FireWare

At FireWare, we strive to create realistic training environments. Our goal is to create memorable experiences for emergency response teams with the right equipment for every scenario.

To create these experiences, we use a well-planned approach and several processes. Our processes consist of many steps and checks that are usually handled in different software and tools.

What challenges were you facing?

Until recently, we used a combination of ERP software, spreadsheets, and other tools to get our projects done. We implemented multiple systems to help us optimize our processes. And, at the heart of all of these systems is AFAS. AFAS is a tool we use to manage our HRM, CRM, ERP, and financial administration. However, it was very difficult for us to manage the rental side of our business with AFAS.

Although AFAS and the tools we used were useful, it still took us about 6 hours per week to round up all administrative tasks around projects going out. We had manual processes to manage our rentals, and this cost us a lot of time when we needed to plan equipment on projects. It was also not possible for us to track equipment that would be returning to our warehouses.

Keeping track of the condition and location of our equipment was a key factor for us. Since we deal with a wide range of equipment that are used in training scenarios for emergency service providers, it’s important that we constantly certify, test, and make sure that all of our equipment are working correctly.

Since all of the information on our equipment and schedules were in different tools and software, it took us a lot of time to find the right information across all of these tools.

Why Rentman?

We discovered that with Rentman, we would be able to manage all of the processes of the rental side of our business in one central environment.

Rentman would allow us to track assets that are leaving and returning to our warehouse, something that was not possible with our previous set of tools. We would also be able to plan assets, keep track of their location, and monitor their condition.

We could even manage subrentals more efficiently by having the option to process orders that come in from customers digitally to a project.

What do you like about Rentman?

 1. Coherence with our ERP

Since we use AFAS to manage many of our existing processes it was important for us to find a way to make Rentman and AFAS work together so we can manage the rental side of our business.

All of our rental-specific processes, such as checking availabilities, rental scales, the technical condition of equipment, and inspection reports are managed in Rentman. We also use Rentman to organize and manage our rental warehouses, sales, and equipment bookings and returns. Customer data, working hours, other project costs, and invoicing data are synchronized between AFAS and Rentman via a two-way connection.

Thanks to the teams at Improvit ( the Certified AFAS integration partner) and Rentman, this integration was possible. We can now use both of these software in a synchronized way that works for our industry. Planning projects and executing this in the warehouse is now way more streamlined. Besides, those 6 hours a week filled up with administrative tasks are now reduced to only 30 minutes. A great way to overcome the challenge of finding newly qualified staff!

Dreamlab also helped us to develop a webshop to serve customers across the globe. In our webshop, Rentman works with the Woocommerce environment that we use today. This allows us to make our rental catalog available online so our customers can independently see offers and request a quote for a project. When a request for a quotation is sent via our website, a quotation process is started in Rentman.

2. Less room for error 

“With Rentman, we can process more projects on a daily basis, manage our rentals and keep track of the condition and location of our equipment.”

Now that we are able to work with Rentman and AFAS in a synchronized way, we can manage all of our business processes in one central environment. This prevents many errors, double inputs and we no longer need to hand over project information 5 times, everything is stored in one place.

3. We improved our relationship with customers

As one of the largest suppliers of training equipment in the Netherlands, we work with a large network of distributors, amongst them is Safety Regions. 

Today, Rentman plays a key role in our relationship with Safety Regions. Safety Regions can use Rentman to keep track of the condition of their assets and plan and track these assets on current or future trainings.

At Fireware, we help Safety Regions implement Rentman and make sure that all of their staff involved are well-trained.

4. We have more control of our inventory 

Rentman allowed us to speed up processes in our warehouse by having a better view of where each piece of equipment is stored. We can instantly ask for a status report and process defective equipment by scanning a QR Code. We can even add notes and pictures to each piece of equipment to keep track of their condition.

When defective rental equipment is returned to our warehouse, a report is immediately generated and the equipment is kept separate. After being repaired, it is added back to the operational rental fleet. Because, at the end of the day, all rented training equipment must be complete and in working order!