Control your cash flow with rented vehicles<\/p>\n
Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
More companies are turning to vehicle rental companies for
\ntheir transportation needs rather than purchasing new vehicles,
\nnot only to reduce operating costs but also help ensure that
\noperations proceed smoothly.<\/p>\n
Using rented vehicles frees companies from making large
\ninvestments, especially when several cars are needed all at once.
\nCompared to buying new cars, renting vehicles is more efficient
\nand practical as extra money does not need to be spent on
\nmaintenance, drivers and various unanticipated costs.<\/p>\n
In short, using rented vehicles can help a company to better
\nmanage its cash flow.<\/p>\n
\"For a company, operating its own cars might be okay in the
\nfirst one or two years but after being used for several years,
\nthe cars can begin to create problems that can disrupt business
\noperation,\" said Donny Hendrawan, general affairs manager of PT
\nTatasolusi Pratama, a customer of a vehicle rental company.<\/p>\n
Tatasolusi Pratama is a company involved in trading and
\ndistributing US-made air conditioners.<\/p>\n
Donny said that as part of the company's efforts to maintain
\ncustomer satisfaction, Tatasolusi Pratama used rented vehicles as
\n\"we have to be ready anytime our customers need technicians for
\nrepairs or regular servicing purposes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Apart from that, purchasing new cars requires extra time to
\nhandle associated matters, such as vehicle documents, driving
\nlicenses and insurance, which is frequently time-consuming, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The number of companies taking advantage of vehicle rental
\nservices increased following the financial crisis that hit
\nIndonesia in mid 1997.<\/p>\n
The crisis, which left many companies in financial trouble,
\nforced them to carry out massive restructuring programs,
\nincluding cutting their overheads so as to enable them to remain
\nafloat. As a result, many companies decided to use rented
\nvehicles to support their daily activities rather than buying new
\nones.<\/p>\n
Even though the economic situation has improved, many
\ncompanies have continued to use rented vehicles after discovering
\nhow beneficial they were for their businesses.<\/p>\n
Customers of vehicle rental companies are now more varied in
\nterms of business lines, and come not only from the service
\nindustry but also the manufacturing sector. Regular users of
\nvehicle rental services include textile producer PT Tokai
\nTeksprin Indonesia, contractor PT Adikarya, insurance firm AIG
\nLippo and telecommunication firms PT Telkomsel and PT Indosat.<\/p>\n
The companies have become regular clients of major local
\nrental companies such as GKBI Motor, Cipaganti Rental, Golden
\nBird Metro, Pusaka Prima Transportation, Astra Rent A Car (TRAC)
\nand Indorent.<\/p>\n
These companies generally rent their cars for between three
\nand five years. But many companies also rent cars based on one-
\nyear leases or on an hourly or daily basis.<\/p>\n
Commonly, the contracts with vehicle rental and leasing
\ncompanies also cover maintenance, car replacement, periodic
\nservicing and insurance. The rental companies also provide a
\ndriver if required.<\/p>\n
The rental fee varies, depending on the term and factors like
\nthe make, model and condition of the car. The kinds of cars
\nrented by companies depend on customer requirements. For example,
\ncompanies that need to transport goods or equipment hire pickups,
\nwagons or trucks. They also rent luxury sedans for board members.<\/p>\n
PT Tatasolusi Pratama started to use a vehicle rental service
\nin 2001 when the management realized it was important to have
\nseveral cars available at the same time without having to make a
\nlarge investment.<\/p>\n
Donny of Tatasolusi said that the number of cars rented by the
\ncompany in Jakarta depended on pressure of work. \"When we have
\nmore orders or service requests, we rent more cars. But on
\naverage, we use eight rented cars per day,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The company rents vehicles, mostly Kijang pickups and vans,
\nfrom different rental firms, including GKBI Motor, TRAC and PT
\nTrimita Adikarya Prakarsa, for practical reasons.<\/p>\n
\"We need pickups that always work well to deliver heavy goods,
\nsuch as AC units and heavy parts like compressors,\" Donny said.<\/p>\n
Like Tatasolusi Pratama, PT Tokai Teksprin Indonesia has also
\ntaken advantage of rented vehicles to support the company's
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
PT Tokai Teksprin Indonesia's general affairs manager said
\nthat using a vehicle rental service allowed the company to
\nmaintain a fixed budget for its transportation needs, and help
\nsmooth out the company's operations as with rented vehicles, its
\ntransportation problems could be minimized.<\/p>\n
\"When a rented vehicle is damaged in an accident, we just
\ninform the vehicle rental company which will later pick up the
\nvehicle for repair,\" he said. \"If the maintenance take more than
\nfour hours, we will be given a replacement,\" he added.<\/p>\n
When the company started out in business back in 1991, it had
\nthree cars of its own to support its day-to-day operations.
\nHowever, in line with its growth, more vehicles were needed to
\ntransport textiles to and from Tanjung Priok Port and to other
\ngarment factories both in the city and outside the city.<\/p>\n
Currently, the company uses seven rented Kijang vans for
\ntransporting textiles and six Accord and Camry sedans for use by
\nthe company's directors.<\/p>\n
Many companies also rent vehicles on a daily basis even though
\nthey have their own vehicles for business operations.<\/p>\n
PT Adikarya, a building firm, said that the company had rented
\nseveral vehicles from different rental companies to support its
\nexpansion.<\/p>\n
The rented vehicles are generally used to take guests, mostly
\nconstruction project teams from different provinces to the
\nrelevant ministries, according to the company's marketing
\nmanager, Hari Mardiono.<\/p>\n
The number of vehicles the company rents on a daily basis
\ndepends on the number of guests. \"But on average we rent eight
\nKijang vans per day,\" he said<\/p>\n
He said that the vehicle rental company charged Rp 375,000 for
\none Kijang van per day. The charge included a driver.<\/p>\n
\"The important thing is that the vehicles are available any
\ntime we want them for our transportation needs. Therefore, we do
\nnot rely on one vehicle rental company alone,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, freight forwarder PT Aerospeed uses two rented six-
\nwheeled trucks as the company does not want to concern itself
\nwith the maintenance of vehicles that require special treatment.<\/p>\n
The rented trucks are used by the company to transport parts
\nfor construction equipment, such as for forklifts and excavators,
\naccording to the company's operations manager, Saiful Kodri.<\/p>\n
The company pays around Rp 6.5 million for a box truck per
\nmonth.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/control-your-cash-flow-with-rented-vehicles-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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