How to Increase Your Competitive Edge with Heavy Equipment Rental

For many businesses heavy equipment is a necessity to increase competitiveness and worker productivity; however, owning and maintaining an inventory of equipment assets can be extremely costly. Additionally, owning equipment can actually eat into worker productivity and result in diminished returns.

How can procurement teams help ease the equipment burden for their business? The answer is actually pretty simple, rent instead of buy. The rental of large physical assets and heavy equipment will optimize budget and operational efficiency. 

4 Benefits of Tool & Equipment Rental:

1. Eliminate the Need to Pay Storage Fees or Create Space

Buying heavy equipment requires somewhere to safely store the new purchase. The new equipment cannot be left outside, risking damage from weather conditions and diminishing returns on investment. These conditions can cause serious damage to machinery parts and functionality. This means purchasing equipment assets creates a storage dilemma. 

If the company owns a warehouse or large facility they need to create a dedicated area for storage - resulting in loss of inventory space. If they lack the appropriate facility space necessary, or are unable to create space in your existing warehouse, they will need to find budget for an additional facility/warehouse purchase. This type of capital expenditure can be a huge budget expense. If neither of these are options, then the company is looking at securing storage space that will incur fees, these add up over time - increasing the overall cost of the equipment.

2. Save on Maintenance Resources

Renters offload the costly work of maintenance to the rental company. 

When a company rents heavy equipment the ownership of preventative maintenance is the rental company's responsibility. The rental company providing the equipment is responsible for the training and working conditions of any applicable legislation, and can offer expert advice such as personal protective equipment, checklists and operating instructions, and differing rental term plans to allow your company flexibility.

However, when a company buys instead of renting heavy equipment, the buyer is responsible for all maintenance costs and any associated issues such as downtime. Over time, this alone can add significant amounts to the cost of the equipment.

Equipment owners must make sure their assets are properly maintained and meet all relevant safety requirements. Many accidents involving heavy equipment are due to neglected maintenance schedules and poor working conditions. Also, as the asset ages, maintenance costs increase simultaneously. The added cost of service equipment and organizing temporary replacements, if necessary, must also be considered when deciding between buying or renting.

In addition, if businesses buy instead of rent, they will need workers to perform the required ongoing maintenance. This work either takes employees away from their current job requirements, eating into productivity, or the company needs to hire additional headcount to perform this work. Companies who rent will save on upfront and ongoing costs. 

3. Access the Latest Technological Advancements

Technology is a continuous journey regardless of the type of work performed or industry - the market is always innovating. Companies who purchase will be utilizing old, dated equipment rather than the most optimized equipment for the job at hand. Whereas renters will always have access to the latest innovations, increasing productivity, and expediting timelines. 

4. Add Flexibility into Your Operations

Renting heavy equipment enables an element of flexibility for a workplace. The customer can select the appropriate model to rent for a specific job which may be different to a model that is required for another task. The same level of flexibility cannot be obtained when purchasing which can lead to higher costs for an organization and/or inefficient working practices.

Equipment & Tools Rental Spend Management Program

OMNIA Partners recognized the immense value a rental program would provide our membership, as renting heavy equipment and tools reduces operating expenses and increases business opportunity, when companies have access to the right compliant equipment at the right cost - increasing the company's competitive advantage.

In addition to the benefits rental provides -vs- buying, managing this spend category through a group purchasing organization (GPO) deepens savings and elevates service levels, creating more opportunity for members.

Types of Rental Equipment Available

Once a member has made the decision to add rental to their spend management strategy, they have a wide range of solutions they can choose to rent. The Equipment & Tools Rental program provides a robust catalog of products from heavy equipment to industrial cleaners, for example: