Almost all modern businesses rely on some form of machinery to operate. A few examples of business machinery include construction cranes, die cutters, combine harvesters, commercial dishwashers, digital POS displays and office computers. There are many different ways to acquire these types of machinery. Each form of acquisition comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. Here are the five main acquisition methods compared.
Hire it
Hiring machinery can be a cheap way of acquiring machinery when you only need it for a temporary period. For example, a commercial cleaning company may decide to hire an industrial floor cleaner for a one-off job involving a polished floor. If this cleaning company rarely deals with polished floors it wouldn’t make sense to permanently acquire a machine. Of course, you don’t want to keep hiring a machine that you’re going to use regularly as this could end up being very expensive.
Lease it
Leasing machinery is like hiring machinery but for a longer period. You don’t own the machinery, but you still get full use of it. You pay a monthly fee to lease the machinery and at the end of your lease you can trade your machinery in for new machinery. You don’t have to pay high upfront costs as you would when buying machinery, however you may end up paying more in the long run.
Buy it
Buying machinery gives you full control of it. You can rent it out to others and even sell it when you no longer need it. Of course, machinery can be very expensive to buy. You could buy it using a loan, but this could mean having to pay large interest fees - which could make it just as expensive as leasing. It depends very much on the type of machinery you’re acquiring and how you plan to use it as to whether buying is a good deal or not. There’s no point leasing a card reader for $20 per month when you can buy one outright for $50.
Build it
If you need a machine to meet your custom needs, then building the machine may be the best option. This is common in manufacturing where a machine may have to be custom built to produce a certain product. You’ll likely need to hire a specialist company to build this machine for you. In some instances, you may be able to save money by sourcing your own parts such as specialty wire online. In some cases, you may be able to buy existing machines and customize them to your needs to save money.
Outsource it
When it comes to machinery that you don’t have space for or machinery that you don’t have training to operate, outsourcing this machinery is usually the best option. This could involve outsourcing a factory to produce a product instead of setting up your own factory, or outsourcing a crane operator and a crane to help on a construction job. Outsourcing can also be a way of saving money in some cases, although you do have to weigh up any fees that the manufacturer may charge for their service.
Hire it
Hiring machinery can be a cheap way of acquiring machinery when you only need it for a temporary period. For example, a commercial cleaning company may decide to hire an industrial floor cleaner for a one-off job involving a polished floor. If this cleaning company rarely deals with polished floors it wouldn’t make sense to permanently acquire a machine. Of course, you don’t want to keep hiring a machine that you’re going to use regularly as this could end up being very expensive.
Lease it
Leasing machinery is like hiring machinery but for a longer period. You don’t own the machinery, but you still get full use of it. You pay a monthly fee to lease the machinery and at the end of your lease you can trade your machinery in for new machinery. You don’t have to pay high upfront costs as you would when buying machinery, however you may end up paying more in the long run.
Buy it
Buying machinery gives you full control of it. You can rent it out to others and even sell it when you no longer need it. Of course, machinery can be very expensive to buy. You could buy it using a loan, but this could mean having to pay large interest fees - which could make it just as expensive as leasing. It depends very much on the type of machinery you’re acquiring and how you plan to use it as to whether buying is a good deal or not. There’s no point leasing a card reader for $20 per month when you can buy one outright for $50.
Build it
If you need a machine to meet your custom needs, then building the machine may be the best option. This is common in manufacturing where a machine may have to be custom built to produce a certain product. You’ll likely need to hire a specialist company to build this machine for you. In some instances, you may be able to save money by sourcing your own parts such as specialty wire online. In some cases, you may be able to buy existing machines and customize them to your needs to save money.
Outsource it
When it comes to machinery that you don’t have space for or machinery that you don’t have training to operate, outsourcing this machinery is usually the best option. This could involve outsourcing a factory to produce a product instead of setting up your own factory, or outsourcing a crane operator and a crane to help on a construction job. Outsourcing can also be a way of saving money in some cases, although you do have to weigh up any fees that the manufacturer may charge for their service.
RSS Feed
