Interactive Rent Management Program Benefits Customers Rental Service’s ‘Total Control™’ Receives Strong Acceptance in Market

Furniture World Magazine

Rental Service is offering an innovative program for customers to track rental activity. Total Control ™ is an interactive rent management system that utilizes trademarked software, developed by and for Rental Service, to manage the entire rental process, from inquiry and utilization to billing. “It is more than a software program,” says creator Gordon McDonald, who leads Total Control Development with Rental Service. “It’s a management process that really challenges conventional ways of doing business.” Total Control ™ was designed to save customers expenses by automatically monitoring, measuring and analyzing the rental process. It alleviates the day-to-day, hands-on requirements of customer personnel, who can then be redeployed to other matters. The program is on-line 24 hours a day, seven days a week, allowing both customers and Rental Service contacts to monitor or alter the status of rentals at anytime. The status report can also be accessible to third-party partners. Total Control ™ is best described as a multi-faceted program composed of these components: “Portal” business/online ordering; Inventory control; Fleet management; Accounting Portal business/online ordering Total Control ™ handles 100 percent of the customer’s rentals — from tableware and uniforms to backhoes and tool trailers. The software it employs is equipped to input data from various rental companies, which have nearly 40 different ways of calculating rental costs, into a single form. Customers are given the ability to transact with all rental suppliers online through one point of contact; it also gives them the ability to take items on and off rent from the comfort of their own office. Total Control ™ then produces a single-point invoice and Rental Service takes care of all third-party bills and, in some cases, even self-invoices other Rental Service brands and stores. Inventory control The program also monitors customers’ tool and equipment use by scanning corresponding bar codes when items are taken on and off rent from tool rooms, warehouses, supply storage, rental yards, etc. Then the system automatically sends an invoice to the company, based on its calculations of how long the equipment was out on rent and how many hours it was in use. “It is efficient and requires our clients to do less work,” says McDonald. Fleet management On a password-protected Web site, customers may view an up-to-date list of items that are on rent, the total balance for those items, fuel and equipment readings, and the due dates for every piece of rental equipment. The system is also programmed to send automatic e-mail notifications to customers, letting them know when an item has been taken off rent or if equipment is overdue. Accounting ll features of Total Control ™ link with a centralized accounting system that collects data and streamlines invoicing via a single point. It can also be integrated into customers’ accounting systems. McDonald says he envisions updating Total Control ™ to be palm pilot-compatible within the next two years, which would allow Rental Service and a third-party rental company to receive rental requests simultaneously. Total Control ™ has already been successfully implemented with customers from entertainment parks and petrochemical plants. The latest implementation is at Suncor Energy, a world leader in mining and extracting crude oil from oil sand deposits. For more information call toll-free, 1-877-RENTIPS or visit www.rentalservice.com. Rental Service Corporation is a company within the Atlas Copco Group. Rental Service Corporation fulfills the rental and sales demands of the construction, industrial/petrochemical, manufacturing, government and homeowner markets in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Company operates with three well-respected brands: Prime Industrial focuses on the industrial and petrochemical rental segment, RSC serves the construction market — comprised of heavy equipment and commercial construction — while Prime Energy promotes its oil free air, generator and temperature control business. Atlas Copco is an international industrial company that had revenues of $4.65 billion USD in 2002 and employs nearly 26,000. Atlas Copco companies develop, manufacture, and market electric and pneumatic tools, compressed air equipment and generators, construction and mining equipment, assembly systems, and offer related service and equipment rental. More information is available at www.atlascopco-group.com or rentalservice.com.