As the economy reopens, managing finances and minimizing the financial damages from COVID-19 will be crucial for many businesses.
That means many companies may look to cut capital spending and cancel major planned projects such as technology upgrades; however, this can be a costly and self-defeating move in the long run.
During economic downturns and uncertainty, investing in technology is one of the best strategies to help automate more processes, reduce labor requirements, create cost-saving efficiency, and get a competitive edge while other businesses hesitate.
Technology is particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic because it can be used to create automated processes that help ensure social distancing and empower companies to get work done with reduced staffing. Instead of cancelling technology upgrades or rollouts, companies should be looking to protect or even expand those investments.
Of course, the challenge is that technology still requires a financial commitment at an uncertain time when many businesses are looking to cut back on capital expenditures. But the good news is that implementing and upgrading automation technologies such as barcoding, RFID, and mobile computing doesn’t have to be a major capital expenditure.
Mobile and data capture technologies can be purchased through long-term financing and leasing options with regular monthly or quarterly payments instead of large up-front expenditures.
At TPI, we’ve offered leasing and financing to our clients for years because it offers a number of crucial advantages:
- Capital preservation during uncertain times
- Affordable monthly or quarterly payments for budget certainty
- 3 to 5-year lease terms for maximum flexibility
- Matching of product life cycles with depreciation schedules
- Options to include support and services in your lease agreement
These benefits have led many of our clients to switch to technology leasing, even when they’ve historically purchased all of their equipment as capital expenditures.
Right now, however, there’s an even bigger incentive to consider technology leasing. Due to COVID-19’s economic impact, interest rates are at historic lows, which means lease payments are lower as well. Leasing is already a great way to make technology more affordable, but when you can also save on your payments, it’s an added financial win.
Leasing is also an excellent way to avoid technology obsolescence and upgrade your mobile and data capture infrastructure at a time when many of your competitors will likely be scaling back or cancelling their investments.
For example, our leasing program is helping our clients upgrade their entire fleet of handheld mobile computers to Zebra’s next-generation MC9300 touch handheld computer.
The MC9300 combines the speed and simplicity of Android touch computing
Zebra MC9300
with a traditional industrial handheld mobile device with 8-core processing power and blazingly fast app response times. This allows workers to dramatically boost productivity and efficiency at a time when many of our clients are working with a smaller workforce and social distancing restrictions. And, yes, you can use it with a gloved finger.
It’s just one small example of how our leasing programs are making a difference at a difficult time for many of our customers.
If your business is facing financial challenges or uncertainty from COVID-19, or you’re just looking for a cost-effective way to invest in technology without large capital expenditures, we recommend that you carefully consider technology leasing.
You can roll your technology investments into a singular regular payment, including installation, services, and support. Pre-approval is fast and relatively easy.
To learn more about our technology leasing programs and find out if they’re right for you, contact us at TPI now. We’ll be happy to answer your questions, share more about our plans, and help you evaluate your options.