Modernising for Growth: Why Rental Businesses Are Rethinking Technology

The rental industry is under pressure to modernise, but not because technology has suddenly become fashionable.

Rather, it’s because, as rates are driven down and customer expectations rise, the old ways of working are starting to show their limits.

Modernisation today is no longer just about efficiency, it’s about protecting margins, improving customer service and creating the foundations for long-term growth.

Graham Dobbs, Managing Director of Rental at Klipboard, whose portfolio includes the former InspHire rental software, believes the rental market has always shown resilience in the face of new pressures.

Organisations in the rental industry and the construction industry are having to rise to these challenges on a regular basis, but agile and adaptable businesses can do that.”

Today’s challenge, though, is a little different: It’s less about adapting to one new rule or requirement and more about responding to a whole series of forces at once, including labour pressures, customer expectations, data security, compliance and the need to make better decisions faster.

Why the pressure to modernise is growing

For some businesses, the journey is starting from a very traditional base.

Companies that begin with paper-based methods, spreadsheets or a mix of software and manual workarounds are feeling the most pressure.

Dobbs is clear that fully manual operations tend not to last long, but hybrid ways of working remain common. “A lot of businesses still use hybrid methods. They will use some software, but they’ll also maintain a lot of their operations on spreadsheets.”

This is becoming harder to sustain, especially as the industry faces the challenge of an ageing workforce while struggling to attract the next generation into office and rental-desk roles.

“I’m not seeing as many younger people coming through on the business side,” he adds, “and those who do enter the sector arrive with very different expectations.

According to Dobbs, they’re looking to work modern technology, not traditional methods. They expect intuitive software, they're interested in AI, and they want to know what's coming next.

The result is a growing realisation that the sector needs a step-change in technology. So, is the rental sector approaching a tipping point?

Dobbs believes it is getting closer, and not simply because of internal pressures. “Customer expectations are rising. They want 24/7 access. They want to know what they’ve got on rent at the moment. Basically, they want the Amazon experience.”

That phrase neatly captures how far expectations have moved. Customers increasingly want transparency, immediacy and self-service options.

They want to place orders online at any time, check availability, see what is on hire and get proactive communication about timings and extensions.

Increasingly, they also expect integrated payment journeys that allow businesses to take payments, manage deposits, process extensions and handle damage charges without switching between systems.

In fact, embedding payments into the system helps turn what can be a source of friction into a smoother, more connected customer experience.

Rental businesses are looking for the next level of service – and transparency.”

The easy wins are often the most valuable

So where should rental businesses begin? Dobbs doesn’t start with grand transformation projects, he starts with digitisation.

“Digitisation of deliveries, collections, breakdowns, workshop jobs – these absolutely should be where people are looking to gain that benefit.”

From there, he says, the benefits multiply quickly: “Automating repeatable tasks, removing unnecessary filing and rekeying, capturing proof of delivery instantly, emailing invoices, pushing invoice data directly into customer systems and ultimately reducing the administrative burden on staff.”

The point is not to replace people, but to remove friction. The aim is “getting technology to do repetitive tasks for people so that humans can then spend more time with their customers and working on business growth.”

Of course, if using software is hard to get to grips with, businesses will struggle to onboard new staff and will never get full value from the system.

“It’s important that the software is easy to use from day one,” suggests Dobbs, adding, “Simplicity is not a nice-to-have, it’s a strategic advantage. It shortens onboarding, makes things consistent and easier for both experienced operators and newer recruits to work confidently with.”

Why cloud-native matters

This is where the benefits of native cloud software become more specific.

Dobbs distinguishes between genuine cloud-native platforms and older systems that have simply been repackaged with a web front end.

A true native cloud application, he says, means accessibility and resilience. “You can use it on your phone, tablet, PC or laptop. It can be used from anywhere and everything is absolutely up to date.”

That matters because live operational data supports faster, better-informed decisions. Teams can see what equipment is available, what’s in repair, when it will return to service and what needs to be prioritised in the workshop.

From a business growth perspective, it matters because cloud systems are easier to scale, easier to roll out to new locations and better suited to integration with finance, logistics and telematics tools.

And it matters from a risk perspective, because cybersecurity and compliance are moving higher up the agenda.

Dobbs adds: “Knowing that your data and your customers’ data is safe is absolutely critical,” noting that, for businesses serving larger contractors or regulated sectors, security credentials can mean making it onto a tender list – or not.

He also highlights that smaller rental firms can’t realistically match the protection offered by cloud infrastructure providers. “That level of security does not come cheap, so having it built in with native cloud applications brings that level of security within reach for all.”

AI should help people act faster and smarter

Artificial intelligence is the next part of the story. For Dobbs, the immediate practical value for rental businesses is in guidance, automation and faster access to insight.

He stresses that AI can help users create quotes more quickly, suggest the right accessories, surface exceptions and make it easier for less experienced staff to operate at a level similar to that of a much more experienced team member.

We've all heard the saying ‘If I knew what I know now when I was your age...’ AI now makes that possible, because, with AI as your assistant, you have access to a huge repository of information and knowledge.”

Equally importantly, it can help businesses interrogate their data more effectively: which assets have not moved for three months, which machines perform better over time, where margins are strongest and how utilisation can be improved across the fleet.

AI can also help prevent the overuse of specific pieces of equipment, extend asset life, reduce unnecessary cross-hire and optimise deployment.

Finally, Dobbs highlights the potential of AI to support more sustainable operations by reducing idle time and unnecessary transport movements.

But he is emphatic that AI should only support people, not replace them. “Humans will make the final decision. AI is the assistant, helping teams serve customers better, act faster and make more informed choices.”

The businesses best placed to grow

Looking ahead, Dobbs believes the winners will be the businesses that combine customer focus and smart use of data. “The ones likely to thrive will have the ability to adapt and be agile. They’ll have to be more digitised, more automated, more transparent and more secure.”

Businesses that embrace this shift will be better placed to improve utilisation, deliver better customer experiences and make more confident decisions. In a market under increasing pressure, that could become one of the industry's biggest competitive advantages.

This article also appeared on International Rental News