Eye On Rental: Prepare for the Upcoming Year, Now

The topics of preparation and efficiency planning have always been important. However, for all the obvious reasons (including the tight labor market, ever-increasing competition, and significantly higher costs of doing business) now is the time to place and even higher priority on these topics.

Every equipment rental business is different of course but here are just a few thoughts, opinions and examples of some of the areas that are likely to yield substantial returns on your analysis and planning investment.

Take a fresh look at the “flow” and the appearance of your entire facility. 

Planning proper facility flow is critically important. For example, an analysis may uncover more efficient ways of getting “will call customers” on their way quicker and more safely. Be certain your company is using the most efficient flow practices regarding equipment service, warehousing, staging areas, etc. for your deliveries. On many levels, there can be huge growth and profitability power of an impactful and well-laid out facility and yard — so it is a valuable exercise.

Upgrade Your Assets

Freshen your fleet. 

It is very important for rental companies to invest in keeping their rental equipment fleet fresh. Often, this means purchasing new equipment to replace the older, sometimes less reliable, units. It may be wise to make an objective, in-depth analysis of your entire rental fleet now to prepare for next year. 

The costs associated with growing and maintaining a “fresher fleet” are high and getting much higher. However, customer perception (and likely fewer breakdowns) by maintaining a fresher fleet can be a worthwhile investment.

Use what you know to make the ultimate decisions of what is best for the future viability, growth, and profitability of your rental company.

Make equipment purchase decisions based on return on investment and marketing reasons, not exclusively for tax reasons. 

Every rental business is different, of course, but in general, it typically is not wise to purchase rental equipment exclusively for the benefits of depreciation. In other words, have the depreciation be an additional benefit of the purchase, not the primary reason for the purchase. 

Talk to your local accountant for expert advice concerning tax consequences for purchases, but be sure to use what you know to make the ultimate decisions of what is best for the future viability, growth, and profitability of your rental company.

Consider upgrading your technology. 

Technology means much more than just a computer system upgrade for your rental company. There are many devices, applications and other electronic device options available for making a rental business grow and prosper. Even if you are uncomfortable with these forms of technology and it frustrates you compared to the rental equipment you know so well, some technology makes profit sense. 

However, don’t take the plunge into significant technology investments without adequate research.

Decisions & Plans

Utilize your own data.

Be certain to mine the extraordinarily valuable information from your financial and computer system reports for future planning direction. Among the dozens of ways this analysis and planning activity will help include: 

• Reducing costly purchasing missteps,
• Help increase R.O.I.,
• Maintain proper stocking levels, and much more.

In general, these reports can help provide the information needed to become even more efficient with your time, energy, financial, and other resources. Your computer-generated reports can be among the most valuable and accurate planning tools in your arsenal.

Focus more heavily on what differentiates your company from your competitors. 

Certainly, if your team is one of the primary reasons that customers do business with your company rather than doing business with your competition, then investigate and plan additional training (and other ways) for them to become even better. One example could be planning fresh ways to help ensure that customers receive rental equipment that has been properly serviced. Having equipment break down on the job because of improper maintenance is terrible for business (and is a worthy topic for additional focus even if your team is already superior to your competitors). 

When planning ways to differentiate your rental company, remember to enhance these three business fundamentals: 

• Have the best, most reliable equipment;
• Have properly trained team members; and
• Have a major focus on efficient practices in every aspect of your rental company.

Develop a written game plan. 

As we all know, if it’s not written down, it tends not to happen. The early stages of the preparation process include doing solid research, determining the objectives, and later developing detailed, quantifiable strategies. 

One Last Thing

Don’t be at the total mercy of external forces that can affect your company’s growth. In addition to the obvious importance of having a good defense when seeking a more prosperous 2026, be sure to have a solid offensive game as well. 

Remember, to achieve the high level of success that you want from your substantial time and financial investments, it is necessary to prepare accordingly. 

Begin to develop next year’s game plan now.