James Morley Interview: Infinite Possibilities

What’s new in your software and technology?

Morley: We meet real estate rental companies where they operate – which is everywhere.

We have added a lot of mobile features – we have replaced ready-to-rent labels, i.e. small labels that are ubiquitous in the industry, with a digital version in Ready tag. This digitizes the entire return and pre-rental process so everyone can see what items are ready without having to pick up a walkie-talkie, send a text message, or go out to the parking lot to see what items have been checked out and deemed ready to rent.

Work orders allow technicians to quickly diagnose and document issues in the field, speeding up the parts acquisition (and overall repair) process. This works for both in-house and customer-owned equipment. Quick link speeds up e-commerce processes; you send a link to the contract and your customer can view the contract details, sign it electronically, manage payments and even review documentation regarding the rented items.

We have completely renovated Essentials e-commerce processes, aligning them with the B2C giants. It’s now easier than ever for consumers to find items, order items, add additional items, and even make payments. Our early adopters are reporting a 40 percent increase in add-on sales so far, so that’s had quite a big impact.

We have acquired Record360world-leading inspection software, and we’ve started integrating it with our RMS systems so people can see the inspection history of their items. These integrations will continue to grow, and we’d like to integrate Record360 with non-Point of Rental RMS systems as well—it’s a great tool and we think renters should have this technology regardless of what rental platform they’re using.

And finally, everyone loves talking about AI: Record360 uses AI to help with its blur detection system, which helps make sure you only get clear photos and videos for your inspection records. We’re enabling people to use AI to write unique, engaging product descriptions on their websites—just enter the product manufacturer and item name, and it writes the description for you. This helps your site’s SEO and your customers better understand what you have to offer.

What impact does AI have on software and technology and what potential do you see in the future?

Morley: AI has exploded the number of ways to add functionality to software and has accelerated the ability (and expectation) to build that functionality. We are taking a two-pronged approach to AI:

First, we focus on the current needs of our customers and create tools that can bring them immediate benefits in three areas.

· Improve quality: Record360’s artificial intelligence (AI) image blur detection helps ensure inspections meet standards BEFORE an issue occurs.

· Increased revenue: We leverage historical purchasing trends on our e-commerce sites to suggest relevant products to customers, allowing Point of Rental stores to provide an Amazon-like customer experience.

· Increase awareness: Most rental companies do not employ professional product description writers. Consumers are more likely to choose products when they understand what they are buying. Our AI enables users to write professional descriptions that drive online rentals.

Second, we explore long-term, high-impact solutions. We host hackathons where our developers can set aside their current responsibilities to focus on new features that can build the future of rental. We’re always looking for ways to improve customer experiences, optimize inventory management, provide better analytics and insights, and automate processes, and now AI is the tool we have ready.

How important is integration of all your systems?

Morley: We strive to be the best software available for managing rental operations. But there are a lot of great software solutions for accounting, for example. For payments. For customer relationship management. For telematics. For tax rate management.

That’s why we strive to integrate with leaders in other areas of business through our public API, so our customers can fully enjoy the benefits of managing their business.

What new technology trends do you expect in the near future?

Morley: The easy-to-spot trends are the ones that have already begun. AI and machine learning have nearly endless possibilities, from predicting equipment failures to forecasting demand. Telematics and IoT will continue to be incorporated into products, increasing tracking and monitoring to ensure safety, efficiency, and productivity.

Augmented and virtual realities will become more common and make it easier to implement training, remote operations, etc. for more companies. We will continue to be more mobile as we expect to do more and more away from our desks or counters.

With all this technology, we will also see a renewed focus on cybersecurity and privacy. As we saw recently when Microsoft 365 went down, we are putting a lot of value on these platforms and it will be even more important to keep ourselves protected.

What is the most important contribution of telematics to a car rental company and how difficult is it to integrate telematics into a rental management operating system?

Morley: The most important thing is that it lets you know what’s going on with your inventory so you can make informed decisions. Telematics lets you know where your equipment is and whether it’s being used properly, and it lets you maximize inventory management and lifecycle management. And if you ever get audited, it helps you make sure you’re compliant, which opens up more opportunities for you—most often government contracts.

For rental companies, there are two big challenges when it comes to integrating telematics with rental software: The first is with rental software; because data formats and compatibility are not standardized, rental software may only integrate with certain manufacturers or suppliers. The second is cost; telematics companies are not charities, and implementing new technologies that provide all this valuable data can be expensive, especially when you have a lot of inventory.

What are the top concerns and pain points that rental industry customers ask about when it comes to software that can solve their problems and help them operate more efficiently? What exactly are rental employees asking about?

Morley: When talking to customers at trade shows, conferences, customer feedback sessions, etc., customer problems tend to fall into two main categories:

Reducing downtime/unproductive time for assets and people. Almost every feature we develop is designed to reduce time waste—from real-time updates to e-commerce to mobile features.

• Providing excellent customer service. Rental companies need to deliver a unique experience, not just compete on price. Whether that’s through e-commerce or by communicating to rental staff what’s important to a given customer through preferences, history, etc., optimizing these processes is key.

What is the most important contribution of telematics to the development of car rental companies?

Morley: What is most important to a rental company depends on their business and the challenges they currently face. We mentioned the main ways this adds value above; our goal is to ensure that the information rental companies receive from their telematics devices (and software) makes it into their rental management software.

Collecting all of this data in one place will allow car rental companies to quickly resolve issues and make the best possible decisions regarding purchases, sales, and overall fleet rentals.