Asset Visibility Is Your New Superpower in a Tariff-Constrained Economy

The announcement of tariffs under the recent Trump Administration has businesses, especially those in capital-intensive industries, facing a complex landscape. The situation is a mix of uncertainty and contemplation about what will happen next. With the new taxes in place, construction managers are wondering how and to what extent are costs going to increase? 

The cost of importing machinery, spare parts, and industrial equipment is expected to increase significantly due to a series of new trade policies. For growing construction companies like yours, it only means one thing: The assets you own right now are perhaps your most valuable resources. 

However, there’s one pressing problem. So far, most businesses have been playing blind without any concrete asset management system in place. A common practice for tracking equipment has been either using a slow, error-prone slog through spreadsheets or disparate, legacy systems that don’t talk to each other. 

Relying on outdated data from siloed systems has left companies in the dark. They’ve been operating primarily on instincts without precise knowledge about what they have, where it is, and what condition it’s in. 

Tariffs are changing the way you manage equipment 

Notably, the U.S. has imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, directly impacting the price of construction materials and equipment. Additionally, a 20% tariff on all imports from China further strains the supply chain for essential components. 

All these costs piled up are just going to make it challenging for construction businesses to achieve the desired lead time. With lead times stretching as far as months, this can leave many projects running dry, clients dissatisfied, and money left on the table. 

The logical thing for companies to do right now is to shift from investing in capital expenditures (CapEx) to monitoring their operating expenses (OpEx). This means focusing on optimizing the equipment you already own rather than purchasing new equipment. 

But here’s the catch: A focus on OpEx requires real-time visibility into asset condition, lifecycle, location, and usage, which most businesses don’t have. 

That being said, it’s not entirely impossible to achieve, and that’s what we’re going to explore next. 

Visibility into your resources is your new superpower. It’s time to take control of what you own and use it to your advantage. 

Let’s dive deeper into how asset visibility can be a game-changer for you in a tariff-constrained economy! 

Construction Sites Can’t Afford to Fly Blind

Construction projects are fast-paced, deadline-driven and heavily reliant on the availability of heavy equipment. Even a single missing generator can stall an entire jobsite pushing back timelines, piling up labor costs and creating havoc on the project site. In short, poor visibility translates to daily operational chaos. 

If you don’t know what you’ve lost, you won’t be able to find it or even purchase a replacement. Here’s how poor visibility hurts construction teams specifically:

• Idle equipment = idle crews: When a generator is missing or a skid steer is sitting at the wrong site, work stalls. Delayed projects mean you have to pay more wages to labor per day which drives up the whole budget.
  
• Overlapping rentals:  Without real-time knowledge of who has what, teams end up double-booking or renting equipment they already own.
  
• Lost tools and gear:  Manual tracking can be inaccurate and takes time to be updated. While finishing up a project it’s very easy to miss out on a few tools that were far from sight. From power drills to high-value surveying equipment, tool loss on job sites is rampant—and expensive.
  
• Maintenance surprises: Proper upkeep of heavy machinery requires a robust maintenance schedule. Lack of proactive insight into asset condition or service history can lead to breakdowns without warning causing delays, productivity halts and sky high repair costs. 

What does asset visibility actually mean? And why is it a game changer? 

Real-time visibility into your fleet can boost productivity by 25% and reduce operating costs by 10-15%. That’s exactly what you need to fight the tariff burnout. 

By definition, asset visibility means having comprehensive knowledge of all the assets you own, use, or manage.. This is especially vital for high-ticket heavy equipment such as excavators, cranes, pile drivers, or tunnel boring machines, etc., that cost companies a fortune to acquire and manage. 

Knowing the following details goes a long way in keeping your costs low:

• Asset ownership: Who owns the asset, and how often is it changing hands? 
• Frequency of use: Is the asset just catching dust in the warehouse, or is it being used till it’s worn out? 
• Asset condition: Are there any visible signs of damage such as dents, scratches, corrosion, cracks, or leaks? How close are critical components to the end of their expected lifespan?

However, it’s not just about tracking; the real superpower of asset visibility in a tariff-impacted world is taking one step further and using it to drive strategic awareness for better decision-making. 

Reliable asset information can empower your fleet managers to make data-driven decisions. For instance, data on the condition of your assets can help you decide whether a good service cycle can improve performance and delay replacement for a couple of years, thereby saving you in CapEx. 

Complete visibility into the frequency of use can help you spot which assets are costing more money on repair and maintenance without doing much work. You can get rid of idle equipment by selling it  at salvage value and  save money to buy the ones you’ll actually reap more ROI out of. 

Simply put, asset visibility can help you cut costs by providing insights to reallocate your current resources for maximum utilization – a key competitive edge you need to thrive in an economy subject to  tariffs. 

5 practical ways asset visibility can save you more money in 2025 

If you often struggle with misplaced equipment on construction sites and end up renting or purchasing more just because you couldn’t locate the backhoe that’s sitting two miles away from your site, then asset visibility can be your biggest game-changer. 

It  can help solve  your asset management problems while saving you money at the same time. 

Here are five ways  accurate asset visibility with the help of asset management software can minimize your capital and operating expenses and make you more tariff resilient. 

