---
sourceDocument: Australia Asset Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/it-asset-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Asset Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itam

bundleId :

    - itam

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Asset groups

# Asset groups in Enterprise Asset Management {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Australia
* 
* Updated March 12, 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 minutes to read

Asset groups in the Enterprise Asset Management application provide a systematic approach to organizing assets based on their functional relationships and their physical placement within an organization. They can help improve data integrity and
support maintenance planning, life-cycle tracking, reporting, and access control.

## Organization of assets in Enterprise Asset Management {#asset-groups-eam__section_ost_drb_2fc}

In the Enterprise Asset Management application, assets are organized through the following hierarchy types:

* Location hierarchy: Hierarchy that defines the physical locations of your assets, organized based on the real-world location structure of those assets. This hierarchy enables location-based filtering, maintenance routing, and reporting.
* Asset groups: Logical groupings of related assets and subgroups. Each asset group represents a functional system, process, or department within your organization.
* Asset structure: Hierarchy that defines the parent-child relationships between assets. This hierarchy can help you complete work on your assets, plan spare parts, and track your asset life cycles.
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## Overview of asset groups {#asset-groups-eam__section_znm_2n1_3jc}

An asset group is a logical grouping of assets. Each asset group can have multiple subgroups; however, a subgroup can belong to only one asset group. An asset can belong to multiple groups.

For details on creating asset groups and subgroups, see [Create an asset group in Enterprise Asset Management](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/uFZd_REAZJ2O15c8EHugog "Create asset groups to create a logical group of entities that includes assets, locations, and users.") and [Create an asset subgroup in Enterprise Asset Management](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/kCCy9VVAnKIg2fst94p9Bg "Create a subgroup to add child asset groups to an asset group."). For details on adding assets to asset groups, see [Add assets to an asset group or subgroup](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Ixqtd9CxNEy6_Y0SEilc9w "Add existing assets to an asset group or a subgroup.").  
Note:  
A subgroup inherits some fields from its parent group. For details on the fields that get inherited, see [Fields inherited from a parent asset group to a sub group](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/tLLFTCDsrXCun1jh82PzjQ "A list of all the fields that are inherited from the parent asset group to a subgroup.").

## Sites in asset groups {#asset-groups-eam__section_q2s_ndd_4fc}

A site is an ISA-95 hierarchical entity model. Sites are organized in a hierarchical structure, with site being the top-level entity, followed by area, work center, and work unit.  
You can associate an asset group to a site. This association enables all CIs that are associated with that specific site to also associate with the asset group.  
Note:  
Only assets from the associated site and its specific location can be added to the asset group.

For details on creating sites, see [Create a site in the Enterprise Asset Management application](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/ERoxXrXaOG0mgFIihKVcGg "Create a site for asset groups in the Enterprise Asset Management application.").

## Service instances and asset groups {#asset-groups-eam__section_nqq_bp1_3jc}

An asset group or subgroup can optionally reference a service instance to pull all related assets from a chosen node in the given CI hierarchy. A subgroup can reference a service instance only if its parent group references
one.

## Considerations for asset groups {#asset-groups-eam__section_xx3_cmx_jfc}

Keep the following considerations in mind for asset groups:

* An asset group can't contain itself as a subgroup.
* An asset group can't have a model or model category, as it's a separate entity.
* An asset group can't be deleted if it contains subgroups or assets. To delete an asset group, the sn_eam.enterprise_asset_manager or the sn_eam.enterprise_admin role must first remove any subgroups and assets from the asset group.
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## Considerations for adding assets to asset groups {#asset-groups-eam__section_qrn_kdq_jfc}

Keep the following considerations in mind while adding assets to asset groups:

* You can add only assets without a parent.
* You can add only hardware and enterprise assets. You can't add any consumable assets, linear assets, linear segments, or pallet assets.
* Assets must be in the same location as the asset group or in a descendent location.
* Asset must be in the In use or In maintenance state.
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## Considerations for asset groups in Enterprise Asset Management flows and capabilities {#asset-groups-eam__section_l1p_dqc_qfc}

Asset groups are unavailable in the following Enterprise Asset Management flows and capabilities:

* Asset resale flow
* Transfer order line management
* Repair order line management
* Disposal order management
* Shipment asset creation
* Contract management
* Move order management
* Any flow where the asset requires a model
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## Plugin dependencies for asset groups {#asset-groups-eam__section_jks_msb_2fc}

Asset groups require the sn_isa_model plugin, which is automatically installed with the Enterprise Asset Management application.