6 Essential ERP Equipment Features That Can Future-Proof Your Business

How can you leverage technology in your equipment business to increase your market share in your respective industry? The answer depends on how you, as a decision maker, design your digital strategy in future-proofing your business.

In a recent article, the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA) suggested leaders like you should leverage technology to achieve the “Virtuous Spiral,” where you use digital strategy to increase your total revenue. This is achieved by reinvesting in more technology to further improve your income and efficiency.

One way of achieving the Virtuous Spiral in your organization is by implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. If you’re looking for a solution to seamlessly connect departments’ data so you can get insights, increase visibility and streamline processes—an ERP can help.

An industry-specific equipment ERP delivers specialized features to conquer the challenges of your industry—something you just won't get from a generic ERP solution. A system that helps consolidate your data, automate key activities and empower you to make quicker, data-driven decisions, driving organizational agility and powering your business’ growth.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the six essential features of a purpose-built equipment ERP to help you identify the must-have ERP functionalities that can add value to your business and help drive it forward.

1. Comprehensive Equipment Management Functionality Tailored to Your Needs

As your equipment business grows, you need a solution that increases your ability to manage the entire lifecycle of your assets, from the time the products land on your dock until they’re delivered to your customers. This goes the same if you want to ensure each of your assets is in tip-top shape before renting them out. An industry-specific equipment ERP provides you with a centralized platform to oversee all aspects of your capital equipment.

Key features of a comprehensive equipment management ERP:

• Equipment Lifecycle Management – enables you to track all essential information in each of your assets including maintenance scheduling.

• Mobile Integration Capabilities – gives your team convenient access to data they need in assessing repair and maintenance needs from anywhere.

• Internet of Things (IoT) Integration – provides detailed insights into the condition of each equipment.

By implementing equipment management software, you can optimize your day-to-day operations to significantly reduce downtime and improve overall productivity.

2. Unlock Business Insights With Robust Analytics and Reporting

One of the key ideas mentioned in the MHEDA article is the use of data as a part of a winning digital strategy. While data can provide you with actionable insights, making better decisions could be challenging if you’re having difficulty accessing, processing or understanding your data.

Ideally, an equipment ERP should be equipped with customizable dashboards, data visualization and performance metrics to easily navigate your data whenever you need to make on-the-spot, data-driven business decisions.

In addition, with integrated business intelligence (BI) tools, you can leverage data to optimize your fleet utilization, helping you to figure out underutilized assets or those in high demand. Moreover, BI can help significantly reduce unplanned downtime and contribute to overall customer satisfaction.

3. Built-In Inventory Management Enhances Operational Visibility

Consider an equipment ERP with built-in inventory management, which helps improve the visibility of all your assets and parts. This functionality is vital if you want to track your parts in real time, automating replenishment when necessary.

With a better inventory management functionality, you can significantly improve the availability of parts in stock by immediately identifying in-demand components that are about to run out, while effectively mitigating overstocking issues that could come from over-ordering replacements. Having a well-maintained inventory is critical in maximizing your cash flow.

Effective inventory management promotes better visibility, allowing you to track available assets in multiple locations and have a detailed record of all components inside your warehouses in real time.

4. Service and Maintenance Management Keeps Your Assets in Good Shape

Keeping all your assets in operable condition could be challenging if your equipment ERP does not have specialized service and maintenance features. You need to ensure the reliability of all your equipment, so your customers are always satisfied with the products and services you offer.

A tailored equipment ERP solution can help ensure your assets are in top condition because you have the following capabilities at your disposal:

• Dispatch Board – enables your service managers to efficiently assign service requests to technicians, with the ability to filter requests by various criteria and configure the layout of the board, all conveniently managed from a single screen.

• Technician Availability – equips your service management team to see all available technicians, including their specializations and certifications. You can schedule technicians for jobs and track in-progress work orders within a specified time.

• Service Contract Management – allows you to manage guaranteed, long-term and planned maintenance agreements efficiently. You can also enter contracts based on service cycles or utilization time and streamline service work order creation while improving communication with your technicians.

• Work in Progress (WIP) Order and Labor – gives you a view of all open work orders and compares labor time spent on each order against the time budgeted for the request.

• Field Service – empowers your field technicians to utilize their mobile devices to access important data, receive real-time updates and extract data from telemetry devices installed in your assets.

With service and maintenance management in place, it’s possible to improve equipment uptime, reduce maintenance costs and improve overall customer satisfaction.

5. Financial Management and Asset Tracking Facilitates Accurate Decision-Making

The financial health of your business depends on how efficient you are in determining your expenses and how well you track all your assets—that includes knowing their current condition and worth.

To have a better understanding of your finances, it’s essential that you have an effective way of tracking the value of assets as they depreciate over time, including a tool for creating reports to give you an idea of where your money goes, while determining areas where you can reduce your costs.

Additionally, having an asset tracking functionality in your ERP means you can keep tabs on each piece of equipment you own—knowing the exact location of all your assets and their current value.

Accessing all this combined data at your fingertips is like having a financial advisor for your equipment—helping you ensure your financial decisions are based on real-time, accurate information.

6. Mobile Accessibility and Field Operations Increases Efficiency

As a leader in the equipment industry, you understand the value of up-to-the-minute updates. No one has time for endless email threads or phone calls when a quick tap on a mobile device can do the job. If many of your processes still involve cumbersome pen-and-paper methods, it's time for a digital and mobile strategy.

But it's not only about giving your technicians smartphones. It's about crafting a mobile strategy that redefines your operations.

Imagine your employees benefiting from the freedom to operate from anywhere. It's not only about being mobile; it's about supercharging your equipment business with agility and customer-centricity that drives profitability.

For an equipment provider aiming for success, top-notch field service management, streamlined sales processes and a reliable source of equipment insights are crucial. Now, enter mobile technology—it's your ultimate ally on all these fronts and more. It's the clear path forward for organizations that are ready to leave behind traditional methods of data collection and communication.

These Essential Equipment ERP Features Can Revolutionize Your Business

Embracing technology isn't merely an option; it's your ticket to achieving the "Virtuous Spiral" of growth and profitability in the equipment management industry. Your digital strategy holds the key to increased revenue and organizational efficiency—and an ERP solution tailored to your unique needs is the cornerstone of this strategy.

With the right equipment ERP, you'll gain comprehensive equipment management capabilities, robust analytics, streamlined inventory control, efficient service and maintenance, precise financial tracking and the power of mobile accessibility—all in one software solution.

Aptean offers you the key to unlock success—a robust equipment ERP solution designed to meet your specific needs. With this powerhouse solution at your disposal, you'll revolutionize your business—taking it to the next level. Discover how Aptean can transform your business, today.

Reach out and schedule a personalized demo today with our team of equipment ERP experts to learn more about our solutions.