How we save time, money, and headaches assigning equipment to employees

As a recycling, mining, and composting wholesaler, our company needs to distribute a lot of gear for employees to perform their jobs. Keeping track of all the personal protective equipment, uniforms, radios, lockers, and keys to different buildings across our 112 team members was a  constant headache. Here’s how we made it easy.

The problem: Misplaced company inventory

We used to keep track of all the company inventory we lent employees on paper, which was pretty chaotic. Sometimes, we forgot to write down whether uniforms were sent and received. Other times, radios we assigned went missing. It was hard to track all the assets going in and out, make sure we got everything back when people left the company, and access the physical files whenever we spotted any issues. This lack of visibility into who had our assets and when they had it made it tricky to control inventory costs. 

The solution: Automated tracking

Now, we use Rippling to automatically track whether every piece of company inventory gets assigned, received, and returned. Here’s how: 

Step 1: Create new custom fields

In the “Data Manager” section of Rippling’s settings, we set up custom fields for the different types of assets employees get. For instance, with the radios we assign, we insert fields for the radio’s serial number, brand, locker number, and combination number into an employee’s profile.

This way, employees can log into their Rippling accounts and instantly see their company inventory information.

Step 2: Use “document rules” to auto-send company inventory use forms

Next, we distribute company inventory forms automatically for employees to sign and confirm receipt. We set up a “document rule” that auto-sends these documents to employees as soon as we assign the assets in step one. The system also prompts employees to sign the documents. And since we have a lot of Spanish-speaking employees, these forms are readily available in two languages. 

As an admin, I can see who we sent these documents to and whether employees signed them. And I can run a bulk action to send reminders to anyone who hasn’t signed. 

Step 3: Run reports to track company inventory

Once we’ve assigned assets and sent forms, we can use Rippling’s reporting features to easily monitor who has each asset. For instance, I can pull in every radio custom field and immediately generate an entire report on incoming employees who need a new radio and outgoing employees who need to return old ones. I can also filter the data by department, active employees, terminated employees, and more.

We can also set granular permissions for which administrators and managers have access to the reports.

The impact

Taking our company inventory forms out of scattered filing cabinets and into an automated system like Rippling saved us time, money, and headaches. 

Time saved

Our documents and company inventory info are in a more accessible place. Now that we have immediate knowledge of who has our personal protective equipment, radios, keys, uniforms, and other property, we spend less time keeping track of everything. We also don’t need to burn time manually sending out forms. And employees can see what they’re assigned, sign documents, and reference policies from a single dashboard. We have fewer team meetings going over administrative to-dos and focus more on training our employees. 

Cost control

Losing assets, or failing to get it back when an employee leaves the company, is costly. With Rippling, fewer items go missing or unreturned. Now that we have more visibility over who has our company inventory, we are better controlling inventory costs and avoiding burning cash to replace lost items. 

Enhanced accountability

When we assign employees assets, we automatically send a dated document with reference numbers, locker numbers, and snippets of our company policy that outline what happens if employees don’t return anything. Rippling created a digital accountability system we never had before that keeps employees and managers on the same page.