The logic behind the Asset Mapping
Asset mapping is the exercise of listing the major assets of a company, division or business area. It fills the asset ledger, which Weissr translates automatically into investment plans showing the investment need of a site or group of sites year by year. It is also the stepping stone to building the Base Alternative in a Capex Strategy project.
Why asset mapping matters
A completed asset ledger gives you a structured view of every major asset and, with it, a reliable understanding of what those assets are worth in total. More importantly, Weissr uses the ledger to generate investment plans automatically, laying out future investment needs across the timeline rather than leaving you to assemble them by hand.
Two principles before you start
Focus on assets with a replacement value above roughly 0.5 to 1 million €/£/$. Smaller capex is captured separately, as an additional sum calculated as a percentage of the gross asset value each year.
Assume your current products, and the way they are produced, stay the same in the future.
The three questions
Work through the mapping one site at a time. Every asset goes through the same three questions.
When was the current asset installed?
Entered in Weissr as In Use Year.
Precision is not critical. Within five years of reality is close enough not to affect the end result. What matters is knowing whether an asset dates from the 1970s or the 1990s.
If the original asset was replaced at some point, enter the installation year of the replacement.
How much would it cost to replace the asset today?
Entered in Weissr as Amount.
Ask what it would cost to buy the same asset again, piece for piece. A figure within 500 000 €/£/$ is reliable enough.
Comparability matters more than accuracy. The replacement value of an asset at one site should be reasonable next to the value of a similar asset at another site.
When is the asset due to be replaced or refurbished?
Entered in Weissr as Repl. Year.
Every asset has a life cycle, called Standard Life in Weissr, at the end of which it must be replaced or substantially refurbished. This question establishes when the next investment falls.
Unlike the first two questions, accuracy counts here. Being correct within two years keeps the resulting outlays reliable.
💡 Tip: If part of an asset will be replaced earlier than the rest, create a replacement asset for that part and treat it as stand-alone, with its own replacement value subtracted from the asset it belonged to.
The "as is going concern" principle
Once the three questions are answered for every asset, the mapping is nearly complete. What remains is to review the resulting outlays and confirm they follow the as is going concern principle. This matters because the Base Alternative has to describe the business continuing as it is, with no strategic changes baked in. Anything speculative that slips in here will distort every comparison you make later.
Outlays for an asset should include:
capex for safety issues and environmental regulations over time
capex for the maintenance the current equipment needs over time
capex for upgrades that keep quality just high enough to satisfy the current customer base and stay competitive
capex already decided upon at the time of the exercise
Outlays should exclude:
any speculative capex for expanding production, whether capacity or volumes
📌 Note: This describes asset mapping from the standpoint of a typical Weissenrieder & Co. Capex Strategy project, where the as is going concern principle is what makes the later steps hold together. Nothing forces you to follow these restrictions, and you can use the asset mapping feature in whatever way suits your own needs.