The global health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, impacting nearly every type of business across the board. Companies of all types were forced to adapt and overcome new, unforeseen obstacles, or risk losing their business entirely.
Equipment rental companies that embraced new technology- particularly digitization and the cloud, were able to make the best of a bad situation and are now poised to rebound quicker and more completely than their compatriots.
“I think the pandemic really did spur those options on to get more and more common with paperless contracts and e-signatures,” said Andrew Heesacker, president and CEO of Arvada Rent-alls. These improvements, which were far from standard operating procedures before the pandemic, allowed them to keep the wheels of their business moving even under trying circumstances.
By choosing to employ new technologies companies were able to adapt to the rapidly changing ecosystem- closings and reopenings, mask mandates, and restrictions on in-person office work. By changing to a cloud-based solution, companies saw low-to-no impact on day to day operation during the change from in office to at home work.
“Even though we were at home for the first four to six weeks, if a customer called they didn’t know I wasn’t in office,” said Jill Holtsmann of Hub City Display. “I could do all my orders and pricing from home. We gave the perception of being fully open.”
These technologies not only allowed rental businesses to continue operating during the pandemic, it enabled them to reevaluate their current ways of operating, both within their business and in the greater rental ecosystem. By embracing modern technological solutions that allowed their businesses to see into every aspect of their operation, these forward thinking companies were able to use the downtime the pandemic provided to look into ways to improve their business, putting them in a better position to rebound now that the world is beginning its slow return to normal.
Watch the recent “Tech Tools to Help Your Rental Business Rebound” recorded webinar
For more information on what a modern ERP system can do for your rental business, contact us today.