HERC plans digital transformation of leasing

Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation (HERC) is partnering with technology supplier Cognizant with the aim of digitally transforming its leasing business by adopting a new Internet of Things (IoT) strategy.

The company says it wants to generate higher value from its existing telematics technology which enables the wireless capture of data about maintenance status, operator behavior, geographic location and other performance aspects from sensors on HERC’s heavy equipment fleet.

Cognizant will re-architect and enhance HERC’s critical business applications to capitalize on the latest digital capabilities, including advanced mobile interfaces for field technicians to improve efficiency and productivity, and new digital services for customers enabled by telematics.

Example include asset tracking through advanced systems that automatically send an alert to employees when HERC equipment assets are entering or leaving a site; equipment availability and utilization tracking that enables real-time monitoring of equipment asset status (e.g. idle, underutilized, or mis-used); and maintenance scheduling that enables automatic scheduling of preventive maintenance based on run-hours of equipment.

“HERC’s sizeable deployment of telematics technology reflects that they’re forward-thinkers and leaders in the new digital age,” said Sean Middleton, chief operating officer, emerging business accelerator, at Cognizant.

“We’re excited to work with them in building applications and analytics on top of this foundation to help better engage their customers and unlock new levels of business value from the massive amounts of data generated,” he added.