The equipment rental business is changing. Years ago, customers had no choice but to look up your business in the yellow pages and come by your store, warehouse, or garage to find out if you had the equipment they needed and if it was available.
How things have changed! Customers now have choices. They can google “equipment rental” and find numerous outlets for what they need. They can contact you online, through email, or via your website. They can call you from on the job or on the road, or they can still stop by if you have a retail outlet.
As with many other sectors, there is also a shift in the kind of service customers expect. Not only do they want more rental options, but they also want more variety of equipment to rent. And of course, they expect you to provide better service and support. The one common thread running through all these changes is the underlying dependence on technology to run your rental business and the need for innovative thinking.
Successful equipment rental companies can capitalize on these expectations by having the right equipment rental software to automate and expedite their business processes, keep ahead of customer demand, allow for collaboration with third-party entities, and increase efficiency and profitability.
So how do you choose the best equipment rental software for your company? Here are what we consider “must have” features:
1. Software bundles designed specifically for equipment rental organizations
The equipment rental industry is complex, and an out-of-the box solution may not do enough for you. As a first step, the solution you choose should have industry-specific templates. That way, you’ll have the basis for adapting the software to your organization’s needs. Training processes can be standardized for greater efficiency. Some solutions focus on the management of lifecycle services. Your company should choose a software solution where the vendor has combined advanced technology with the pre-configured packages to ensure quicker deployment.
2. Flexibility to adapt to your organization’s needs
As we mentioned at the outset, the equipment rental industry is constantly in motion. Consequently, while this sector demands robust solutions, they also need the option to be flexible when required. While such features as quote-to-invoice or asset management are essential, you should also be able to add mobility or move to different online channels when required. Perhaps you’ll want to collaborate with Independent Software Vendors (ISV), increase your offerings, or add new locations. It may be hard to predict what demands will arise, and your software solution must be able to support potential changes. You need a solution such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, which is an open platform supporting modular offerings. That means that the foundation is stable, but it offers possibilities for change and adaptation without disruption to your business.
3. Focus on innovation without compromising security
If yours is an equipment rental company, your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution will house a volume of sensitive information about your processes, your finances, your employees, partners, vendors, and clients. All of these entities require a high level of security. And the security aspect will have to go together with ease of role-relevant information sharing. Integration with all your other business software and processes must also work seamlessly.
What you need is a solution that rates high on all these aspects: flexibility, well-designed templates that are industry-relevant, structured access, and security. Based on the functionality of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, DynaRent’s equipment rental software enables rental agencies to work with focused, proactive insight using structured data collections that target industry-specific, equipment-driven needs. DynaRent is future-facing software tailored to your business. It contains the business intelligence tools your company needs and brings the benefits of the Cloud to the rental industry.
If you’d like to know more about how Microsoft Dynamics 365 and DynaRent software can benefit your equipment rental business, contact our experts at Western Computer.
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