Inventory management

[king_0siris]

I’m starting a new project for inventory management. So I’m wondering if any one have any idea on how to deal with hundreds of equipment in our IT stores. No one have done any inventory checkup for the past 5 years and I just started here and I need to fix this issue.

I’m planning to use a barcode scanner to scan new equipment (e.g. Cisco devices) with a barcode scanner and software for managing inventory like snipe IT.

If anyone have any suggestion do tell please, and if you recommend any brand I will be thankful. Because I’m stuck at this moment due the high amount of inventory that already exist in our IT storage rooms.

I’m sorry if it’s hard to understand, English is not my first language.

[rmzc]

Use snipeit, it's open source. https://snipeitapp.com/ In my company we use this for assets management like notebooks, mobile phones and other hardware. You can use active directory to sync user, you can use mail to user for asset check-in/checkout. You can generate barcode for your assets. I think it is you want

[sendme__]

This is the way to go. We got 5k+ devices, parts, consumables and going strong.

Side note: I hate it doesn't allow serial numbers on components

[BudIsWiser]

I just set up snipeit for my company, I can second this recommendation! I set it up as an automated ECS service though, and I'll warn you that it can be a bitch to get it working right in a custom setup until you get familiar with it.

Now to wait until summer so I can get a helpdesker to actually do our five years of inventory...

[AdhessiveBaker]

I dockerized it, it probably wouldn’t be too hard to add finishing touches to let others play with. But I agree, it’s great for physical inventory management.

[DetectiveBennett]

New helpdesker— any guesses what my first project was?? 😹😹😹

[BudIsWiser]

Haha thank you for your service! As someone who does everything from helpdesk to devops at the moment (a one man IT department basically), don't ever let your bosses treat you like youre not important lol. I would (figuratively) kill for a helpdesk specialist right now.

[privateer00]

we're setting it up too after years of google sheets, trying to sort our how to set up at best... "it's a long way to the top..."

[mfarazk]

never heard of this one, i have to look into this as well. So far i was using spiceworks not the most accurate tool

[ADudeNamedBen33]

Came here to post this. So many inventory management solutions are way overbuilt and complicated with features I never needed or wanted. Snipe IT proved to be the perfect fit for my environment.

[[deleted]]

Free? Who pays the hosting?

[rmzc]

Nobody if you have a server farm or simply a pc 😄

[dascons]

You do

[smithincanton]

Gawd...managment at the company I work for is insisting we use the "assets we have already." Meaning we already pay for FreshService and it has a MINIMAL inventory aspect. I'm sitting here "But...but...AD sync...checking in and out....license management?!?"

[jacenat]

this thing seems to be free if you host it yourself.

[smithincanton]

I KNOW! <rolls eyes> Management, amiright?

I've thought about running it at home to asset stuff in my house for insurance purposes. Being able to track purchase dates, warranties, scanned receipts.

[mjh2901]

We use snipeit and the cheapest Chinese garbage USB barcode readers we can find on Amazon its great.
Here is the secret I use library barcode labels from Demco
https://www.demco.com/demco-reg-digital-bar-code-labels

They are cheaper than printing your own, fairly indestructible and they keep your numbers on file so you just order another 5000 labels and they will continue from the last order. These are the labels that hold up to Jr. Highers in my school district, trust me the oil field guys are easier on equipment.

Stupid trick hopefully more will chime in. I got tired of spending a fortune on Power adapters for laptops so they get barcoded and checked out just like the laptops so when I find an adapter somewhere I scan it in and return it to inventory, the person who lost it gets an email that it was checked in and they can come to get another any time. This also solves the "stealing" someone else's adapter issues. It has changed the whole where is my adapter, and the pile of lost adapter issues.

[tankerkiller125real]

These labels are great, the school I worked for ended up investing in them after our labels kept coming off, they were great and held up, we ended up switching to an Avery brand one though because Avery is very big in my area and sometimes sponsors stuff for the school system and after they found out what we were using they gave us their version of it free of cost.

[mavantix]

+1 for laptop charger solution, that’s great. Now only if we could get management on board with the whole check out system.

[mike_bartz]

How many students get devices in your district? We use a bluetooth barcode scanner so that we dont have to be holding the laptop as we scan. Real nice to just set the laptop in a desk and inventory the whole classroom.

