– By Nathan Venables – Head of Fleet & Procurement Kennards Hire –
Following the onset of the pandemic, many industries, including the building and construction fleet industry, have been under the pump to regain strength; the fleet industry must continue to ensure quality and confidence are relayed to customers. The Kennards Hire Construction Confidence Check research released in July has revealed that eight in ten senior business leaders in construction surveyed agree that the construction industry in Australia is stable. To ensure stability in the industry is maintained, fleet managers must ensure they are confident in deciding on the fleet, supply chain availabilities and innovation for the future fleet.
Deciding on the fleet
To innovate and grow within the fleet hire space, we must constantly work on challenging the status quo. When the team meet to decide on fleet upgrades or changes, safety and customer needs are always a priority. To ensure Kennards Hire is providing the highest quality products possible, the team assesses the current market for a product and how it can be made available at a fleet capacity. The fleet team ensures the product is built with safety at the top of mind; so it is imperative to partner with suppliers and manufacturers who also tick all of our safety and quality boxes. Before customers can hire them, all products face stringent testing and review.
When deciding on a new fleet item, we consider existing items in our current fleet. We ask the following, does it; clash, complement, or compete? If the new product clashes or competes with our existing items available, we assess whether a new product is needed entirely.
We are also always future-planning and searching for products that are innovative and provide better efficiencies or greater effectiveness – not just for today’s needs, but what we anticipate the market needs will be down the track. It could be that a new fleet item has increased safety improvements, produces lower emissions, smaller in capacity with more power or can be maintained and fixed using virtual reality systems.
Overcoming supply chain issues
As supply on fleet and manufacturing are low globally, vigilance is critical. However, supply issues do not mean quality needs to be compromised – a pivot in direction can be required for suppliers. Our business has begun to investigate the use of data and analytics to be able to help us guide and build forecasting. We are enabling the team to look at what we will need to replace in the next 12 to 18 months and then start forecasting those requirements with the supplier.
We broadened our supplier base and looked for alternatives. In the past, we only had one or two product suppliers. We’ve had to look for alternative options without compromising the customer experience or product quality; enabling customers to have the best possible experience with our equipment and tools is paramount.
Innovation and the fleet of the future
To enable our fleet to remain innovative, we must evolve with the times we are living in.
Products now becoming increasingly popular are green-powered equipment, pushing equipment to leave behind traditional fuel power and switch to rechargeable batteries, solar and hydrogen solutions. Carbon-neutral and zero-emissions equipment are becoming more and more sought after.
Innovation is not always the most comfortable, and foresight is tricky. But, to think forward and produce ideas that would have been deemed ridiculous in the past means that you are growing.
To ensure you are creating the best possible fleet, it is crucial to be able to understand and develop alongside your community. So, just as our founder Walter Kennard did all those years ago, Kennards Hire is continuing to invest in the present to ensure future outcomes are cutting edge and innovative.
