Great American Group, a leading provider of asset disposition, valuation and appraisal services,  launched GA Trax – a new system that helps companies manage their equipment, machinery and other assets located at multiple sites.

The software system was initially developed for in-house use by Great American Group to store information on assets that could be easily assembled when it came time for their sale or liquidation, according to Marc Musitano, Great American Group Chief Operating Officer, Machinery & Equipment Appraisal Division.
 
“We basically created a software platform to facilitate the identification of our client’s equipment, where the information could be stored and accessed when equipment was ready to be sold,” Musitano said. “Since then, we’ve added several other attributes beyond basic asset identification based on our clients’ needs.”
 
GA Trax provides the following capabilities:

• Asset Identification – Provides facility audit and inventory reporting functions that allow companies to gain greater visibility into the manufacturing or inventory base, creating easier reconciliation of installed or stored assets.

• Appraisal and Valuation – Allows companies to identify the current value of equipment, whether for asset-based loans, leasing, boot collateral financing, tax purposes or international transfers, with ease. GA Trax can be applied to machinery and equipment, real estate, intellectual property, retail/wholesale/industrial inventories, financial reporting, and tax and advisory services.

• Asset Redeployment – Should a company need to close a facility or relocate equipment from one site to another, GA Trax tracks all fixed assets to make the process easier. Companies have more control over the redeployment process, and can also avoid purchasing new equipment that might be idle in another facility.

• Record Maintenance – With the ability to manage and record maintenance activity on a single system, GA Trax can be used to set up maintenance schedules for each fixed asset and also generate email reminders when service is due.

• Asset Disposition – GA Trax provides a variety of methods to sell or repurpose surplus or idle assets and inventory, using Great American Group’s appraisal expertise to extract the maximum value for the asset.

“For example, GA Trax is currently being used by a pharmaceutical firm that purchased a like company and is liquidating duplicate assets,” said Great American Group Vice President Danny Levene. “Companies with a loss prevention department, and others that rent equipment or vehicles, are showing a high interest in the system as well. It has many applications, all of which help companies run their businesses more effectively if they have multiple locations and many assets to manage.”

In addition, individual colleges within a California university system are currently using GA Trax and have found the system very useful in assisting with asset management and redeployment efforts. GA Trax is currently offered as a fee-based subscription service. “Once we identify their assets and load the information into the system, it’s basically a pay-as-you-go service,” Levene said.