Heavy equipment dealers’ profitability depends on renting out their assets efficiently and keeping them in good shape over the long term, regardless of whether they are tractor units, semi-trailers or moving trailers. Buses or mobile homes; Backhoe loaders, bulldozers, cranes, excavators, scrapers, graders, dump trucks or all-terrain forklifts.
To maximize profitability, dealers need to know as soon as possible when the equipment will return to the yard so it can be checked in, serviced and rented again. Distributors with multiple locations often need to know which equipment is available for rental from other locations if it is not available in the current location and a customer needs it.
To protect and preserve their assets for as long as possible, merchants must also prevent theft and reckless use by customers. If the dealer’s name / logo is placed on vehicles that are visible to the public, it is also important to avoid dangerous acts such as speeding, which could damage the brand or even incite liability in the event of a serious accident.
As a proactive response, more and more dealers are turning to real-time GPS tracking of their heavy equipment rentals around the clock for better fleet management and faster rentals. Additionally, the same approach provides clear driver and operator accountability, reducing damage to assets and extending useful life.
“With continuous GPS tracking, dealers can instantly see where all of their heavy equipment is at any given point in time, so they know as soon as possible which ones can check in, wait and rent again with minimal downtime,” said Ben VanAvery. Director of Sales and Marketing at Advanced tracking technologies, a Houston, Texas-based designer and manufacturer of GPS tracking products.
Compared to typical GPS tracking devices, which may only be updated every few minutes, a system like ATTI’s Shadow Tracker provides real-time location updates every 10 seconds, as well as location, speed, and idle time alerts if something is wrong. This data is transmitted around the clock to a smartphone or PC via satellite and cellular networks. The system has access to nationwide speed limits in its database.
According to VanAvery, dealers can use a PC or smartphone app to view the real-time location of the entire fleet on a map and zoom in on a specific vehicle. At a glance you can see whether a vehicle has moved (shown in green) or stopped (shown in red). When you touch a vehicle icon, the app shows where the vehicle is, where it stopped and how long it was idle.
“By zooming in or out of the map, dealers can see where heavy machinery is across the country. This makes it easy to see if equipment is available for rental elsewhere when it is not available in the nearest yard.” said VanAvery.
Of course, such GPS tracking not only helps prevent heavy vehicles and equipment from being stolen, but also helps with rapid recovery should this ever be necessary. For example, law enforcement agencies could be provided with a relatively accurate location for anything that was stolen at virtually any point in time.
Since tenants can be notified that the system is monitoring their speed, this feature can also act as a deterrent against speeding if they are faced with consequences, such as traffic jams. B. an increased rate, the loss of part of the deposit or the refusal of rent in the future. This can help minimize the risk of accidents, damage, and excessive wear and tear. This makes it easier to extend the useful life of the devices and minimizes early repairs and maintenance.
With better driving of tenants through active surveillance, this approach could also reduce the number of tickets and potential liability, and even help lower insurance costs. In addition, it can help protect the merchant’s good name in the community.
As a value-added service for longer-term tenants, dealers can even offer a customer or their project managers the ability to monitor leased assets. This can be achieved by essentially downloading an app and providing the customer with a user password.
While heavy equipment rental dealers are already keeping an eye on their assets individually via phone, text, and email with customers, advanced GPS trackers streamline the process of renting equipment significantly. This is done by making the location and availability of the entire fleet immediately visible without having to interact with the customer.
This, coupled with the ability to encourage greater tenant accountability, can significantly improve profitability while extending the life of the fleet.
You can find a free demo at https://www.advantrack.com/free-demo/.
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