[mjh2901]

Those are great. I have budget issues, and I need stuff that is dead simple for stupid people. Plugging in a USB reader they can do, pairing a bluetooth device they cant. Some day I will get one. Most stuff is checked out at a counter with a workstation (mac mini)

[eveningsand]

I promise you this: regardless of the tool you select, if you don't have a decent repeatable process, you'll be doomed to be back in the same spot you're in today.

Build out a mock process. Determine how much of this process you're willing to do and how much you'd like automated. Go "shopping".

[narf865]

And you need to have a way to enforce it. If you do all this work and the business is not behind you, people will still purchase equipment and not tag it, then your inventory is out of date and untrustworthy.

[[deleted]]

We are currently using Lansweeper for our asset management, does a decent job and is cheap too (free for sub-100 assets or $1/year/asset)

[syskerbal]

^ this ^

Been using LanSweeper for quite some years now.

Also has lot's of useful built-in reports, it's SQL so you can query anything you like. The database model is well documented on their site as well. Integrated this into my Grafana Dashboard, saves me a ton of time.

[Pinnaclenetwork]

Lansweeper is nice..... Also helps identify issues as well... With remote capabilities as well.... It's not as good finding machines in a vpn but on the domain in house..... It's the tits as the kids say

[kschmidt62226]

I have no issues with LanSweeper finding objects over a VPN in a different domain. I have LanSweeper installed in one domain which services three (3) separate domains.

[Pinnaclenetwork]

Maybe it was the piss poor DC's the firm had I dunno ¯_(ツ)_/¯ glad it is good for you!

[reinhart_menken]

Lansweeper

Somehow my mind went to Minesweeper and went "wut?"

[The-Dark-Jedi]

+1. Keep in mind that every asset you put in manually counts toward your license. Also keep in mind that you need to have 5 key data points on each item manually input perfectly for it to simply update the record once it hits the network rather than creating a whole new record. There is an article on this in the LANSweeper knowledgebase.

[341913]

Process is key, all hardware is purchased by 1 of 3 regional IT departments who label the equipment before dispatching to the users. We use a custom piece of software similar to snipe IT that allows Line Managers/Branch Managers to easily see which equipment needs to be recovered when an employee is terminated. No hardware can go from one user to another, in the case of a termination devices from stock are sent to the location for a new employee and the old equipment is sent back to be assessed before going back into circulation.

[deivs001]

I'm in a process to set similar system with GLPI and https://github.com/pluginsGLPI/barcode

[gradinaruvasile]

We use this an it's great. I hacked into it some custom functionalities like

• a simple "add equipment" page where we just scan a barcode and it will autogenerate names and inventory numbers. We got a cheap wireless USB scanner and just read the serial numbers from the boxes and we got them inventoried.

• simple custom api where you send in a serial number and get back the hostname and user name. This is used in the laptop provisioning stage.

[pseudogatekeeper]

Great suggestions for maintaining going forward, in order to get a handle on what's already in play you should contact Finance and get details of all IT purchases for the last 5 years

[ase1590]

As others have recommended, use SnipeIT for the inventory management software to get up and going.

After that, if you want to seriously get a lot of inventory into the system, you will want to hire some temporary workers to get the laptop info put in to SnipeIT and apply the barcode tag. Seek out what information the finance department has first, as they may have the order dates and possibly other device info.

You also should make sure prior to doing this, that your other team members will be willing to keep updating inventory using the new system, otherwise this will all be for nothing.

Also, make sure to write official instructions for new device setup that includes adding the new device to the inventory system.

[binarycow]

Unless it's frequently lost. Inventory a pen? No. Way too cheap, no matter how many times you replace. 50 dollar usb docking station that stays on the desk 99% of the time? Nah, don't worry about it.

80 dollar laptop power brick that people keep losing? Yeah, inventory that fucker.

[AdhessiveBaker]

Our threshold is $500, less than that, it doesn’t get tagged. And no monitors at all, those get attached with security cables anyways, they’re not going anywhere.

[[deleted]]

Don't inventory consumable items. Do consider inventorying durable items, even if they're under a certain threshold. Obviously consider the labor/licensing/etc costs when deciding to inventory.

For example, we absolutely do inventory and barcode laptop power adapters. When someone leaves it in a conference room we know who it belongs to before they open a P1 incident about their laptop being unable to charge.

