Last month, Leasing Life found poor
prospects for plant and equipment lessors looking to branch out
into the short-term rental market. However, it seems that the CV
asset arena may provide better prospects for a company looking to
have a hand in both games.
International truck lessor Ryder offers
short-term rental products and long-term contract hire options in
the UK, and has recently seen an increase in short-term rental
uptake from firms.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
The company uses the same back office systems,
processing staff and customer accounts for both sets of offerings,
which presents a number of advantages – one of which is a savings
on administrative costs, which means lower rates can be offered to
the customer.
Obviously, offering both sets of products
through the same system also presents cross-selling
opportunities.
For example, an account manager may notice a
company that has traditionally acquired fairly standardised vans or
trucks through short-term rental, looking to acquire more
specialised CVs – a great opportunity to sell a
maintenance-inclusive CH proposition.
But customers can move the other way, too –
especially during a recession. Ryder, like many CV lessors, has
seen the tendency for many fleet operators to postpone renewal of
lease contracts because of financial uncertainty and the difficulty
of forecasting long-term business needs.
While such indecision lasts, the ability to
offer shorter or non-fixed term rental products can keep on many
customers who would otherwise avoid long, fixed leases.
Likewise, customers with a credit profile
unsuited to a CH offering pose a much gentler risk problem when put
on a short-to-long-term rental plan.
