, AMR developed an "Inventory WorkPlan" (IWP) that documented the specifications for the project to be completed. The IWP detailed all accounting, maintenance, and asset-tracking data that AMR would use to reconcile the fixed asset inventory results. The IWP also outlines the usage of additional source documentation at the root of the company's financial ledgers, as well as, security procedures, safety, and numerous other administrative issues. AMR completed this phase in one week.

The AMR Model

Physical Inventory

AMR inventoried and tagged furniture assets using a "Configuration" methodology. This methodology preconfigured the furniture assets into overall units. Each desk, office or cubicle entry was inventoried while subfields were used to collect component counts of the chairs, cubicle panels, binder bins, overhead bins, file cabinets, and work surfaces within each asset. AMR inventoried 121,319 assets with an additional component count of 232,966. The count was 21,319 (21.3%) greater than the original estimate. The total component count was 232,966 at 1,100 sites and was completed in ten weeks.

The Results

AMR Delivered This baseline inventory project produced the following results for the real estate brokerage company:

  • The two phases, planning and inventory, were completed in ten weeks.
  • AMR inventoried 121,319 assets with an additional component count of 232,966 in ten weeks.
  • AMR's baseline inventory provided the company with the ability to institute corporate wide asset management initiatives.
  • The baseline inventory provided the company with standardized data conventions for use on a "going forward" basis.
  • AMR's baseline inventory data allowed the company to accurately charge depreciation on a per site basis.

Conclusions

The real estate brokerage company realized the value of AMR's ability to provide a complete physical inventory with component counts within specific timetables.

  • National acquisitions company/real estate brokerage firm
  • Multi-branch/multi-state
  • 1,100 individual sites in 26 states inventoried in 10 weeks
  • 121,319 assets inventoried
  • Scope of inventory included computer, furniture, office equipment and telecom
  • 70.8% were furniture assets (desks, offices, cubicles, work surfaces, credenzas, conference rooms, etc.)
  • AMR inventoried furniture assets as a complex unit. Each desk, office, or cubicle entry was counted as one asset and component data was used to collect typical furniture assets as part of the desk, office, or cubicle setup. AMR collected counts of chairs, cubicle panels, binder bins, overhead bins, file cabinets, and work surfaces as part of these complex units.
  • Total component asset count was 232,966.
  • With the baseline inventory completed, client now had the capability to institute company wide asset management initiatives in a more efficient manner ? also the client had a specific standard established for naming conventions, tagging procedures, and data field elements for future use.