How Does the Assignment Process Work?

Assignment is the process of associating a hardware or software asset with an individual, a group, or both.

• Assignment to an individual (whether a machine or a person) usually indicates physical custody or responsibility. Individual assignment usually answers the question, “Where can I find this?”
• Assignment to a group usually indicates financial responsibility. Group assignment usually answers the question, “Who has budget responsibility for this?”

For items that are reconciled, Purchasing makes an entry in the appropriate machine, user, or other asset group for the item you assign to a group. For example, if you assign a machine to the accounting machine group, Purchasing will add the machine to that group if it is not already part of that group. It also adds other assets to other asset groups, and adds user-based software licenses to user groups, and machine-based software licenses to machine groups.

For items that are not yet reconciled, Purchasing will “remember” your assignment request. At the time that the software, computer, or other asset is actually reconciled, Purchasing adds the software licenses or hardware to the requested groups on your behalf.

While Purchasing will add resources to groups, it will not remove them later if, for example, they are deleted or returned from a lease. This behavior is deliberate. CAM Administrator is the primary interface used to manage group assignments, and Purchasing cannot keep track of changes to group assignments it may have made initially.