Ardent Hire Solutions

Ardent Hire Solutions is a rental equipment that emerged in 2016 from a merger between established plant hire companies, One Call Hire and Fork Rent. Since then, Ardent has set itself apart from its competitors by focusing on digitalisation, sustainability and exceptional customer service. The market has taken note, which is why Ardent has since become one of the most respected names in the hire industry in the UK, with more than 5,000 machines available for hire and ten rental depots operating across the country.

Since One Call Hire became a customer of inspHire, we've felt fortunate to witness Ardent's remarkable journey. Our relationship goes back more than 20 years, and we take pride in seeing how inspHire Corporate Edition continues to support its operations.

Introducing inspHire Corporate to Ardent Hire Solutions

inspHire recently visited Ardent's Ipswich depot and met with Gareth Clements, the Operations Director, and Lisa Barnard, the Customer Care Centre Manager. Gareth and Lisa discussed Ardent's story and successes and how inspHire supports Ardent's growth and day-to-day operations. Gareth, originally from Fork Rent, has been with Ardent ever since and has worked up to the Operations Director position. He was asked about the relationship between Ardent and inspHire.

The relationship with inspHire is something I've been involved in right from the early days of Ardent Hire Solutions. When we were working out the logistics of the merger, we adopted the inspHire system as One Call Hire was a customer already. So we decided to go ahead with inspHire Corporate and we rolled out the system across the whole of the business. The inspHire team were excellent in helping us throughout the entire process. If there's ever any issues, the inspHire team are just a phone call away and are able to cater to our needs. And as Ardent continues to grow, every function of inspHire can be tailored to what we need, which has been really useful to us.

Gareth Clements - Operations Director at Ardent Hire Solutions

With over 5,000 machines available for hire, inspHire is the perfect partner to support Ardent's growth

Regarding Lisa's role, she and her team handle all customer inquiries related to breakdowns, punctures, maintenance, third-party supplier invoices, purchase orders, workshop jobs, and all other aspects of hiring. They are also responsible for managing the newly introduced Operated Plant service. When we talked to Lisa about this new service, we asked her how inspHire supported its rollout.

With 70-80 operators to process each week, our original management method was over-complicating processes and very resource hungry. inspHire then introduced us to the timesheet function, which simplified everything massively. On average, this feature saves our team two days a week, allowing us to focus on other areas of work.

Ardent also offers a new service called Operated Plant, which allows customers to choose between self-drive and operated hire options. This new feature means you can meet all your plant hire needs in one place. The new service also comes with a dedicated support team for operated hires. They will coordinate the arrival of equipment and operators and promptly address any issues.

Another outdated process we had in place was manually inputting purchase orders into a spreadsheet, and then our finance team would pick this up and process. However, with inspHire’s cross-hire function, this will generate back-to-back purchase orders in one go with more detailed and accurate information – saving our team more time which is essential as this service continues to become more popular!

Outstanding customer service is in Ardent's DNA

When managing a team, it’s essential to be up-to-date at all times, especially when that team deals directly with our customers. With inspHire, I love the transparency of the audit trail on each job and you can see who is dealing with what. This allows us to provide quick updates back to the customer.

Ardent takes pride in offering a service that can transform its customers' productivity, reduce operational costs, and mitigate business risks. Their service is centred on four pillars: availability, reliability, capability, and sustainability. With a wide range of services and numerous customers, we were curious to know how inspHire helps Ardent's customer care team and supports the four pillars of their service.

Another benefit of inspHire is how it’s simple to navigate and consolidates processes. In a busy work environment, it’s essential for our customer care team to be on the ball - on average, it takes 90-seconds to create a purchase order through inspHire. Then, when we introduce new members of staff, it’s essential they are brought up to speed from day one and having an intuitive and effortless system in place is key. We have a training plan in place, and new starters never struggle getting to grips with the system, so it's great.

Ardent is committed to working towards a sustainable future

Ardent has also implemented various initiatives to reduce energy and waste, including a carbon strategy and a carbon offsetting program. Additionally, the company is a Gold member and Partner at the Supply Chain Sustainability School and has a seat on the Sustainability Committee for the European Rental Association (ERA). Through close collaboration with both organisations, Ardent Hire actively shapes policy and takes action towards sustainability.

Sustainability is close to our hearts and in everything we do, we have that in mind. We offset the carbon emissions from all of our transport fleet, so all of our deliveries are carbon neutral - it's really important to Ardent that we take every possible action towards a sustainable future.

Ardent has made significant investments in purchasing and providing the latest machines in the industry. These machines are equipped with the latest safety features, emission standards and technology, making Ardent one of the leading UK companies with a young plant fleet. To celebrate their sustainable successes, Ardent has recorded their machines' 34% fuel efficiency compared to older models. Furthermore, Ardent's 25 low-loader trailers feature innovative folding ramps that reduce drag, which has cut the fuel consumption of their delivery vehicles by over 15%.

Ardent wants to make a positive difference to those in need

Since late February 2022, the news has constantly featured stories on the Russia-Ukraine war. These reports regularly show visuals of ruined landscapes and affected citizens who have been forced to flee, sustained injuries or even lost their lives. Amidst such bleak circumstances, Jeremy Fish, the CEO of Ardent Hire Solutions, and his team decided to launch an ambitious appeal campaign and establish the Plant and Hire Aid Alliance to help those lives ruined by war.

The Plant and Hire Aid Alliance launched in March 2022. It is a group of companies in the hire industry, including inspHire, working together to support the humanitarian effort in Ukraine. After the alliance was formed, the members started fundraising efforts. They appeared on television shows, such as BBC, and received press coverage from ARA, HAE, and IRN. As a result, the news spread among the global hire industry, and market leaders soon joined the alliance.

Here's to the next 20 years with Ardent Hire Solutions

inspHire would like to thank Gareth and Lisa for their time and look forward to seeing Ardent take their service from strength to strength. If you'd like to learn more about Ardent Hire Solutions, please visit their website: https://www.ardenthire.com/. If you are interested in getting involved in the Plant and Hire Aid Alliance, please visit their website on how to become a member or simply get involved in their fundraisers: https://aid-alliance.com/.

"Our desire has always been to create the UK's premier plant hire company. We couldn't have achieved that without the suppliers, such as inspHire, to help us create what we've created now. So thank you to inspHire!"