NORWALK, Conn. — Leading rental companies United Rentals and Sunbelt Rentals last month entered into major agreements to use SmartEquip technology.
United Rentals selected SmartEquip's e-Procurement Enterprise System to manage the company's purchasing transactions. The system was designed to handle “direct” and “indirect” procurement in asset-intensive industries such as equipment rental.
Fully integrated with United Rentals' rental, purchase and financial management systems, the SmartEquip system will provide significant cost and time savings as well as improved order accuracy at the company's rental locations and corporate offices. The system is also designed to benefit vendors by streamlining order placement and fulfillment.
Manufacturers that utilize SmartEquip's e-FleetPro network are able to provide United Rentals' users with serial-number-specific product support, including interactive parts catalogs, self-updating service documentation, and real-time information concerning parts and whole goods availability, resulting in more streamlined procurement functionality.
“We selected SmartEquip's e-Procurement Enterprise System after successfully piloting its parts and service support technology at numerous branches throughout our North American network,” said James Milde, senior vice president and chief information officer for United. “During the last 18 months, our employees have commented that the technology has helped improve productivity.”
Sunbelt entered into a commercial agreement with SmartEquip to utilize its SE B2B Exchange beginning in the second quarter of 2007. Sunbelt also announced the expanded use of SmartEquip's e-FleetPro technology at 50 Sunbelt rental locations across the country, beginning in the next 30 days.
Both technologies are being implemented to provide transactional savings for both Sunbelt and its suppliers, as well as to increase fleet and service efficiencies at Sunbelt rental centers.
SmartEquip's newly launched SE B2B Exchange represents a technology platform for the rental and construction equipment industries, allowing for the electronic exchange of invoices, purchase orders, ship notices and other transactions-related documents between fleet owners and their suppliers. Sunbelt will initially utilize the platform to electronically exchange documents with JLG, soon to be followed by Multquip and Wacker. Sunbelt will subsequently develop it as the standard for all its preferred suppliers.
SmartEquip's e-FleetPro platform provides real-time connectivity between Sunbelt rental locations and the fleet and customer support systems of its suppliers, providing real-time, asset-specific service and fleet support to fleet operations. Integrated with a rental company's business systems e-FleetPro automates previously time-consuming and error-prone components of equipment service, inventory management, parts procurement and other processes. E-FleetPro was already being deployed in phases at NationsRent stores prior to Sunbelt's acquisition of NationsRent in August 2006.
Greenwich, Conn.-based United Rentals is No. 1 on the RER 100. Sunbelt Rentals, Charlotte, N.C., is No. 4.
