The Challenge

Pluscrates had specific requirements to meet their bulk hire needs but wanted to avoid going down the bespoke software route. With their carefully drawn out criteria, MCS made the final shortlist of three software vendors and, having seen all their systems in action, they chose MCS.

The Solution

MCS-rm is now used by 11 administrators in the Wembley office, but touches almost every aspect of the Pluscrates business. It manages the thousands of crates in the company's hire inventory and the overall hire process, from raising a hire contract through to invoicing and reporting.

Staged Collections

Some hire systems cope very badly with staged collections – it’s collect all or collect none. In contrast, MCS-rm prompts us by asking how many crates we want to book in for collection. It’s very useful and ensures adequate space is allocated on the collection vehicle. In addition, our margins are greater on long-term rentals, so being able to track what still remains on site some months later makes a vital contribution to our profitability.

Customer Portal

Through their job breakdown report, our customers have a sensible, line-by-line listing in date order of information such as the quantity and type of crate delivered to which addresses

Giving customers easy access to information saves us a huge amount of time. They can simply drill down to the signed proofs of delivery, collection notes, and so on relating to each one of the lines to access a full audit trail, without having to call us. Storing information electronically cuts down on expensive filing cabinet space too, and makes it much quicker for all parties to find relevant information.

Accurate Invoicing

I’ve worked in companies where they’ve needed a team just to handle the flood of invoice queries, but that doesn’t happen here. With MCS-rm, the accuracy of our information means we minimise customer queries. This in turn helps with our cash flow.

The Benefits

Since using MCS-rm, Pluscrates has been able to:

• Handle additional demands by utilising the inter-depot transfers option.
• Carry out staged collections, where only part of an order in collected.
• Provide their customers with access to their hire information using the Customer Portal.
• Create and distribute accurate, consolidated invoices by email with detailed breakdowns of the dates and content of deliveries and collections.