Truck and bus manufacturer Volvo is considering using radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging to track equipment in its warehouses.

The company has already worked with Nokia to test RFID tracking of automotive parts through its supply chain, and could now use the technology to track IT assets such as computers.

‘RFID could be something quite big for us at Volvo in terms of all the equipment that is around,’ said Andy Alder, European account manager at Volvo’s information technology group.

‘We are also buying in huge numbers of PCs, which we pre-configure and put on the shelf, so that they are ready to go. RFID tagging could help track them.’

Volvo IT, the division that provides technology services to various parts of the organisation and to other businesses including Skandia, is offering additional asset management services to its customers.

The group is working with Centennial Software to track IT assets inside Volvo Truck and Bus Centres in the UK. It is using the supplier’s Discovery product to monitor and audit 600 devices across the 20-site network.

‘Mechanics now walk up and plug laptops into vehicles to see what is up with them. But a lot of things move around the business and it is hard to track what is out there,’ said Alder.

Volvo IT says it has reduced clients’ technology investment and IT administration costs by using Centennial’s network discovery software to locate and map all hardware and software on the computer network.

‘We managed to carry out a full hardware and software audit of more than 600 devices in three days. Straightaway we reduced spend because we knew exactly what was out there,’ said Alder.

Volvo IT also uses Centennial’s auditing technology, provided by asset management consultancy CTMS, to track software licences owned by its customer, Nationwide Accident Repair Services.

The technology provides Nationwide with reports of all of the software licences for more than 1,000 desktops at 70 sites across the UK, ensuring compliance with rules set out by the Federation Against Software Theft.