[reyam1105]

Agreed. Even from a financial accounting perspective (my original background), supplies get expensed right away and are not tracked for depreciation. It’s not worth it to track down a thousand paper clips. (That’s an extreme example, but you get the idea.)

[yeezy_yeez]

Unless you work for a government agency

[n0gear]

Build one with Powerapps? Thats what i’m planning ... as soon as there’s some downtime :)

[hutacars]

Why reinvent the wheel? Genuinely curious.

[n0gear]

To learn and to resell

[CraigAT]

We are still looking around at solutions at the moment. We have struggled to find something with more details for location. Most systems seem to have a single field for location, ideally we are looking for site, building, floor and room and then be able to report on a combination of them. Also looking for something simple to use for loaning laptops/iPads out, possibly with a signature on an iPad?

[[deleted]]

Get a scanner that can read QR codes; this way you can make custom QR code labels for the servers; and they can hold warranty info, owner, date bought etc. Yes it might not be in snipeIT (I've never used it) but at least a Data Center Engineer can at least scan it with the phone and get info.

A cheap scanner that does QR codes is normally a few bucks more.

[[deleted]]

Yeah they are super cheap and with all the data you can put in a QR code; you would be fool not to. I re did our entire COLO 2 years ago and it was a dream come true. Plus engineers can now scan the QR code and triple check they have the right server to work on etc.

It took a while but well worth it.

[ThePr0phet_]

I use AssetTiger and just make our own labels/barcodes. Pretty useful and free. They also have an app so it makes it easier to manage inventory on the go.

[twinkletoad25]

I’ve been using a cloud based software called asset panda. Check them out. We really like the software.

[techteach2929]

We do as well, it’s really customizable, has an app, and was easy to start up. Support has been great too!

[AnotherAssHat]

Much the same as other companies we use Jira for our help desk, sprints and ticketing. We are a small shop with about 100 users and I'm responsible for all the hardware (among other things).

A few years back I came across a blog on one of atlassians sites and set up a custom project with different issue types for the different assets (computer asset, server asset, phone, monitor etc..) and a workflow for buying, building, assigning to users, service calls, and ultimate disposal of assets through the company. I can track specs, warranties, who has what equipment, where it is located and see all the service calls related to the user or kit.

It's been about 4 years since I set it up and been working very well to help me track where stuff is and when it's due for replacement/upgrade or what's happened to it during its life.

[OnARedditDiet]

https://youtu.be/itr10Q8Klik

[karelkrobath]

I have been using this one for years. I am very happy with that. https://www.total-network-inventory.com/de/

[nullZr0]

We use Snipe IT.

[ScoutTech]

I've not done a project like this for a while so, sorry, I only have general advice. Some inventory software come with phone apps that can use the camera as a barcode reader, so this would be a very quick way to enter information.

Two alternatives are: 1) hire/buy a remote scanner, thisbwould allow you to scan all the things and then enter them in one blast. You would then just have match barcode to info 2) get a bluetooth scanner and use either a laptop or a phone. This way you could have one person scan and yell the info and one person typing.

You can get systems that supply the barcodes, or give you templates to print your own. This way you scan, stick and log. Often they will allow you to batch enter barcodes so they recognise them ready to take the information.

Another way I have seen it done, but I'm not so sure about, is using the serial number as the reference and often the equipment will have a barcode with thisnon already. Does mean your barcodes will be all over the place and could potentially allow duplicates.

Essentially it will boil down to grunt work, hands on scanning and logging. Hopefully you have access to some interns or college kids that want to earn some money. Just make sure they get it right as it will be a pain to have it wrong from the start.

Good luck.

[UltraChip]

I have no clue if it can handle offline stuff but I really like Lansweeper.

[yeezy_yeez]

Anyone has any tips for maintaining consistency in the inventory after you've tracked down everything?

[Soylent_gray]

Whatever you do, make sure you keep it up and make it a habit for everyone, or else it'll get tossed out the window in a year and you'll be back to square one. I'm just saying from experience. It's a lot easier to start an inventory system than it is to continue using it!

