Asset management is the process of guiding the acquisition, use and disposal of assets to make the most of their service delivery potential and manage the related risks and costs over their entire life.

The principal objective of asset management is to enable an organisation to meet its service delivery objectives efficiently and effectively.

Effective asset management also:

• Makes the most of the service potential of assets by ensuring they are appropriately used and maintained
• Reduces the demand for new assets and saves money through demand management techniques and non-asset service delivery options
• Achieves greater value for money through economic evaluation of options that take into account life cycle, full costs and value management techniques
• Reduces unnecessary acquisition of assets by making organisations aware of, and requiring them to pay for, the full costs of holding and using assets
• Focuses attention on results by clearly assigning responsibility, accountability and reporting requirements