Hong Kong container leasing start-up adopts Rental4000 from MRI Intermodal Software

Ocean Container Leasing Services (OCLS) Ltd has opted to install MRI Intermodal’s Rental4000 software to manage its new container leasing fleet. OCLS is a recently established leasing company headquartered in Hong Kong. Its parent company is situated in Tianjin, China and has been engaged in real estate development, urban construction and integrated logistics for many years. Container leasing is the group’s first overseas investment.

Since the company started, OCLS has purchased almost 30,000 TEU specifically to supply a number of the top 25 largest carriers in the world. With a goal to reach half a million TEU within five years, OCLS is planning to purchase many new containers as well building the fleet through sale and lease back transactions and managing equipment for other owners. Due to its ambitious growth plan, OCLS urgently needed a container leasing solution that could grow with the business.

“It was of key importance for the team to implement software that was ready for immediate use, rather than spending valuable time developing software from scratch,” declared Stephen Yeung, Managing Director at OCLS. “From research on the Internet and the many customer referrals, it was clear that MRI Intermodal Software was the market leader and had a solution that was an exact fit with our industry requirements.

“Other systems available just weren’t as user-friendly and the functionality wasn’t at the same level,” continued Yeung. “As a start up, it was crucial to establish an effective billing process that was quick and easy to implement and without errors. Contract management and control over the equipment were other important aspects to get right at the very start and Rental4000 has helped us do just that. The consultants at MRI have so much experience in this area that they were able to advise us on the best way to manage key business processes. The contract functionality covers everything from early return charges and billing cycle information to permitted monthly returns. The information is automatically fed from contract information through to the billing process to ensure invoices are correct.”

OCLS is currently focusing on dry box long term leasing but plans to bring in special equipment in the future. With software in place, it is able to run the operation with a small team and still grow the business considerably. OCLS went live with Rental4000 this summer and is planning to implement further modules in Phase 2, including maintenance and repair, equipment sales and MRI’s EDI translation tool.

MRI’s other leasing customers include SeaCube Container Leasing Inc, Beacon intermodal, Blue Sky Intermodal, Almar Container, Unitas Services and Waterfront Container Leasing.