Overcoming operational hurdles with RAIN RFID - Christie Lites knows how to light up a stage. The Orlando, Florida-based global lighting equipment rental company has been illuminating venues — from intimate theaters to 10,000-plus-seat stadiums — since 1985 with their robust inventory of stage lights and related equipment. How Impinj RAIN RFID Readers transformed Christie Lites’ Operations, a global lighting equipment rental company boosted efficiency with asset tracking solutions from Barcode Technologies and Impinj. Their massive collection includes hundreds of thousands of items per warehouse, ranging from small connectors and cords to high-end lights costing thousands of dollars apiece. While Christie Lites excelled at putting performers in the spotlight, it struggled with aspects of its barcode-based inventory management system that was slowing down its busy team. Every time crews returned to the warehouse after a big show, it would take four employees more than eight hours on average to manually scan the barcodes on every cord, spotlight, dimmer, and strobe as they were unloaded from trucks and checked in. The system was more than slow; it had a high potential for human error. If an employee forgot to scan a piece of equipment at check-in, for example, it would show up as missing, and its actual location — in another vendor’s truck, somewhere in the massive warehouse, or left behind at the venue — was anyone’s guess. Christie Lites needed a faster, more reliable way to keep track of its inventory and ensure every item was returned. Using its Coventry, England, warehouse as a test case, company leaders decided to modify its existing inventory tracking solution to incorporate RAIN RFID tags and readers. They turned to Impinj partners Barcode Technologies and Beontag, for help. By fully automating a formerly manual check-in process, RAIN RFID gave Christie Lites the ability to: Increase efficiency and reduce errors Gain real-time visibility
