The biggest trend we see in rental software is a push to get information in the right format to the right people and let them act on it. It’s no longer about just the everyday workflow, it’s about how external conditions and data are reflected within the everyday workflow and how much you can influence the workflow itself.
For example, if your telematics data flows directly from the machine to your rental software and triggers the creation of a work order to check out an engine that’s running too hot and that sends a message to your mechanic on the road who’s got his smart phone app synced with your software then your entire business is moving incredibly efficiently.
If your customer can check out your available fleet on line, generate themselves a quote via their cell phone and confirm it, and that doesn’t even need to touch a sales person it can flow directly to your yard manager and let him pick and allocate the machine from his cell phone whilst he’s out in the yard then again your business is moving in time with your customer.
Rental software sits behind both of these examples, you still need the rental contract, the asset management, the equipment tracking, most importantly you need to get the invoice to the customer and track your revenue… but how its delivered on the ground is a much more fluid process these days. Mobile apps and the connectivity of the internet of things make it possible to have your software trigger activities in real time and follow you as things happen in the real world.
Not so long ago, your yard guys needed to take pieces of paper and clip boards into the yard, write equipment numbers on to say that something has been allocated and then they’d hand those back into an administrator to enter into your computer system. This is no longer the way it has to be! Your everyday workflow is created in real-time without the reliance on paper and pen, and without the need for crowds of administrators. This changes the whole way you look at your business and your team.
This is a trend, not everyone is in the same place for some companies this is not yet a complete reality, for other’s they’ve already delivered and are moving forward with newer technologies still. This kind of fluidity, delivering the right information in the right format to people in the yard, in the field or in the office so that they can act on it without waiting for paperwork to be processed, or data re-keyed should be a key part of any current and future business strategy.
Written by: Helen Sowerby, Director of Business Development for Wynne Systems
