The Benefits of Paperless Commerce in the Equipment Rental Industry
As industries continue to push their way forward through the digital age, new digitally-oriented best practices are widely being integrated into the operating models of business everywhere. One of the most popular and widely adopted of these best practices is the switch to paperless operations.
Although paperless technologies are seen in virtually every industry nowadays, many businesses in the field of commerce are especially making use of the convenient benefits that going paperless has to offer. Being in the commerce space, the equipment rental industry is no different. For many customers, paperless commerce is something that equipment rental businesses are expected to offer by using equipment rental management software.
So if you're new to the concept or just want to learn more about the benefits of paperless commerce in the equipment rental industry, keep reading. Here are the topics that are going to be covered:
What Going Paperless Means
As the name suggests, going "paperless" essentially describes the process of reducing the amount of paper used in your business operations in exchange for digital documents. At its most extreme, a fully paperless business model sees absolutely no physical copies of any sort of business documents at all, only digital ones.
This paperless trend was born out of the professional necessity for more convenient and efficient work to be done while also decreasing the risk of losing important paperwork. Although going paperless has been a trend in business operations for a while, it's picked up significantly over the last two years. This, of course, is due to the restrictions put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic, where work was widely done from home and thus an easy, non-physical solution was needed to answer the logistical issues that the situation posed.
Aspects of Your Rental Operation That Become Paperless
By using heavy equipment rental software solutions like DOZR's WebStores, there are several vital aspects of your business that would become paperless. Documents in both your internal business operations and external customer services would benefit from the switch to paperless commerce.
First, with help from equipment rental company software, the digitalization and archiving of various documents can be achieved. For example, paperwork such as receipts, invoices, order forms, rental agreements, and other business-related documents would become digitalized, usually in the form of a PDF, and stored electronically for quick and easy access. This can help you not lose track of any printed forms by having them all digitally, while also providing you the chance to still print them if you'd like to have extra safety.
The next aspect of your business operation that would change thanks to paperless commerce is the signing of documents. As mentioned above, documents like rental agreements become digitalized, and with that comes e-signatures. E-signatures, or electronic signatures, are signatures that are created digitally. With help from rental equipment software, the collection of e-signatures proves handy in the ordering and checkout process of your operation. In some cases, e-signatures can even be completed by using touch screens.
Another aspect of your operation that becomes paperless with the help of heavy equipment rental software is equipment delivery confirmation. Upon the delivery of your heavy equipment, pictures can be taken and sent through your equipment rental management software to confirm that the job was completed or that the equipment was still in perfect working condition upon return. Not only would e-signatures confirm that the delivery was made but your digital records would also be supplemented by digital photographic proof.
The Benefits of Going Paperless in the Equipment Rental Industry
From greater data management to having a unique way of differentiating yourself in the market, practicing paperless commerce in the heavy equipment rental industry is becoming the new norm. Using something like rental equipment software to help eliminate paper from your business has several benefits that will increase the overall accuracy, efficiency, and smoothness of your operation. Here are the ways in which your business will benefit from switching to paperless commerce.
Save Money on Office Supplies
Although office supplies like paper, file storage systems, printers, ink, and fax machines might not seem that costly compared to other expenses that your business pays for, in the grand scheme of things there's a considerable amount of money that goes towards producing and storing physical documents. Your first benefit of going paperless is the elimination of all these unnecessary expenses.
While you may need to invest in specialized equipment rental company software and other programs to help you eliminate paper usage, it's still more cost-efficient to be a paperless company than not to. It will also prove to be a wise choice in the long run, especially when considering the other benefits below.
Better Administrative Management
When it comes to managing your business at an administrative level, having to deal with paper copies of your important day-to-day documents can be as frustrating as it is time-consuming. Even if you have an organized system in place for creating and storing your physical documents, it's probably still not as fast and convenient as using a digital system in tandem with your equipment rental company software, plus it can require having a large office space.
With paperless commerce, you have the ability to find digital copies of your documents using your operating software's search function, speed up billing information, see faster and more accurate reports, process orders quickly, have automation functions for collecting data, and automatically collect contracts and payments. Overall, switching to paperless commerce improves your administrative management system since it's an inherently more organized, versatile, and convenient way of creating and archiving all of your necessary documents.
This digitalization of documents doesn't just help with your own archiving, it can also help your customers. With paperless commerce, your customers will be emailed digital copies of these above-mentioned documents. The last thing a customer wants is annoying paper copies of documents that they'll have to scan anyways if they're planning to store them digitally. If they do want physical copies of these documents, don't worry. Just email them digital copies that are print-ready and they'll have the ability to make a physical copy if desired.
Superior Customer Service
In today's hyper-competitive, fast-paced professional environment, having superior customer service over your competitors goes a very long way. By switching to a paperless operation, your customer satisfaction will not only benefit from the advantages of paperless commerce but you'll also be differentiating yourself in the heavy equipment rental market.
By using a paperless commerce model and equipment rental company software, you'll give your customers the ability to place a rental request at any time of the day on any day of the week. Although you still keep your phones active, the younger generation is particularly gravitating towards using digital means to complete tasks like placing equipment rental orders. Overall, your business will benefit from using this paperless strategy since it's a good way for your rental company to easily, quickly, and conveniently secure more customers across the board.
Greater Equipment Management and Upkeep
It may be that the most important aspect of your rental company is the actual heavy equipment itself. After all, without your machines, you'd have nothing to rent. This means that managing and maintaining the working condition of your fleet is obviously of the utmost importance. By using paperless operations and heavy equipment rental software, you'll experience a higher degree of equipment management and upkeep.
By using paperless commerce tactics, you'll be able to track and manage your rented and available machines more accurately and conveniently through digital record keeping. This higher degree of equipment management can be seamlessly integrated into your everyday operations with the right equipment rental management software. It can even become an automated aspect of your business. This benefits your company by making both your equipment management job easier, as well as serving your customers with readily accurate equipment availabilities.
Keeping digital records also allows for the easy automation of tasks and reminders such as routine maintenance and repair alerts. Since data is collected every time a piece of equipment is rented, and time is logged for the minutes it's used on the job, this automation process is not only easy but also very accurate. In the long run, this kind of automation will help save you money by potentially mitigating or outright preventing costly repairs.
Overall, with a paperless commerce approach, you'll be running a faster and more efficient heavy equipment rental company.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned several times through this blog, the ability to integrate all of these benefits into a single easy-to-use system is a key for both your internal operational success as a company, as well as the success you'll see in the market with your customers.
With DOZR's WebStores, your equipment rental company will benefit from some paperless commerce tactics mentioned above. Our unique, customizable, and industry-based heavy equipment rental software may be the perfect solution for your company. Find out more and speak with an expert representative to request a demo of WebStores today.
