Leanne Ooi started her computer restoration business in 2001 after her employer decided to shut down its refurbishment unit because she was confident of the potential in the segment. Today, that faith has been vindicated, writes LIM WING HOOI.
WHEN the company she was working with decided in 2001 to scrap the computer refurbishment division she was in, Leanne Ooi Siew Lin did not allow herself to feel like it was the end of the world.
In fact, she decided to prove that the business her employer had deemed obsolete was still viable.
Ooi started her own company, Rentwise, a few months later and started refurbishing PCs, laptops and other hardware for lease and sales.
Fifteen years later, her conviction in the business has been vindicated by the fact that Rentwise is not only surviving but doing quite well. The company employs 60 workers and boasts some 200 corporate clients
“I was working as a business development manager with the information technology asset management company when they decided to change direction in 2001 as their foreign shareholder divested their interest. It was a moment of volatility, and I left the company and started Rentwise within the next three months,” Ooi, 39, remembers.
She started her new business with RM300,000 in capital and a staff of six at a rented 4,000 sq ft office in Puchong. Ooi explains that she needed the space as the business involved a lot of used PCs, and the workers needed a sizable area in which to work, from doing refurbishments to data security sanitation tasks.
“We see the potential in this segment because clients would usually retire their fleet of PCs in two to three years time. We managed to secure 200 PCs to begin with,” she recalls.
Once refurbished, the company’s used PCs are sold to small enterprises, usually ending up with companies looking for PCs in the non-critical segments of their business. In the early years, Rentwise sourced its computers mainly from Australia, the US and New Zealand — up to 80%. These days, though, local PCs make up 80% of their inventory.
“It’s cheaper to source overseas as we get to pick better quality equipment, which reduces our refurbishment cost. But we want to start a sustainable supply chain in Malaysia and subsequently in the Asean region,” says Ooi.
The company secures about 60,000 pieces of computing equipment, ranging from desktops and laptops to storage and servers, every year. These are repaired and restored, then leased or sold.
“We have about 200 corporate clients with users ranging from 100 to 1,000,” says Ooi, who points out that her clients are in various industries, from manufacturing and automotive to oil and gas, healthcare and education.
The company, which has 10 times more people than when it first started, moved to its current address, a 20,000 sq ft office in Natco Industrial Park, Shah Alam, in 2007 to cater to the increased volume.
They also have sales offices in Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Singapore.
Leasing, Ooi explains, is the preferred option for most companies as it’s light on their balance sheet. Moreover, companies would want to upgrade their equipment regularly since technology changes so quickly. Buying would make it more costly.
“It’s also a recurring business for us, where 75% of our business is in leasing and the remaining 25% is in selling refurbished equipment,” she concludes.
Originally published in The Star Online: http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/smebiz/focus/2016/05/09/restoration-of-faith/ on 9 May 2016. Reproduced here in full.
SMK Convent Pulau Tikus in Penang has been the latest recipient of refurbished computers from Rentwise as part of its ongoing CSR program dedicated to helping schools in need of upgraded computer facilities. The computer lab in SMK Convent Pulau Tikus was set up in 2001 with 30 units of desktop computers, of which only 15 remained in working order today.
As a partially-funded missionary school setup in 1950, this donation of refurbished computers by Rentwise couldn’t have come at a better time. Insufficient funds led to a poor upkeep of the Information, Communication and Technology Learning (ICTL) facility of this girls school. “We are indeed grateful for this donation as now our students can enjoy their ICTL lessons smoothly and this will bring about positive impact in their learning outcomes,” Puan Nooriah, the school principal said.
Puan Amaravathy, the Assistant Officer of Student Affairs said that the computer lab has been used as a meeting place for the school’s computer club activities. However, the remaining 15 working computers were too old for any good practical use. Hence, computer lessons were mainly taught from a theoretical perspective. “With these high specification computers donated by Rentwise, we are truly thankful because teachers can now conduct better ICTL lessons and use them to generate online quizzes and grade assignments efficiently and effectively,” Puan Amaravathy explained enthusiastically.
Rentwise has donated 50 refurbished branded desktop computers complete with keyboard, mouse and LCD monitors to equip SMK Convent Pulau Tikus’ computer lab and library. The Windows 7-preloaded computers are powered by Core 2 Duo processor with 4GB RAM and a large 500GB hard disk drive.
This reasonably powerful specifications will be more than sufficient for the ICTL needs of SMK Convent Pulau Tikus students who will be using them for basic word processing, presentation and worksheet tasks apart from the online learning experience crucial in one’s research works and achievement of a more global education outlook.
“We hope that this benefit afforded to our students would be extended to other schools as well. I wish Rentwise all the best in securing more partnerships with other corporate organisations in sourcing for old computers so that they could continue this noble CSR program for the benefit of others,” Puan Amaravathy said.
At Rentwise, we are truly committed in our CSR programs to work with underprivileged children and needy schools in need of computers for their ICTL purposes. SMK Convent Pulau Tikus has been our third recipient of quality refurbished computers after SMK St. Mary, KL and SK (P) Methodist, Klang over the past 4 years. Hundreds of students have benefited from the use of these donated and refurbished computers.
A deployment of this scale is a huge undertaking requiring months of planning ahead with a much needed, first and foremost, ready supply of computers as the key ingredient in this CSR exercise. Thus, Rentwise earnestly calls upon corporate organisations who are interested to collaborate with us in this CSR initiative to donate their old computers so that we can refurbish and donate them back to needy schools. Rentwise has the facility and expertise to do this and we believe the only key enabler is a constant supply of old computers to meet the demands of hundreds of schools nationwide.
In view of the increasing importance placed on information technology skills in our work force today, Rentwise is poised to make a difference in realising this vision. Our young generation are our future leaders and they deserve a good head start early in life to use ICTL in enhancing their learning skills and productivity.
Rentwise is indeed glad to be able to share this happy and momentous milestone with SMK Convent Pulau Tikus especially in light of the school’s 66 years anniversary this year.
Corporate organisations who wish to contribute to this CSR initiative or schools who are interested to apply as our program participants can get in touch with us.