The rental department of equipment dealers has an important contribution to the operating result, but at the same time it is also one of the most challenging departments to manage successfully. Only with the right business processes, supported by complete rental management software, can you get the most out of your rental department.
The market demands flexibility
When renting equipment, almost nothing is certain. The period of rental, the use of the equipment and the required configuration and parts: it can be unclear or change over time. But only if you can handle that uncertainty and are flexible enough to adapt to unique requirements and changing circumstances will you be able to provide a competitive rental solution. A few practical examples:
- A customer thinks he wants to rent a tower crane for two months, but his project runs out and it ends up being four months.
- A customer wants to rent a forklift with a lifting capacity of 8 tons. You don't have the lift trucks that meet this requirement, but you do have heavy lift trucks available that can lift more than 10 tons. Do you have this clear in your system and can you offer the customer this option?
- A customer expects to use an excavator only on well-traveled terrain. During the rental period, the customer also wants to use the excavator on heavy, difficult terrain and therefore needs additional attributes. Can you modify the rental contract incl. processes such as transportation and invoicing?
And so there are plenty of examples where the flexibility and adaptability of your rental department are put to the test. Good automation is then a must have.
"You need a dealer management system specifically designed to support equipment dealers in managing all their business processes."
Rental software that caters to all facets
Good rental software helps you with, among other things:
- Planning: Which properties are available for lease? Which have been leased and when will they return? Is hiring from a third party necessary? Are the composition and capacity of the rental fleet optimal?
- Pricing and billing: What do you charge per day, per week and per month? Do you have surcharges for insurance, for example? Do you take into account different rates for certain days, clients or objects? And how and when do you invoice this? Do you need to make corrections to invoices? Can you send a collective invoice? And to which branch?
- Transportation: Do you handle the delivery and pickup of rental items? Or does a transportation company do this? How do you pass on these costs?
- Service: Do you perform inspections and service calls before and/or after the rental period? Do you need to clean the objects? What do you do with damage and repairs? Have you established service agreements? Have you coordinated service planning with rental planning?
- History: What has happened to the rental property in the past? What are the revenues and costs? What parts have been replaced? Where has the object been?
If reading these questions leads to stress for your hiring manager, it's time to take business processes and automation to the next level.
Rental software as part of your dealer management system
The mentioned facets of rental software show how much this department is connected to the rest of the company. Planning, finance, transportation, service, administration, as well as parts and sales. You need a dealer management system specifically designed to support equipment dealers in managing all their business processes. By focusing on the equipment and understanding the complete lifecycle of your objects, you get a complete picture of your equipment and your business, allowing you to make the best decisions.
