At To-Increase, we are often participating in events, meeting people, and talking shop. Last week, I spoke at a rental network event as one of the attendees. Soon the topic of rental software came up on our table, and it became clear that this individual, who was a manager of an equipment rental company, was not fully aware of the benefits of syncing ERP and rental software.
According to him, you will find this combination exclusively as a ‘best of breed’ solution; you buy the best individual components and tie it together via an interface. Of course, I didn't agree with him. The benefits of integrated software are numerous.
Here are some of the leading examples I quote to customers when they ask me about the benefits of an integrated ERP-equipment rental solution:
Maintenance and Spare Part Management
Your company does the maintenance of its fleet in-house for which you require spare parts. In most instances, maintenance is scheduled regularly, and while your team will be aware of the schedule, they may not be sure who will ensure that the required spare parts are available at the same time.
These instances may frequently occur, which would mean that you need to reschedule the service of the particular fleet object. The Material Resource Planning (MRP) function in ERP helps you in this aspect.
As you must be aware, arranging spare parts for maintenance requires efforts and does not happen automatically. ERP keeps a spare parts list with the delivery times for each component. Based on the stock levels, your ERP will send an automatic notification of the spare parts required along with the timeframe to your purchase department.
Single Source of Information
The information required for management reporting often comes from different parts of the software. The data may come from rental orders, customer payments, utilization rates, and other sources.
Often, you would like to have all the data from one overview. In an integrated ERP solution where rental processes are also carried out, all information comes from a single system (database); you can easily combine the data in different ways. There is only one truth in an ERP system without the need for double entry of data.
Support for Contracts and Terms of Sale
By default, ERP has been providing excellent support for selling standard items for years. You can easily combine rental contracts with the sale of standard items. For example, you rent drilling machines with which you can combine specific drill as standard sales items in the same rental contract.
Human Resource Management
The HRM department also uses ERP functions. Commonly collected and stored information in the HRM system includes data on recruitment and selection, the discussion reports of invited candidates and assessment of your employees, etc.
The system would also have up-to-date records about the required courses and certificates that employees have taken. You can also get the information about the date for renewals for employees and send them reminders.
The data about the qualifications and certifications of your team will be useful when you need to schedule a service order along with a team that has specific skills and qualifications. In an integrated solution, you will have an immediate and complete insight into this.
How does an ERP-integrated Equipment Rental ERP Solution Help?
What you need an equipment rental ERP solution, like DynaRent, that is completely integrated and can leverage the ERP’s functionality; your rental operations become seamless. All user screens entirely follow the same logic and activities as determined by your ERP.
You will find that such an integrated rental solution can support you through all the stages of rental operations. These typically include
What is more, the update cadence of your rental solution and your ERP would be the same and this would help sync your rental and service processes. Want to learn more? Download the eBook below to learn more.
Michiel Toppers
