As with most businesses, rental companies require proactive communication between departments to operate effectively. And while the widespread adoption of rental equipment software has served to automate some of these communications, a divide exists between those who always have access to said software and those who don’t.
Away from any desktop and out of range from all Wi-Fi, yard personnel often interact with a computer only intermittently over the course of a day. In addition, yard staff commonly rely on paper processes to log equipment returns. These two factors can often result in un-synchronized data between the yard and the office.
This blog aims to highlight three critical ways how data disconnects impact rental companies and their bottom lines.
Reduced Equipment Utilization
As mentioned previously, yard personnel often log asset returns onto paper forms. In order for those returns to be reflected in any software, the data from those forms needs to be manually entered in. Unfortunately, due to data entry delays, assets ready for rent can be erroneously marked as unavailable for days or even weeks. Such disconnects can drag down equipment utilization while affected rental companies are completely unaware.
Costly Corrections and Double Work
In essence, out of sync is inaccurate data. And in business, whenever an error is discovered, it’s up to someone to fix it. This axiom especially holds true for operations in the rental industry. When a seemingly on-rent piece of equipment has actually been returned for days, some unlucky soul has to mark the correct status and communicate the change across all departments. In addition to be frustrating, taking the time to resolve issues that arise from out of sync data can cost significant amounts of time.
Operational Confusion
Out of sync data can make even the most organized rental operations teams falter. Cooperation across departments is a crucial element of rental company success, and when one side believes they are waiting on the other, confusion and frustration are bound to erupt. Such conflicts can delay overall operational efficiency and even negatively impact customer experiences in some cases.
While the problems outlined above are definitely causes for concern, it’s important to remember that they can be prevented. By empowering yard personnel with a mobile solution that directly synchronizes with their company’s rental equipment software, data obtained in the yard can be immediately across the entire organization. In addition to completely eliminating the need for data entry, this approach completely eliminates out of sync data from ever being an issue.
