Context and objectives

A major higher education institution faced significant operational inefficiencies in its equipment renting processes. The organization struggled with:

• lengthy approval times,

• lack of standardized procedures,

• manual workflows that were cumbersome and prone to error,

• miscommunication between departments.

These operational bottlenecks resulted in wasted resources, potential revenue loss, and frustration among both staff and stakeholders.

The institution engaged Agilytic to modernize its renting operations by standardizing procedures for consistency and automating manual workflows. This rental process automation involved establishing a centralized data infrastructure that would both enhance overall efficiency and improve communication across departments.

Approach

We began by conducting a thorough requirements elicitation and analyzing the existing processes and infrastructure. Based on this analysis, we conceptualized a new, streamlined process identifying key areas for automation.

Our rental process automation solution focused on the Microsoft Power Platform to create a robust data foundation. We implemented:

• SharePoint lists to manage rental details and the room catalog, providing a single source of truth for all rental-related data

• Eight Power Automate flows to handle repetitive tasks and approval processes, reducing manual intervention

• Document libraries that automatically generate inventory documents and price offers, ensuring accuracy and consistency

The project included testing, user acceptance testing, documentation, and handover to ensure the client's team could manage the new system.

Results

The implementation of this automated rental management system delivered immediate operational improvements. The institution now benefits from a centralized view of all rental activities, eliminating confusion regarding order status.

Key outcomes include:

• Staff spend significantly less time on administrative tasks related to rentals due to the automation of manual workflows.

• The standardized process and centralized data have enhanced both internal coordination between departments and external communication with stakeholders.

• The client expressed high satisfaction with the time savings and is exploring opportunities to leverage the SharePoint infrastructure for other operational needs.