Picking the right equipment rental solution isn’t an easy feat. There are plenty of solutions out there so how are you meant to find the ideal one? Well, you should start thinking about what your business actually needs from the solution and that starts with the features.
Here are 12 to look out for.
1. Project planning
In a rental operation, it’s important to have an overview of all the equipment, the times the rental periods end and when the next rental transactions begin.
2. Collaboration
Allow your whole team to collaborate through tasks, notes and comments that are easy to share.
3. Smart and quick quotation
A system that can help you smartly divine the customer’s dealings with your company and quickly build a quotation to close the deal.
4. Communication management
Your rental solution should enable you to easily communicate with customers and other stakeholders to ensure that all the information is updated.
5. Cloud-based
A cloud-based solution would add to the positive impacts of your rental solution, making it easy to use, update and be device-independent.
6. Business intelligence
Industry-specific business intelligence specific is another important aspect that you should look into when it comes to a rental solution. This helps you learn about market trends, gain insights into the competition and have a clearer look into your business.
7. Up-to-date information
Many people are working to ensure that the rental operations run smoothly and cross-team collaboration (such as sharing of task schedules, notes and updates) gives them the necessary tools to do just that.
8. Inventory management
Keep track of all the equipment in terms of availability, the movements, the location, and the service, maintenance and repairs.
9. Team management and communication
Look for a feature that allows you to communicate with your team and track their movement so you can schedule deliveries and pickups more efficiently.
10. Comprehensive and centralised
You need a solution that helps you tackle all aspects of your rental operation in one place.
11. Support
This one is less about the actual solution and more about the vendor you purchase it from. As well as looking into the solution, also consider the vendor. When you work with a solution provider who has a good team of experts, implementation, deployment and ongoing support becomes easier.
12. Location tracking
Look for a solution that allows you to keep tabs on the movement of the equipment. This helps you to plan transportation, reduce the likelihood of theft and more.
Features are one aspect. But there’s more…
Finding a solution that ticks all your boxes in terms of features is a great first start. The next questions you should be asking are:
- How will this solution will fit into your existing business processes and systems?
- What problems is your business experiencing and what are your ideal outcomes?
- How will the solution plug those gaps?
Of course, these aren’t the only questions. We cover even more in our guide, which you can access below if you’d like to discover how you can find the right equipment rental solution.