Shepherd’s goal, in a nutshell: remove as much friction, inefficiency, and information-based doubt as possible for asset-based companies. Having been in business for quite a while now, Shepherd has taken care of the larger waste-risks for companies. Barring big changes in NetSuite that Shepherd then adapts to as part of its profile, it’s the more subtle details that keep Shepherd on top of its game as the only NetSuite-native EAM.

A new layer in your rental workflow

This blog looks at one such neat addition to the rental module: “Rental Deliveries.” The name itself is a bit deceptive and is to keep the function’s naming convention in line with the existing process in the rental module. 

Rather than being related strictly to the delivery of rental assets, it has more to do with assigning them to specific bookings. What you will also experience is a deeper integration with service orders, where delivery and assignment actions are now embedded directly into the service workflow rather than handled separately within rental module processes.

Access to the service order is as simple through the mobile app as the web version. Whichever the interface, the items you need can be cross-referenced with what is available. If anything is missing, you can establish when it is due in order to deliver what is needed at the earliest date possible.

That might not sound like much, but if Shepherd has developed it, it’s because it was important enough for a customer to want this added. After all, that is how most Shepherd functionality within existing verticals evolves these days: the customer wants it. Let’s look at it more closely to see why this new feature made one person’s day, with more to follow. 

For rental companies, the key to healthy turnover vs headaches is surely having the assets to rent, and knowing their status. Add to that the practicalities of knowing the right equipment is available, assigned, and delivered at the right time, to the right place. Rental Deliveries helps address that challenge directly by way of an extra step connected to the Rental Deliveries list, therefore explaining the name.

A centralised view brings better control

The Rental Deliveries list is a single, consolidated view of all equipment bookings that are both coming up and that require action. Instead of clicking back and forth across multiple records or contracts, you get a clear, prioritised view where bookings are neatly organised. That new ease of navigation and execution can also be made available to those outside head office, like field service technicians who are responsible for physically delivering and preparing equipment on-site, even if they do not have dedicated rental permissions.

Records are listed based on start date, since the sooner it is likely to start, the greater the need to make sure everything is squared away as far as the rental contract is concerned: no point sorting out next month’s rentals if the ones due tomorrow are in shambles.

Along with the start date, there’s logical segmentation by equipment type and make or model, meaning the Shepherd solution ensures that similar bookings are clustered together while differences are immediately visible, saving you from embarrassing and possibly expensive mistakes: less ambiguity, and assignments that are easier to work through in a more structured way. 

Smarter filtering and prioritisation

However, the default grouping convention is not set in stone, of course, and changes are possible. The functionality includes a comprehensive search and filtering system so that you, the user, can search by any visible booking attribute. Filters allow narrowing of search results by date range, equipment type, make or model, customer, or rental contract. Being interdependent filters, the selections you get adjust the available options in other fields dynamically, avoiding invalid combinations and keeping the dataset relevant. The result is time saved: again. 

Using both real-time access to Shepherd and NetSuite, and code scanning solutions, the equipment needed can be selected and added to a rental contract’s service order, whether the rental representative is in the field, yard, shop, dock, or plant.

When searching, you can decide how far into the future bookings are loaded. That might be only that day’s deliveries, or look several days ahead. Given that some customers might have dozens of contracts per day, this setting ensures that the list remains manageable and aligned with operational priorities. You can override this, however, so you retain both structure and flexibility depending on what it is you want to do.

From assignment to delivery in one process

In the middle of it all is the equipment assignment process. That’s where, once you know which contracts are covered by your chosen search criteria, you can allocate available equipment directly to those bookings. From there, the workflow goes beyond assignment into actual delivery execution, where users can pick specific equipment for each booking and mark it as delivered as part of the same process. Assignments are applied immediately; in response, the system updates booking quantities or removes bookings that have been fulfilled. 

The ability to update a rental service contract with ease must be matched with a system that allows for updates that show all is working to plan. Equipment status instantly changes across the system with every step, be it assignment, delivery, or return.

As a result, the interface continuously reflects the current state of operations without requiring manual refreshes or reconciliation, which is precisely where mistakes would happen or double-bookings would occur. 

Real-time updates and reduced errors

All these actions also populate the rental contract lifecycle, ensuring fulfillment activity updates the contract in real time, and do not require separate follow-up steps. Thanks to Shepherd’s expansive deployment of configuration as a way of selecting preferred practices, marking equipment as delivered can be used to determine when the rental period officially begins, for example, linking delivery completion with billing and contract timing.

Regular readers of the blog may be wondering if this function was covered a few months back, as it appears somewhat similar. It is not. Whereas the other aspect of the system deals with how rental items are categorised, such as distinguishing between assets and inventory for cost tracking or invoicing, this feature is concerned purely with execution. So related, but not a duplication. Its role is not to define what an item is in accounting terms, but to ensure that it is allocated, delivered, and tracked correctly within the operational workflow. Do that well, and the accounting side will look far healthier too, if you know what I mean.

Taken together, these capabilities form a delivery-oriented layer that brings structure, clarity, and responsiveness to rental fulfilment. By combining organised visibility, flexible filtering, configurable planning horizons, and immediate assignment feedback, the system supports a more controlled and efficient approach to managing rental logistics.

 Want to learn more? What better way than with a demo?

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