Asset Tracking Software: Buy or Build?
For example, let’s assume you are part of a pretty “tech-savvy” organization that has a few developers on staff, or you have access to developers. And, let’s also assume that your business practices are well-defined enough to allow developers, who know very little about your business’s actual day-to-day struggles, to make key decisions. If your business practices are set, do you have a product flow chart that illustrates each workflow you are going to automate is going to behave? And, do you have a complete list of triggers to be set when something happens that is not expected, planned or a workflow is used in a different way? If you have all this in place then use the calculator below to figure out what it will most likely cost for an asset tracking software build vs. buy a solution.
Asset Tracking Software: Buy vs. Build Calculator
One of the most rewarding parts of our job is showing organizations how to do more, with less. And, we have yet to meet an organization that really wants to divert internal resources to the onerous task of building software that is not part of its core offering. Think of this calculator as a best case scenario where your company resources or developers can work uninterrupted by other day-to-day tasks, holidays, PTO time, and other office distractions.
The average time for a software development time to build an inventory management system with very minimal functionality is about 60 weeks. Add about 30% more time and resources for testing, refactoring, testing again. After this, you can start to consider the maintenance needs of the hardware the platform is built on, the security updates that are required to keep your investment save from outside factors, including hackers, employee negligence, etc. This is also not including business goal changes or ideas that come up as a result of the development process. For more information on this, you can read our article on the top three reasons inventory management system rollouts fail.
Unless your business process is either very simple, or you have a very detailed plan, you may want to look into purchasing a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. Cairnstack Software, the makers of TRXio, offers custom development that can fill in the “gaps.” With lots of resources to consider when building your own solution here is an article that may be helpful as well, “What is the Best Inventory Management System?”
TRXio is a fully-managed platform with consistent and included updates for security, general program functionality and backups. Let us enhance your business by creating workflows within a proven platform and end the debate of “Buy vs. Build.”
TRXio Demo
Would you like to see a demo of TRXio? Contact us at 303-862-3000 or via e-mail. Product traceability is our business, so let us help you grow yours by removing the noise, distractions and learning curves. We will provide reliable and valuable asset tracking software for your business.