It’s half past three in the morning at Download festival. The main stage is nearly ready. 80,000 fans will start arriving in a few hours, but there’s a problem: the sound engineer needs a multipin connector to enable the headliner’s unique setup. Somewhere amongst the thousands of identical black connectors and cables coiled in flight cases, that socket exists. Finding it manually will take hours they don’t have.
This scene happens thousands of times across the events industry. Not just at festivals, but at corporate events, theatre productions, and touring shows worldwide. It’s the type of crisis that keeps production managers awake at night and explains why large event tours routinely lose thousands of pounds of equipment per event.
For years, the problem seemed unsolvable. Everyone knew RFID technology could track assets, but metal cables create interference that makes RFID useless. It was the AV industry’s technical brick wall, until two British companies decided to find a way around it.
The Asset Management Crisis in AV Equipment Rental
The events and AV equipment rental industry is worth £9.3 billion and is expected to reach to £15.5 billion by 2033. But it has a dirty secret. Behind the slick productions that wow audiences is a logistical nightmare that’s been years in the making.
65% of event professionals say scheduling challenges with equipment are their biggest operational headache. Asset loss rates can hit up to 10% annually for AV hire companies without proper tracking systems. While 79% of professionals now use event management software, their physical assets remain completely invisible to these digital systems.
The traditional solution has been barcode labels. But anyone who’s worked a muddy festival or outdoor corporate event knows how well that
When the ground is saturated and there’s mud everywhere, barcodes easily corrode and assets get lost.works. Labels peel off or become unreadable after a few rounds of pressure washing, and they require someone to physically scan each item individually. When production teams are working through the night to set up for thousands of people, manual inventory management simply isn’t practical.
The scale of the problem is astounding. A single touring production might carry over 10,000 cables, most looking nearly identical. Corporate AV rental companies manage inventories across multiple warehouses and hire locations. Industrial events need temporary power grids with hundreds of specialised cables that must be returned to exact specifications.
What you end up with is an industry running on spreadsheets and clipboards, where asset databases are only as good as the last person who remembered to update them. Paperwork goes missing between venues, manual logs get soaked in the rain, and by the time equipment goes missing, it’s already three events too late to do anything about it.
But what if you could swap the clipboards for a handheld scanner?
We’ve already proven the concept works. One AV hire customer achieved over 90% accuracy in automated asset tracking by retrofitting RFID tags on to their existing cables. Using plastic storage bins and strategically placed scanners at point of entry, they cut their inventory management time by over 50%. By embracing technology our client has increased turnaround times while reducing man hours, much to the delight of both their customers and the board.
The Future of AV Equipment Tracking: Integrated RFID Cable Solutions
Now imagine that same festival setup, but with RFID technology built into every connector and every cable from manufacture.
The production manager taps the RFID tag on a flight case with a handheld reader. Instantly, the screen displays a complete inventory of every item inside – no need to open the lid. The system already logged everything when the crew packed down from the last venue. The multipin connector the sound engineer needs? It’s in there, along with its service history and last test date.
Within a minute, a stagehand is wheeling the flight case over and running the connector up to the crew putting the finishing touches on the stage setup.
When the production wraps up, instead of the usual chaos of pack-down – where cables get thrown into cases and everyone prays that nothing goes missing – every item gets automatically verified as it’s loaded. The system knows what should be there and immediately flags anything that’s not accounted for.
This is the future CoreRFID and Ten47 are developing. Two specialist UK companies – one Scouse, one Scottish – collaborating on what everyone thought was impossible.
We’ve worked with manufacturers globally to deliver comprehensive asset tracking systems for every industry you can imagine. We’ve spent years understanding what it takes to make RFID work in harsh environments. Ten47 has built their reputation around bespoke cable manufacturing and protective solutions. Separately, we know our respective fields inside out. Together, we’re working to solve one of the event rental industry’s biggest technical challenges.
Embedding RFID tags directly into Moulded Cable Connectors during manufacture is the next-generation solution to long-standing problems for the AV hire industry and beyond. Instead of retrofitting tags, the technology becomes part of the cable itself, engineered to survive heavy handling, pressure washing and harsh environments.
This integrated approach makes bulk scanning simple. Entire flight cases can be read in seconds, with every cable accounted for automatically. But it’s not all about speed. Real-time data feeds into event management software, allowing production teams to track condition, predict maintenance needs, and optimise inventory with minimal effort.
Tracking shifts from a manual chore to an invisible part of the process. Cables become ‘smart’ assets that report their own status on demand, helping event companies stay ahead of problems and work more efficiently, even as their operations grow ever more complex.
Switching to RFID-enabled tracking might seem complex, but we don’t expect customers to go it alone. Our implementation experts work closely with each customer to understand existing workflows and integrate RFID solutions smoothly with minimal disruption. The process can include on-site assessments, custom tag testing, training for staff on scanning and system use, and ongoing support to resolve any issues quickly. The goal is to make the transition easy and allow production teams to start seeing improved efficiency and accuracy as soon as possible.
Switching from disposable barcodes to durable RFID tags also reduces waste significantly. Ruggedised tags last much longer and aren’t constantly replaced. RFID tracking extends equipment lifespan by making maintenance and repairs easier to schedule and monitor. This cuts down unnecessary disposal and supports a more circular approach, repairing and reusing cables rather than discarding them early. It’s another way RFID technology helps businesses reduce their environmental footprint while managing assets better.
Companies working with RFID now are getting a head start. They’re learning what’s possible, building processes around automated asset tracking, and positioning themselves for when integrated solutions become widely available.
Meanwhile, businesses still relying on barcode labels and manual processes are missing the opportunity to understand how this technology could transform their operations. The gap isn’t just operational anymore; it’s strategic, especially as regulatory requirements make detailed asset tracking increasingly important.
That missing socket at half past three in the morning? It doesn’t have to be missing anymore. Find out how CoreRFID and Ten47’s RFID-enabled cable solutions can sort out the chaos in your operations.