Rental Manager - Birmingham

About Crown Lift Trucks Ltd

Crown is one of the world’s largest material handling companies with a reputation for award-winning product design, advanced engineering & technology, and superior after‑sales service. For 80 years, Crown’s business philosophy has utilised vertically integrated processes to design, manufacture and distribute forward‑thinking, innovative solutions that improve customers’ productivity and operating efficiency. Crown produces a broad range of forklifts, batteries, chargers, automation solutions, fleet‑management technologies, warehouse‑solutions products and design services.

Since its founding in 1945, the family‑owned company has placed the customer at the heart of its business. This commitment is reflected in its brand promise: “When every minute matters, customers can count on Crown to keep their businesses moving.”

Job Description

Management and continuous improvement of the Rental Department, striving to ensure all activities are accomplished in the safest and most effective manner in order to deliver a high level of customer satisfaction and maximum commercial benefit to Crown and its customers.

As the Rental Manager you’ll be responsible for a team to ensure the administration of the short‑term rental fleet incorporating rental agreements, invoices and credit notes. Liaise with customer and sales team enquiries processing orders to maintain fleet status. Interacting with the Regional Service Manager to ensure trucks are prepared and available for transportation in conjunction with the Service and Parts department.

Responsibilities

• Ensure that contracts are raised, obtain signed contracts before delivery of equipment and invoice in a timely manner.
• Log and proactively monitor all rental enquiries.
• Manage customer queries in relation to invoicing, current and terminated agreements.
• Handle enquiries that relate to customer and sales leads and aim to within 2 hours.
• Accurately select equipment and request workshop jobs to enable job completion within required timescales.
• Manage transport for the region ensuring transport notes for delivery and collection of equipment are raised in a timely and accurate manner.
• Ensure inspection of returned equipment is done in a timely manner and estimates for damage are followed up and concluded efficiently.
• Termination of short‑term/rolling contracts to be dealt with promptly for subsequent rentals and ensure asset management in terms of identification, location and status.
• Forecast details in regards to rentals on a rolling 3 month basis.
• Prepare the annual budget with strong involvement in end‑of‑year audit for stock.
• Agree rental rates in conjunction with sales and direct to the customer.
• Manage the maintenance of service records and structure of information to the insurance company.
• Ensure all rented assets meet the requirements of LOLER and PUWER.
• Oversee the general administration relating to the rental department, including new customer documentation, sales team information, assist on processes and procedures and weekly reporting of all work requirements, new, used and rental equipment.

Person Specification

Essential Skills

• Strong administrative, organisational and customer skills.
• Good Microsoft Office skills with intermediate use of Excel (pivot tables and manipulation of large quantities of data), knowledge of Outlook.
• Excellent telephone manner to deal with customer queries and liaise with the sales team.
• Proven experience within transportation, rental and logistics is essential.
• Ability to build relationships and liaise effectively with customers internal (Region Service Managers, Sales, Service, Finance) and external.
• Knowledge of LOLER regulations.

Desirable Skills

• Experience of Baan or SAP would be beneficial.
• Engineering background and/or forklift truck knowledge beneficial.

Vacancy Details

Hours of Work

Monday to Thursday – 08:00 am to 04:30 pm (with 1 hour unpaid for lunch)

Friday – 08:00 am to 04:00 pm (with 1 hour unpaid for lunch)

Salary

Dependent on experience

Holidays

25 days holiday.

Benefits

At Crown, we know that our employees are the driving force behind our success in the material handling industry. We cultivate a culture of passionate people and inspired innovation. In fact, throughout Crown’s history, more than 1,000 employees have reached a 25‑year milestone, and we are proud to have travelled their career paths with them.

From employee training and development to competitive compensation packages, we invest in our employees, knowing that people are always at the core of what moves us forward.

In addition to financial remuneration and participation, we offer our employees various social benefits including but not limited to:

• Company pension plan.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Excellent discount scheme with access to the best perks from some of the UK’s biggest brands.
• Employee assistance programme.