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Hirepool

Next-Generation Customer Experience

Strategy

Systems Intergration

Middleware

UX/UI Design

Front-End Development

Server-Side Development

QA Testing

The Opportunity

While typically traditional and set in its ways, the equipment hire industry is undergoing its own digital transformation. Hirepool wanted to improve customer experience and increase value in their business.

Seeking to reinvent their business delivery model, Hirepool put forward an RFP in mid-2017. They wanted to streamline their at-the-counter experience by going paperless and moving towards the yard. This is Hirepool’s main revenue source; their equipment.

We built a custom solution – a web platform compatible with both tablets and desktops to ensure work continuity.

We built a custom solution – a web platform compatible with both tablets and desktops to ensure work continuity.

First order of the day, we enabled employees to be able to create quotes on desktop and convert it to a contract in the yard. It also allowed equipment to be scanned and made into instant quotes, or to quickly add to a contract.

The workflow was also heavily streamlined with a step-by-step process that ensures information is only captured when/if needed and form fields are pre-populated as required. 

With just a tap or a click, the user is able to check region-wide equipment availability in a easy-to-read heatmap format. In the past this process was a complex system of queries and parameters. We’ve now future-proofed their equipment availability so that sales opportunities never get lost. 

Delivering the solution required integrations with several of Hirepool’s existing systems, including:

  • The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for equipment and customer information
  • Active Directory for user management and single sign-in
  • Content Management System for equipment and customer addenda such as photos and safety forms
  • Printer network to ensure documents are printed in the same branch in which they are created

The challenge was getting these systems to play nicely together, especially given the age discrepancy between them. This was ranging from obtuse 80’s databases to the somewhat newer S3 which was used to store contract attachments such as IDs and delivery information. In the end, through a mixture of APIs and clever middleware caching, we overcame these challenges and delivered a solution which achieved its objectives.

Indeed, tests show that a user proficient in the old system can create a contract 40-60% faster with the new system! The gap is even wider when a less experienced user attempts to use the new system. This results in a 60-80% efficiency gain due to the increased overall simplicity. User trials also revealed that even new employees with no experience in the old system were able to complete a contract in record time – a fairly impressive feat we reckon!