Digital Delivery Operations Transformation for Equipment Rental Operations

United Rentals equipment supporting digital delivery operations at a construction site

The Challenge: Why United Rentals Needed Digital Delivery Operations

Digital delivery operations became a strategic priority for United Rentals, the largest equipment rental company in the world. Operating 1,768 locations globally, including 1,663 locations across North America, with 28,500 employees and a fleet valued at $22.48 billion, the company relies on a complex fleet management system to coordinate the delivery of vehicles, machines, and equipment across its extensive network.

For years, delivery operations depended on a mix of applications, paperwork, and manual coordination between offices, job sites, dispatch, and customers. As the business continued to grow, these manual processes became increasingly difficult to scale. Workers needed to move between locations to collect signatures, communicate updates, complete paperwork, and support delivery administration. These extra steps created delays, limited visibility, and made it harder to deliver the speed, accuracy, and consistency customers expected.

United Rentals recognized an opportunity to modernize delivery operations by replacing paper-based workflows with a more connected digital process. To do that successfully, the company needed a partner who could listen to the operational requirements, understand the complexity of the environment, and help guide the right technology approach without forcing a one-size-fits-all solution.

Barrier and Impact: Obstacles to Digital Delivery Operations

Several operational challenges stood in the way of creating efficient digital delivery operations:

  • Manual delivery workflows – Paper-based processes required workers to travel between offices and job sites to obtain customer signatures, communicate with dispatch, and complete delivery paperwork.
  • Administrative burden – Manual invoicing, paperwork, and process handoffs increased time spent on non-operational tasks and slowed delivery execution.
  • Limited delivery visibility – Customers and internal teams lacked the real-time insight needed to support modern digital delivery operations, making it harder to track order progress and delivery status.
  • Complex operational requirements – United Rentals needed functionality across delivery, fleet operations, back-office workflows, invoicing, and customer communications, but no single vendor could address the full range of business requirements.
  • Scalability pressure – As operations expanded, United Rentals needed a more connected and scalable approach to digital delivery operations that could support growth without adding unnecessary operational costs.

United Rentals needed a partner that could evaluate the entire delivery environment, align technology with operational goals, and help transition manual processes into a connected digital delivery operations framework.

The Solution: Building a Digital Delivery Operations Strategy

United Rentals partnered with DecisionPoint Technologies, formerly Barcoding, to support its transition from manual delivery operations to a more efficient, paperless workflow. DecisionPoint served as a systems integrator and advisor, helping United Rentals evaluate use cases, identify operational requirements, and select the right mix of technology to support the company’s long-term delivery strategy. 

Core components of the solution included: 

  • Operational discovery and solution planning – DecisionPoint worked with United Rentals to understand delivery workflows, field requirements, back-office needs, and the dependencies involved in digitizing a complex delivery process. 
  • Best-fit technology strategy – Rather than forcing a single-vendor approach, the team supported a best-of-breed model that allowed United Rentals to use specialized solutions across the different parts of the business. 
  • Mobile workflow enablement – The solution moved United Rentals from expensive enterprise handhelds to Android applications on Samsung S Series devices, giving the team a customizable mobile platform to support paperless delivery operations. 
  • Implementation guidance and coordination – DecisionPoint helped bring together the resources, planning, and implementation support needed to manage a complex transition with multiple dependencies. 
  • Future-ready mobility foundation – The mobile platform gave United Rentals the flexibility to adapt and update applications as business needs evolved. 

This approach kept the focus on the business outcome: helping United Rentals digitize delivery operations, improve visibility, and build a more scalable process for customers and internal teams. 

The Outcome: Digital Delivery Operations Results

The digital delivery solution helped United Rentals improve the speed, accuracy, and visibility of its delivery operations while reducing the burden of manual work. Key results included: 

  • Improved data accuracy – Digital workflows helped reduce errors associated with manual paperwork and disconnected processes. 
  • Reduced administrative work – The team spent less time on paperwork-intensive tasks such as invoicing and manual documentation. 
  • Faster delivery execution – Streamlined communication and workflow visibility helped improve delivery performance. 
  • Greater customer visibility – Customers gained more insight into order status, including when equipment was en route and when delivery was complete. 
  • Higher customer satisfaction – Improved accuracy, delivery visibility, and operational consistency contributed to a better customer experience. 
  • More scalable operations – United Rentals gained a more predictable and consistent digital process that supported additional deliveries and pickups without proportional increases in operational cost. 

Key Takeaway: The Value of Digital Delivery Operations

By partnering with DecisionPoint Technologies, United Rentals transformed a manual, paper-based delivery process into a connected digital workflow. The result was a more efficient operation with better data accuracy, stronger visibility, and a more consistent experience for both employees and customers. 

The project also created a scalable foundation for continued growth. Rather than focusing only on devices, DecisionPoint helped United Rentals align people, processes, and technology around a clear operational goal: making delivery operations more accurate, visible, and efficient.

“The DecisionPoint team came in and took a very complex series of tasks, implementation events all with varying dependencies, and they were able to find solutions and help us see a clear path and guide us through it.”

J.R. Taalman
Director of Central Operations Strategy
United Rentals 

Ready to Modernize Delivery Operations?

DecisionPoint Technologies helps organizations replace manual workflows with connected, scalable solutions that improve efficiency, visibility, and customer experience. 

From operational discovery and solution design to deployment, lifecycle support, and managed services, DecisionPoint helps teams simplify complex technology decisions and keep critical operations moving. 

Talk to an expert  to explore how DecisionPoint can help modernize your delivery, field, or fleet operations.

United Rentals
Industry
  • Supply Chain & Logistics
Company Size United Rentals is the largest equipment rental company globally, with 28,500 employees and a fleet valued at $22.48 billion. It operates 1,768 worldwide locations, including 1,663 in North America.

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