It may sound a little strange...the idea of subscribing to floor cleaning equipment. Especially since in the cleaning industry it is still more common for companies to purchase their floor cleaning equipment outright, track and file claims for warranties, and focus on writing off the equipment as it depreciates.
However, what if there is a better way?
For smaller companies, tracking five floor cleaning machines or less probably isn’t that difficult—the business often runs a tighter ship (out of financial necessity), there are less people and items to keep track of, and employees’ jobs are often cross-departmental—so communication is more fluid. Even still, it can be difficult to track total cost of machine ownership.
For larger companies, these issues are compounded. Multiple locations, many machines at each location, hundreds of employees, warranty paperwork, repairs and maintenance paperwork, multiple budgets to track, you get the idea.
In comes the subscription model!
Already a common and popular way to do business, the subscription model has changed industries.
According to Zuora, a leading subscription enterprise software company, 70% of people “agree that subscribing to products and services frees people from the burden of ownership (maintenance, clutter, declining value).” Suggesting that ownership can be a lot of work due to the sole responsibility being on the owner of the equipment.
A subscription gives back time and helps lessen the hassle of ownership, plus it enables users to focus more on the use of the product instead of worrying about the upkeep of the product. In a busy and convenience driven society, these things are increasingly important.
For the cleaning industry, the subscription model is a huge opportunity.
What if you could start to know your total cost of machine ownership and create an impact on your operating budget? What if you didn’t need to worry about the end of life for large floor cleaning machines (and the environmental impact and cost of disposal), what if you didn’t have to worry about maintenance and parts bills and the time it takes to track, file, and pay, all those bills?
Ahhh...sounds good, doesn’t it?
Sit back, relax, and let me tell you more about what you need to know about the first floor-cleaning subscription model on the market.
With an ICE Robotics floor cleaning equipment subscription, you can count on:
1. A Predictable Monthly Payment
With the ICE Robotics all-inclusive subscription service, you’ll avoid making a large capital purchase and be able to preserve cash flow. For businesses and BSC’s, this means keeping more money in the bank and having capital ready to help bid future jobs.
You’ll have a set monthly payment that you can rely on and budget for, and even if you have a large fleet of equipment, you’ll still get one bill each month—resulting in less paperwork to track, record, and manage—meaning less time and money spent on the administrative side of things.
Once you determine the subscription length that benefits your business, you can plan to pay that amount each month for the duration of the contract, again, helping to track budgeting and expenses better.
2. Parts & Service Included in Your Monthly Payment
It’s safe to say that cleaning equipment like scrubbers and sweepers will need parts and service throughout their useable life. This can be a costly expense. It can cost between $300 to $600 dollars each time a machine needs to be serviced.
In fact, industry averages suggest that over the useful life of a machine, an equipment owner will pay for the machine twice over in service, maintenance, and parts costs. Not only do those costs add up quickly, so do the costs of having employees facing downtime or trying to fix equipment—something most are not trained to do.
Using a subscription service means that service and parts (including lithium-ion batteries) are included as part of the set monthly payment. So not only will the issues be resolved without unexpected costs and additional billing, but in some cases, even the set-up service is handled for you—meaning your team is not being sidetracked by machine problems and can remain focused on the job.
3. Access to Active Maintenance
ICE Robotics intelligent cleaning equipment comes with i-Synergy, a fleet management software that allows end users to monitor and track equipment. ICE Robotics technicians remotely monitor and diagnose issues and if the issue can’t be solved remotely, they will dispatch a technician to the stie the fix the problem within 48 hours.
This also means that over time, data, and machine operational insights are collected and diagnosed, helping the technicians to track information regarding machine use and how it holds up in different environments and for how long.
With this data, the ICE Robotics team can start to put together an active maintenance plan that includes notifications sent to machine users letting them know when a machine needs routine maintenance or a part needs replacement.
This information aids in replacing parts and conducting maintenance checkups before there is an issue, helping to avoid unnecessary downtime.
This service is great because it helps cleaning staff to be productive and efficient, not focused on trying to repair malfunctioning equipment.
4. Benefits of Fleet Management Software
In addition to aiding in the building of active maintenance plans, i-Synergy fleet management is a great tool for managers, BSC’s and building owners.
As an end-user, you can monitor your entire fleet from a remote location through the app. The software works on tablets, phones, and desktops and provides access to data such as machine location (never lose a machine again), machine operators, time stamps that signify when cleaning starts and stops and for how long a machine runs, as well as total square footage cleaned.
Access to this data is included with the subscription service, as are regular software updates and upgrades that can otherwise cost hundreds of dollars.
Not only that, but ICE Robotics Tech Connect team helps monitor your equipment and works to help your team avoid unnecessary downtime from things like machines not plugged in and charging for the next shift.
Because of this, using equipment with fleet management software like i-synergy, businesses and BSC’s can save time and money across many parts of the business.
5. Service From the ICE Robotics’ Tech Connect Team
One of the most important aspects of the subscription model is the access to service. You are providing your clients with a cleaning service; we are providing you with service for your equipment so you can give your clients the best experience possible.
Our Tech Connect team not only helps to monitor your equipment, but they review alerts and notifications to help you identify optimizations in performance—sharing insight into your practices across locations. This can mean improved cleaning performance. Plus, as noted above, should your machine need on-site maintenance, they will schedule the technician to come to your location for you.
In addition, the ICE Robotics Tech Connect team will work with you to use collected data to build customized reports that best fit your business needs. These reports can be emailed directly to you and shared with stakeholders or interested parties, helping you show proof of performance.
6. Affordable Intelligent Cleaning Equipment
Through the ICE Robotics subscription, you’ll be introduced to some of the most advanced cleaning machines on the market.
It is no secret that lithium-ion batteries have become one of the best ways to power technology. Due to the ultralight metal combined with the highest electrochemical potential these batteries hold their charge long enough to get any cleaning job done.
They are some of the fastest charging batteries (capable of opportunity charging) on the market and need the least amount of replacement or attention and perform five times better than traditional lead-acid batteries. In the ICE Robotics i20NBTL+, that equates to 3.5 hours of floor scrubbing without interruption.
As one might assume, lithium-ion batteries are also some of the most expensive batteries on the market—so knowing that these are covered with the subscription service is another cost saving component and benefit to renting versus buying.
On top of that, it is in the best interest of ICE Robotics to provide clients with quality equipment, so they’ve manufactured durable parts out of quality materials to help ensure machines are built to last.
7. Not Having to Worry About End of Life of Cleaning Equipment
Disposing of large equipment can be costly—sometimes in the neighborhood of $2k per machine, and it can be a hassle.
Not only does disposing of equipment require tracking down the machine and any parts that have been removed, but it also often requires the help of someone on your team—taking hours away from the cleaning process.
When you subscribe, you simply send the equipment back to ICE Robotics at the end of the subscription term and they handle the rest. No need to track someone down to take the equipment off your hands, no need to pay someone to take the machine.
Ship it back to ICE Robotics and they take care of the rest. It’s simple, and that’s important.
Contact our team of subscription experts for more information on how you can get started with our subscription program.
If you’d like to read further, we suggest downloading: The Ultimate Guide to Renting vs. Buying Commercial Cleaning Equipment