1. Eliminating duplicate purchases 

You know how expensive construction equipment is. Especially with tariffs skyrocketing, you cannot afford to buy a new machine unless there’s a pressing need for it. 

Your best bet is to rely on an asset management system that maintains a real-time record of all the equipment you own. 

This way, you can easily identify which assets are nearing the end of their lifecycle and replace only those when applicable. 

2. Managing asset allocation

It’s pretty common to check out heavy equipment to foremen from one site to another in the construction industry. This way, when the equipment is no longer needed, it won’t be lingering on the project site. 

Unused equipment at the project site can get damaged or, even worse, forgotten about altogether. Equipment managers can use a dedicated asset visibility software to re-assign assets to new job sites when they are no longer needed on the previous ones. 

3. Strategic planning for repair or replace decisions

Keeping in mind the tariffs imposed on new equipment, it’s time to revise your procurement strategies. Conduct an inventory of all your existing equipment and evaluate where they stand on the repair versus replace spectrum. 

Can a bunch of regular maintenance sessions help get a machine back to work? If yes, then don’t buy a new one. Invest in proactive maintenance strategies to ensure your equipment gives the maximum benefit throughout its lifecycle. 

4. Smart scheduling to avoid surprise breakdowns on the job

Heavy machinery and equipment need a robust maintenance plan to function correctly without any unexpected breakdowns. The cost of repairing a breakdown is much more than preventive maintenance sessions. 

Another aspect where asset visibility can help you save money is having clear insights into the performance cycle of your fleet. 

You can use the built-in calendar of your asset management system to schedule preventive maintenance sessions for your equipment between projects. 

It has been found that companies with equipment tracking and visibility experience a 23% reduction in downtime and improved utilization by 19%. 

5. Minimizing equipment theft and loss between sites

A dedicated asset management platform has built-in modules to track equipment ownership at any time. This is something that can be very useful to control equipment changing hands in the field or between project sites. 

Research shows that nearly 90% of construction companies have faced delays in work due to asset or vehicle theft. That’s something that stems from a lack of visibility into ownership. You must certainly avoid it. 

As a fleet manager, you can simply check out equipment under a construction worker’s name and have them sign after it’s received. 

You can even verify custody in case there are any doubts regarding asset possession. A transparent process regarding asset use can help minimize losses, thereby saving costs spent on expensive rentals or replacements. 

How  EZO gives you true asset intelligence 

Invest in an asset management system to store information about all your assets. Having all asset-related data on a centralized platform will give you automated updates on asset visibility at all times. 

EZO is a physical asset management tool designed to provide you with visibility into site equipment in real-time. Whether your equipment is out in the field or down for maintenance, EZO documents it all. 

Here are the top 5 features of EZO that can empower your crews with true asset visibility.

1. Barcode/QR tracking

EZO creates barcode labels for all assets so that the relevant information can be scanned and updated in the system. Anytime a site worker wants to take an excavator out for use, they simply have to scan the barcode, and it will be checked out against their name. 

You can even record which location a certain asset is being used at to maintain traceability and minimize the chances of lost items. 

2. Mobile check-ins/checkouts 

A majority of construction companies note the loss of equipment in the field due to a lack of tools to record ownership. EZO comes with a user-friendly mobile app that enables crew members in the field to check out and check-in items in just a few clicks. 

Any breakdowns can be instantly reported on the app to speed up maintenance and prevent unnecessary delays in construction. This helps maintain accountability and a trail of ownership as your fleet moves hands. 

3. Reservation workflows

Double bookings can slow down your jobsite and cause confusion (perhaps even conflict) among foremen trying to book the same skid steer. EZO offers an easy-to-use equipment reservation portal that your crew can use to book equipment beforehand to avoid any last-minute conflicts. 

4. Usage history logs 

The best way to optimize equipment usage is to track its performance over time. This practice helps track the return on equipment, flag any untimely breakdowns, and manage depreciation. EZO provides an action-by-action history log for every asset owned by your business. 

All this data can be used as a snapshot to make decisions regarding procurement, maintenance, and replacement of equipment, based on factual information. 

5. Smart asset alerts

EZO provides alerts and email notifications for anything and everything, so you never miss out on a critical update. It can be an asset requiring a verification, maintenance session, or just a simple approval– you will have an email in your inbox telling you exactly what you need to do. 

Smart alerts are designed to improve response time and send reminders whenever an asset action is due. 

EZO x AX Construction : Minimizing item loss with powerful asset visibility 

AX Construction now has complete visibility into more than 2,000 tools and heavy equipment, from its equipment yard all the way to its job sites. Looking for tools is 5x times easier with EZO, with improved productivity and accountability. Read the full story. 

Leverage asset visibility to beat rising tariffs

While external factors such as tariffs are not usually under the business’s control, asset visibility is. Invest in asset intelligence tools to get your hands on real-time information to drive decisions. 

Focus on preventive maintenance, ownership tracking, and lifecycle management to get the maximum return on your investments. 

It’s just going to take a few simple adjustments to get your resources allocated in the correct way to save costs, optimize usage, and grow in the right direction.

“Want to see how EZO helps companies save thousands by managing what they already own better? Sign up for a free trial.”