RFID Asset tracking

RFID system upgrade delivers an efficient, streamlined process for GWC Regalia Hire.

GWC Regalia Hire rents graduation regalia to Institutions and Universities in the Canterbury region. Due to the nature of graduations, they have a short, intensely busy period, renting out up to 1000 gowns a day.

Orders were managed by two systems, a standalone RFID system with no cloud connectivity and an online ordering system. The ordering system allowed graduands to order and pay for their regalia without coming into the store, but the two systems didn't communicate.

The GWC Regalia Hire team would manually export the ordering data to the RFID system using CSV. This could only be done once, so any orders coming in after the export needed to be entered manually.

Calo was originally engaged to replace the RFID system with a system that would talk to the ordering system, which was also undergoing a rebuild. As the project developed Calo was asked to take over the ordering system as well.

The Calo Solution

The new system developed by Calo makes the graduation regalia hire process easier and more efficient for both GWC Regalia Hire and graduates.

The ordering system is live, so order and payment information is available immediately. Graduates arrive and are fitted with a gown, hat, and hood, all of which are placed in a bag. The bag is then quickly scanned with an RFID scanner and the items are added to their order.

When the regalia is returned, the bags are simply placed in the drop-off area, and the assembled bags are scanned with a hand scanner, quickly showing what has been returned and what is outstanding. The system makes it easy to quickly identify what hasn’t been returned, so resources can be directed towards finding outstanding items.

The team can then sort and restock at their leisure, as they have already ensured everything has been returned.

Results for GWC Regalia Hire

GWC Regalia Hire now has a streamlined ordering and hiring process that makes graduation season manageable for their team, with easy asset management of their stock and clear records of who has what.

The process of ordering, picking up and returning graduation regalia is faster and more reliable for students.