Hire Intelligence

Prioritising Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Edinburgh, Hire Intelligence is stepping up its recruitment programme. The company reports on its aim of winning more business for franchisees and becoming the first choice for customers

Exceptional growth over nine years has seen Hire Intelligence grow from its Australian roots into an international organisation with more than 30 outlets in Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines, and a further 20 in the UK.

Hire Intelligence has grown to become one of the best computer and AV rental companies in the UK and has established solid foundations for future growth. Over the last two years, the company has consolidated its position by concentrating on increasing market share and helping franchisees develop stable, growing businesses.

The last 12 months has seen rental revenue across the group increase by more than 18 per cent, and the company is now seeking to expand its franchise network and exploit the huge potential in untapped markets.

UK Managing Director Wolf-Rüdiger Feiler confirms: 'We're already the best computer and AV rental company in the UK, now we want to be the biggest too. Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Edinburgh are some of the areas where we don't yet have a presence and it's our priority to get franchisees established in these locations, winning business and making Hire Intelligence the natural and first choice for potential customers wherever they are in the UK.'

Demonstrating strong year-on-year growth, the franchise approach Hire Intelligence brought to the UK market has been critical to its success. The fact that it has 20 outlets gives the network a national capability few competitors can match, and having these managed by owner-operators with the levels of motivation, dedication and commitment that this necessarily entails means customers enjoy service levels which are the envy of the industry.

'Our franchising approach wasn't an accident,' says Rüdiger. 'We faced stiff competition when we launched in the UK and our competitors' preference was to operate from one or two centralised locations. That meant they had to have all their stock and technicians centrally located, however far that was from their customers' sites.

'One of our unique selling propositions is to have stock and personnel distributed throughout the country courtesy of franchising, demonstrating the huge difference that would make to our service abilities: same day deliveries, fast onsite support and replacement or additional equipment within hours, to name just three. We knew our competitors couldn't live with that and we capitalised on it.'

Operating from home or a small, dedicated office, franchisees provide short or medium-term, cost-effective rental of IT and AV equipment for specific business events. 'Customers increasingly value the flexibility and cost savings they get by renting,' Rüdiger observes, 'and while they don't necessarily know they're dealing with a franchised operation, the dedication franchisees have to make their own business work ensures that clients get a level of customer service that leaves the competition behind.'

Exhibitions, seminars, training rooms, projects and AGMs are a few occasions that generate short-term needs for IT & AV equipment. The solution Hire Intelligence offers means that anyone can get hold of a 60' plasma for an exhibition, a digital whiteboard for a seminar, a network of 100 laptops for a training room or a completely flexible IT solution for a project.

'What's more, all the equipment is modern, looks good, is well maintained, costs them a fraction of the purchase price and can be installed, supported and taken away exactly as needed,' adds Rüdiger. 'Anyone who finds that kind of flexibility and cost effectiveness attractive is a potential Hire Intelligence customer, a group which includes many of the FTSE 250 companies, government bodies and SMEs of all sizes right down to one man bands.'

Initial franchise fees vary from £32,000 to £40,000 and new franchisees go through a six-week training course covering every aspect of the business, the technology they'll be using, the business tools provided as well as basic accountancy and marketing skills.

Central to the training and the business is JBS, a bespoke software package which takes a sizeable burden off the franchisee by managing and looking after the entire rental fleet, handling customer and supplier contacts, taking care of the accounts and providing the franchisee with a staggering array of information about the business and how it is performing.

'JBS so comprehensively manages the rental fleet for the franchisee that our competitors typically have to employ twice as many staff to achieve a comparable turnover,' states Rüdiger.

'While that's impressive on its own, the critical factor is that this efficiency allows our franchisees to then spend more time selling to and servicing customers, which in turn allows them to grow the business faster, which increases their turnover... and so on.'

The future looks good for Hire Intelligence as the company expands its national presence and wins market share. With key locations waiting to be filled, now really is the best time to get involved with this growing brand.

Hire Intelligence isn't just about the 'dry hire' of computer and audiovisual equipment. We distinguish ourselves from many of our competitors by providing a comprehensive and flexible approach to hire-related services too.

At Hire Intelligence, we realised a long time ago that simply delivering a box to someone's doorstep often wasn't enough and our clients would appreciate the option of having us install and support the equipment for an additional fee. This can be as simple as setting up a projector and a laptop, or more involved such as setting up a network of 50 PCs for an event and then providing on-site support for a week.

What about events taking place overseas? It's fast becoming a common occurrence for Hire Intelligence to put together a client's full installation here, pack it in a van and drive it across the continent, install it in some exotic (or not so exotic!) locale and then provide technical support for the whole event too.

As a small business owner, it's a daunting prospect to provide services like this, but that's the beauty of being in the Hire Intelligence franchise network - the franchisees make it all possible.

As a franchisee, you can sub-contract services like these to your peers within the group, allowing Hire Intelligence to provide expertise and services our competitors struggle to match. Our customers appreciate it, our franchisees thrive on it and our business grows on it.

Well, what do you expect if you have Hire Intelligence?