Navigating the Transition to New Rental Management Software: A Proven Approach

A common refrain we hear from rental companies interested in changing out their operational and accounting software is that (1) they have no idea how to do it and (2) they don’t know where to start.

I want to try to remove the mystery and shed some light on a process that has been proven to work.

5 Guiding Principles for Rental Software Implementation

I have a ton of adages that can apply to this topic, but I’ve narrowed it down to the following five (I always try to use five because I can count them on one hand and still have a hand to do other things):

1. “If a job is hard, you are probably using the wrong tool.” – my Dad
2. “A job that is below your knees or above your shoulders is harder than any other.” – also my Dad
3. “You cannot get there from here, you have to go somewhere else to start.” – Unknown
4. “If you think education is expensive, compare it to the cost of ignorance.” – Unknown
5. “If you want to speed something up, get rid of what is slowing it down.” – Peter Singe, The Fifth Discipline

Optimizing Your Internal Processes

You are in the business of providing the right equipment (tools) so your customers can do their jobs most efficiently. Your internal systems are the “tools” that make your business run efficiently. So, optimizing your company’s efficiency requires taking a close look at the tools you are using, and doing so holistically and objectively.

Process Improvement Review

An internal process review can be done in a session with your key people, and it can be made better by adding a trained outside facilitator. Start by asking yourselves questions such as:

• What are the processes that everyone follows to get things done?
• What are the steps we take?
• What are the tools we need for each step?

The idea is to build a high-level process model, break it down into lower-level processes, and repeat it down to a level that exposes areas of inefficiency. What you will inevitably find are steps in the process that are harder than they should be (“using the wrong tool” or “working below the knees”) or a process step that requires something not immediately available (“ignorance” or “you cannot get there from here”). I have never conducted a process review for a client where we did not discover some low-hanging fruit that was so easy to correct that it paid for the entire session.

The process model that results from the session serves two important purposes. First, it immediately highlights areas for improvement. Second, it shows you what any new “tool” (rental software system) needs to do (these are “good processes”) and needs to not do (these are “inefficient processes”). This exercise will force you to examine why inefficient processes are problematic, identify what is causing the problems, and direct you toward a cure.

ERP Software and Your Business

How does building a process model relate to your ERP software platform? Your software systems are the tools that gather data and then provide that data back to you as information. If these systems make your processes inefficient (“the process is hard”), then you are (“using the wrong tool.”) Imagine a rental management software system that eliminates inefficiencies (“gets rid of what is slowing you down”) and enables your company to operate at peak efficiency.

You’ve taken the first step by creating and critiquing your internal processes (you have “gone somewhere else to start”). Present your model to the ERP software companies that serve the rental equipment industry, and see which ones best align with what you do (offer a “better tool”). It is here that you need to remember that “to speed something up, get rid of what is slowing it down.” If old, disparate systems are slowing you down, consider replacing them with one that speeds things up.

If you have any questions, I’m just an email away at joe.lewis@fameintel.com. I’d love to talk with you about our rental software solutions!

Joe Lewis
CEO
Fame Rental

Fame Rental improves rental businesses and the lives of their employees and customers. We do this because we care more deeply, listen more intently, and act more methodically than anyone in the rental industry would ever expect from a software company.

Contact us at sales@fameintel.com to schedule a demo.