Smart packaging rentals: The rental module in PackControl
Charging rental fees for reusable load carriers such as crates, trolleys, and pallets isn't just for packaging rental companies or pooling operators. If you're a carrier or your business is handling large volumes of packaging items, you also need a way to calculate and pass on those costs. The Rental Module in PackControl gives you full control over quantities and costs. In this blog, we’ll tell you all about it.
One of the powerful features of the PackControl Rental Module is that you have a choice of three different pricing models. These allow you to accurately calculate prices according to the method that best suits your business, and to automatically apply variables and exceptions. These are the three different pricing models:
This model is suitable for rental agreements of any duration, both short-term and long-term. These might be rental agreements per month or year, or for a period with a fixed start and end date. You can even set up different contracts per customer, e.g. a contract for rental of 1,000 crates from January and another starting in March, for 300 crates with a six-week term and a different rental price.
What makes this model so powerful is its flexibility. You can create templates for general use or tailor variables for individual customers. You can define invoicing intervals (e.g. every Thursday, or always on the 15th of the month), and you can apply general Price Rules to multiple contracts. The latter means that if you increase your prices, you only need to adjust them once to apply them to all relevant contracts. This saves time and avoids errors.
With balance-based pricing, rental fees are calculated based on an agreed packaging balance, i.e. the number of packaging items held by the counterparty. You can easily define how rental days are calculated: which days count as business days, whether to charge on public holidays (and which ones), and whether to include the return day in the rental period. Again, general rules only have to be configured once to be applied across the board, while still allowing for customer-specific exceptions.
A helpful benefit of this model is the ability to also define free thresholds. For example, you can set a rule to determine that the first 100 pallets a customer holds are rent-free, with charges only applying beyond that. You can also vary pricing by high or low season or specific periods. The software even lets you determine different calculation methods by contract. For example, one party might be invoiced based on their weekly peak balance, while another is billed on the daily closing balance. Once configured, the system ensures prices are automatically calculated correctly.
In this last model, rental calculations are transaction-based. You use it if you want to charge not only the rent, but also service charges like storage and handling. Think of pallets or crates you get back unsorted, or crates you store until the customer calls them off. Such actions take up time and space and sometimes it's okay to put a price tag on that.
Automatically calculate rental costs per packaging item, or based on volumes or tiers
In this module, you can use fixed rates per item, per volume or by tier. For example, you may charge one rate for 1-5 stacked crates and another for 6-10, or you can apply tiered pricing, where the per-item rate changes depending on the volume band. In such cases you can, for example, set a different rate per item for 6-10 items. You decide whether you work with net prices, apply discounts, or round amounts. And of course you can define exactly who the Price Rules apply to: a specific customer, a group of customers, or everyone.
The PackControl rental module is a powerful tool that ensures packaging rental fees are always calculated quickly and accurately. While many companies track their packaging balances in one system and costs in another, the PackControl software combines all packaging variables - quantities, costs and the many exceptions - in one robust software solution.
Thanks to an easy integration with your financial system, calculated rental fees flow directly into your accounting software, ensuring invoices are always accurate. You get clear insights, maintain control over costs, and have the right calculations at hand in less time, without having to look up or remember all the exceptions. Transparent pricing rules help you steer smartly towards faster returns. This way, you can keep better control of your returnable asset flows and can turn packaging administration into professional packaging management.
PackControl is the only software package that brings together all aspects of your returnable packaging management in a single solution. Gain full control over quantities, costs, and exceptions. Want to see how it works in practice, or find out how it can fit your business? We’d be happy to show you.