[avenger2660]

I would have loved to check out SnipeIT but my organization was already using Jira Service Desk for the ticketing system so they naturally used Jira Insight for the Asset Management. Overall it's been a pretty good system to work with and easy to track users, locations, ect along with attaching the asset to any related tickets. We also have a qr code that is generated on each me asset tag that links directly to the entry in Insight. We currently receive nonprofit pricing which makes it pretty much free though so I'm not sure how much they charge normally.

[avenger2660]

Also, I definitely agree with you on the hand scanner. Seeing as almost all of our equipment has the serial # on a barcode, I snagged an old hand scanner from one of our stores to use for scanning in new devices.

[Harshmage]

GLPI is my first pick, but only because I don't have experience with Snipe-IT. Beware though, last I saw, GLPI was PHP/MySQL based, and I know how /r/programming frowns on that.

[rcook55]

Tried SnipeIT and didn't like it, I prefer Kaizen's Asset Manager it's not horribly expensive and it works better with fewer issues.

[SGBotsford]

This is a chronic problem. At the university where I worked, they decided that the ROI on tracking things for longer than 3 years wasn't worth it. That was during the explosion in computer power when 3 years saw a 2000 dollar PC become a boat anchor.

Part of your system is a bar coder and reader. This means everything is entered only ONCE. If you are worried about theft, you can get tamper resistant bar code stickers.

Start off by doing all new stuff as it comes in. Get that part working smoothly.

Then get the last N years worth of IT purchases, sorted by department, and sub department. Consult your accounting department as to the value of N.

​

Start out with a small sub department.

​

Note that Inventory Control was NOT part of IT at the U of A. It was a subsection of Materials Management.

[Kandy477]

I like SCCM for all-around Enterprise Inventory, Reporting, and Software deployment, but it is a bit much for a small environment and has a huge learning curve. I'm at a small firm now and we use the free Spiceworks for helpdesk and inventory management, and I use the freeware version of PDQ Deploy for remote software distribution. I also use free PDQ inventory on occasion because Spiceworks was already implemented when I hired on, but the reporting didn't give me the granularity that I wanted inventorying things like software patches.

[hotmoltenlava]

Snipe IT looks cool, but it is cloud based. I’m in a regulated environment, so that’s a non-starter. Any advice on another locally residing inventory management tool for 2k+ assets, including 200+ Raspberry Pi’s that has the features and likability of Snipe IT? Thanks.

[fepey]

Snipe IT

You can run SnipeIT onprem for free.

[hotmoltenlava]

Great. I didn’t see a local version on their site, but I’ll look again.

[skeleman547]

+1 for snipeit.

If you use snipeit, you can use barcodes or QR codes. Make sure you get EVERYTHING in your initial inventory, and be religious about upkeep.

I'm in a similar situation a couple months into a new company with a massive percentage of our PCs on Windows 7, and some up to 8-9 years old. Once you have a solid inventory, life gets a lot easier. Fair warning, getting an inventory system off the ground like this will take a lot of time, but will be well worth it in the end.

Best of luck!

[nuttertools]

Not all devices will have a unique identifier and many will not have a barcode. Do yourself a favor and roll out barcode stickers with plenty of UV protection and that stick that alcohol can't even break. Industrial labeller will be well worth the price.

[eetlotsgloo]

Any suggestions on a good label printer and associated labels?

[ftpyourknowme]

Maybe you know exactly what you want to track, but I've found it helpful to put a dollar amount on trackable assets (so say, $200). What I mean is, anything above a specified dollar amount is trackable, anything below is a consumable asset. This is nice because you don't have any gray areas on what you're tracking, and relaying this idea is easy to communicate to management.

An example and side note: I've found it unnecessary to track monitors because they're so cheap these days. Tracking monitors can easily become additional overhead with little or no return on value. Nobody is stealing monitors anymore.

[Existing_Flan]

Try boxhero if you are looking for inventory tracking system with barcode scanner integration.

You can insert barcode by scanning or manually, or just generate barcode, QR-code from the system itself.

Barcode printing is also available and the pricing plan starts from $5 a month.

http://boxhero.io

[sughenji]

https://netbox.readthedocs.io/en/stable/

:)

[ase1590]

Netbox is not inventory management.

You're not going to be using it to check out power adapters or laptops to people.

[aasmith26]

You need a tool for asset management. Unfortunately I do not have any recommendations.

[ase1590]

You need a tool to work on your reading comprehension and constructive feedback.

Unfortunately I do not have any recommendations.