eWave and Kennards Take Hire Higher
KENNARDS HIRE

Kennards Hire is the largest family-owned supplier of quality hire equipment in Australia and New Zealand, with more than 190 branches across both countries. Built upon robust core values and the ambition to be the best, Kennards Hire have provided customers with high-quality equipment and exceptional service for over 70 years. Their specialist branch knowledge and equipment is regularly used in some of the largest civil infrastructure and commercial construction projects across Australia and New Zealand.

Initially connecting at a trade show, eWave and Kennards Hire embarked on a partnership that would revolutionise the equipment hire world. eWave were selected based on their exceptional technical expertise and ability to innovate and deliver industry-first solutions.

With extensive experience across B2B and B2C, eWave’s unique understanding of consumer behaviour and technology platforms equipped them with the right tools to help Kennards Hire succeed.

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KENNARDS HIRE
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KENNARDS HIRE
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KENNARDS HIRE
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KENNARDS HIRE
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KENNARDS HIRE
Challenges
Building a Better Future with Ground-Breaking Innovation
01

Kennards Hire wanted to digitise the entire equipment hiring experience. 
The company’s success was built on a vision of superior service, ensuring that every customer was helped and supplied with the right product when they needed it.

They wanted to translate this quality and convenience to an online environment, creating a seamless ecommerce experience across every device for their customers. Customer expectations were changing and with no competitors currently offering a fully digitised equipment hire journey, Kennards Hire would be the first to provide consumers with the service.

02

As the business model was reliant on relationships – specifically branch connections to customers – the main challenge was to digitise while maintaining the personal touch. With varied customer persona groups spanning B2B and B2C, including DIY home improvement, tradesmen, construction companies and corporates, the objective was to satisfy a range of customers and use cases.

With a comprehensive understanding of the consumer landscape and technical know-how, eWave laid the foundations to reimagine the commerce experience for Kennards Hire.

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KENNARDS HIRE
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KENNARDS HIRE
Strategy
A Strong Foundation for B2C and B2B Experiences

eWave considered the complexity of the unique requirements in order to build a fully integrated web application for hiring equipment online. Whereas traditional commerce sites manage two parameters – product and location – Kennards Hire’s business model involved three: product, location and time. With outstanding out of the box commerce capabilities and flexibility, eWave selected Magento as the recommended technology platform to solve this challenge.

The solution was designed to service B2B and B2C within one platform to allow both to take advantage of the rich content and search capabilities, as well as fulfilling equipment hire through collection or delivery. Additionally, the B2B users were given access to specific account information and the options to manage sites, pay on account and clear monthly invoices.

Further functionality needed to be built in to ensure that the platform would best facilitate a request. If a customer couldn’t hire equipment from their preferred branch, then the application should automatically check inventory at surrounding branches and have the item delivered to the customer or their local branch.
 

Execution
An Innovative Design for Omnichannel Architecture

After a comprehensive consultation phase to understand the specific needs of key customer groups, eWave built a new platform that would deliver maximum value by focusing on the user experience.

eWave were able to streamline the site architecture and integrate the application with Kennards Hire’s 270 branches, creating a fully optimised omnichannel commerce experience for B2B and B2C. Beyond the customer experience, eWave ensured that the employee experience was supported throughout the transformation by effectively managing considerable change across the business.

Baseplan integration was at the core of this solution, to facilitate coordination calls on customers, inventory, pricing and availability. eWave implemented real-time where possible, and innovative approaches where necessary, to ensure the most effective design that would provide a fast user experience on the front end.

The successful, industry-first implementation of an innovative solution gave Kennards Hire a tremendous competitive advantage in the sector.

01

The world’s first completely integrated hiring solution. Tailored digital experiences for B2B and B2C customers.

02

Branch-specific catalogue and pricing. Complex pricing matrix based on customer, site and branch combinations. Pricing and rate logic based on four-hour, day, five-day, week and weekend logic.

03

Inventory availability governed by three dimensions: SKU, location and time. Complex quoting and contract workflows. Tokenised payments via two payment gateways.

04

Company accounts and tiered user account level access, roles and permissions. Smart commerce and content search.

Services
Exceptional customer experiences
Strategy
Strategy
Consulting
Technology Selection
Ecosystem Design
Experience
Experience
Service Design
Customer Journey
UX Design
UI Design
Delivery
Delivery
Commerce
System Integration
Infrastructure
Growth
Growth
24/7 Care
Maturity Model
Experience Optimization
Result
Equipping the Business with Double Digit Results

72% Net New Customers 

40% Increase in Transactions

31% Increase in Revenue

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