A Practical Approach to Ensure EAM Excellence

In today’s complex and dynamic environment, achieving success in asset management requires more than simply deploying a new EAM software. Organizations often benefit from strategic and tactical guidance on implementing or refining an asset management program if they want to improve operations, reduce risk, and provide greater financial visibility. This gap is why TRM leverages a structured, phased approach for accelerating asset management program implementation that embeds 30 years of scalable best practices and keeps improvements tied to measurable business outcomes. Without a foundational strategy, a technology-led approach can increase risk and mount delays—contributing to the reality that roughly 70% of enterprise software projects fail to meet their objectives.

From Technology Deployment to Strategic Partnership

Shifting the requirement from an EAM software implementation to tangible improvements in an organizational asset management program is a need increasingly emphasized by industry leaders. While many organizations focus on implementing EAM software as a technical milestone, the real value lies in how it reshapes asset management practices. As McKinsey puts it:

“Asset managers face a significant challenge: Their technological setups no longer support their ability to enable growth, meet client needs and regulatory requirements, or satisfy their appetite for risk…Firms that embrace a digital-first operating model can unlock significant value, improve client experience, and future-proof their business…Technology transformations could enhance and centralize operations while delivering value to IT and business.”

Many organizations pursue this technology-led project approach because it promises immediate efficiency—faster deployment, reduced upfront costs, and less time spent on lengthy planning cycles. This approach can feel practical when budgets are tight, and pressure to deliver quick results is high. However, the limitations of this decision often emerge later as organizations are unable to extract actionable high-quality data to improve asset performance or reduce lifecycle costs. Without a broader strategy that ties asset management practices to business outcomes, organizations will discover that technology alone cannot deliver sustainable value. By the time this gap becomes clear, they are often forced to re-implement or significantly re-engineer their asset management platforms—adding unexpected costs and delays—in order to achieve the long-term ROI that a strategy-driven approach would have provided from the start. 

Lasting success in asset management is guided by a clear roadmap that defines progression through phases of maturity. Successful organizations advance from building foundational asset and work management capabilities that help them standardize processes and data, to more sophisticated practices such as condition-based monitoring and capital forecasting. This phased approach keeps efforts focused, actionable, and aligned with organizational priorities.  

In a recent assessment of asset intensive organizations, we found that significant weaknesses in asset management practices, only 40-65% have clear roles, 35 to 50% lack PM program confidence and digital adoption, 48% see frequent data gaps and 55% lack full compliance or robust reporting. 

Pre-Configured with Best-Practice Processes 

TRM’s approach includes an implementation methodology based on a standardized, knowledge-driven framework rooted in recognized global asset management standards such as ISO 55000, Institute of Asset Management (IAM) and the Global Forum of Maintenance & Asset Management (GFMAM). These standards establish a common language, principles, and requirements that enable organizations to align asset management practices with overall business objectives. By adopting these principles, organizations gain a structured foundation for decision-making, risk management, lifecycle planning, and continuous improvement. This ensures that asset management is not just a technical function but an integrated business discipline that supports long-term value creation, sustainability, and stakeholder confidence. 

Our approach also includes pilot-ready EAM software configurations for critical activities such as work management, materials management, and procure-to-pay. These pre-configured models embody the core elements of the global best practice standards for asset management. By reducing the need for intensive process design, application configurations and training documentation development, organizations can realize value faster while avoiding unnecessary complexity. 

Practical Tools and Accelerators 

To enhance the EAM software, our approach also incorporates tangible accelerators and add-on enhancements that can help clients address a multitude of data, process and organizational challenges. 

Accelerators are used to transform base EAM software packages from a robust EAM system into a fully integrated, user-friendly, and forward-looking platform. They speed up deployment (ex. automated configuration testing), drive adoption (ex. rules automation and scripting), optimize daily operations (ex. predictive maintenance and asset health), and support strategic planning (ex. capital management, inventory optimization, AI), giving organizations greater reliability, lower costs, and measurable ROI. 

These tools refine and fuse day-to-day processes with best-in-class EAM software to provide visibility and accountability. The result is not just a software rollout but a foundation for sustainable operational improvement.  

Building and Sustaining the Business Case 

Asset management initiatives gain support when based on a business case linking efforts to strategic goals and financial realities. Industry benchmarks, our project experience, and the client’s insight into areas for improvement strengthen this case. A prioritization framework helps allocate resources to the highest-value projects and maintain transparency throughout the transformation. Demonstrating ROI—through cost savings, productivity gains, and reduced risk—is essential for stakeholder support and long-term success.  

A Structured Path to Value 

By integrating business alignment, industry best practices, and phased implementation planning, organizations can set realistic expectations and establish a reliable path to value. Transparency and discipline at each step strengthen stakeholder confidence and ensure adoption. 

Asset management excellence is therefore not about technology. It is about a structured, knowledge-centered transformation—powered by industry accepted best practices, practical accelerators, and clear roadmaps—that enables faster time to value for ongoing asset and capital management success. 

Take the Next Steps 

If you want to learn more about the difference that a more strategic approach to asset management can make, please download our recent analysis of a survey on the best practices of asset intensive organizations that differentiate them from their peers. Read the report here.

Take the assessment now to get a data-driven view of your maintenance strategy and uncover hidden gaps affecting reliability, productivity, and costs. 

If you are ready to take the first step, you can schedule a consultation today with our experts to learn how we can help you migrate, upgrade, or implement your EAM solution while optimizing costs, scope, and timelines. Email us at askTRM@trmnet.com or click this link and find out more.