The COVID-19 pandemic proved to have long-lasting effects on various industries globally. Even as many companies bounce back and recover from the impact, the supply chain significantly transformed due to manufacturers dealing with all sorts of shortages regarding labor and materials, per CNN.

Finding ways to manage business around the existing supply chain crisis can come with a lot of examination of how that can personally affect and improve a specific sector. What solutions have companies discovered as a way around the supply chain concerns? And how did they manage?

On the “Rentex Ready” podcast, Tyler Kern interviewed Janne Mummert, Rentex’s VP of Marketing and Strategic Accounts, and Dan Meehan, Panasonic's Senior Key Account manager of Rental and Staging, about the issues brought on by the supply chain disruption and solving the problem with creative solutions.

Kern, Mummert, and Meehan discussed several points, such as …

• The wide-range domino effects the supply chain caused
• How the impact of the supply chain crisis innovated more creativity
• Panasonic working around a major production issue at their China location and coming up with a solution that still greatly benefits them today

"We had another factory that was in another country that we were able to convert to making product that historically had been made only in China, and so we moved to this other country to be able to say, "Let's get this one going,' and so now still we have two factories that make those product lines for us, and we have the luxury of being able to choose which one can deliver faster," said Meehan.

Dan Meehan is the Senior Key Account Manager of Rental and Staging at Panasonic, where he’s worked for close to 16 years and held various management roles. He’s worked in the AV industry for well over 25 years.

If any businesses can speak to the growth of their company, it is ones like Rentex. The AV rental company was founded in 1980 during a time when AV needs weren’t as highly demanded. Today the general AV industry is a highly-valued market, according to Global News Wire. The Boston-based company has greatly expanded its business nationally and offers services and products that they didn’t before.

The growth of other leading factors such as technology and the desire for more improved graphics has been a contributor to the AV industry’s growth, and by extension Rentex. But the company didn’t accomplish its longevity without making necessary changes. In what ways did those changes have an impact on Rentex, and how has the company kept up with the times?

In an episode of the “Rentex Ready” podcast, Janné Mummert, Rentex’s VP of Marketing and Strategic Accounts, talked to the company’s president and COO, Don Gaskill, about Rentex’s journey from a small computer and office-needs rental company to a nationally known AV rental company.

Mummert and Gaskill also talked about ...

• The gradual shifts in the AV industry, from projectors to cameras to LED
• The growth of the LED market
• Rentex’s growth areas and the successful ways Rentex’s team assisted in its change

“Probably the thing I’m most proud of is the people that we’ve brought on and the caliber of people we've been able to grow within the company. In regard to products, things like ... smaller boardrooms — we were dealing with a lot of colleges. At that point, we were doing a lot of end-user business. And what I’ve really been impressed with is kind of how the size — the scope of everything that we are using now has gotten bigger, brighter, and more impressive,” said Gaskill.

Don Gaskill is the president and COO of Rentex since 2018. He’s been working at Rentex for over 25 years and held various roles before becoming an executive within the company. He began working at the company after completing his college studies at Bryant University in Rhode Island.

Janné Mummert is the VP of Marketing and Strategic Accounts at Rentex. She’s been with the company for seven years and is a graduate of Arkansas State University. She retains a highly successful track record of leading marketing and sales organizations in AV and high-tech.

The pandemic took a sizable bite out of the live event market, but resiliency in the face of adversity breeds opportunity. Kirk Lane, an Event Producer at Clarity Experiences, joined Janné Mummert to talk about the past couple of years and how that’s changed live events, in many ways for the better.

Lane said Clarity’s growth pattern is steadily trending upwards. “I’m one of two or three new producers that have been hired within the last six months to a year,” Lane said. “They’re looking at adding new account managers, and we’re expanding our workforce with our professionals in the various fields depending on the types of shows we’re doing.”

Lane credits Clarity’s innovation during the pandemic to tap into the virtual world and its expansion of capabilities to weather the storm and come out on the other end, ready to take on live events with more solutions than before COVID-19 hit. “They built a studio inside their offices, and they were doing weekly broadcasts, offering it to long-term clients and new clients. I think that opened many doors for them, breaking down the barriers of fear on the virtual side,” said Lane.

Today, live events contain many of the best solutions used during the pandemic to make them more dynamic than ever. “You can have a much wider audience, as well, that can download that content,” Lane said. “I also think it broke the barriers as it relates to the recording and utilizing the archival aspect of it, as well as being able to put together packages to offer to their attendees and various associations.”

While pulling off top-notch virtual events was fun for Lane, he said he was thrilled to be back creating live event productions again. “Sometimes there are some exciting challenges, especially with the hybrid scenario.”

With live events in full swing in the post-pandemic world, the demand for AV equipment and technology to meet the expectations of visitors, spectators, and attendees continues to grow. "It's very important that we make sure we keep up with technology and make sure we have solutions for our customers. Sometimes maybe they're alternatives to their first choice for whatever reason,” stated Janné Mummert, VP, Marketing & Strategic Accounts at Rentex.

Current demand continues to revolve around streaming requirements. The popularity of streaming events came to pass during the pandemic. Even though live events are back, offering people the opportunity to attend virtually continues to be the new normal.

“What we've seen in the recent past is that there has been a huge swing to having everything capable of streaming out.... Before, you might have had just the main session from an event that you might need to be able to stream. Now, you have to have every single breakout room. Every single small session will be ready to stream out,” said Greg Parker, Product Manager at Rentex.

To meet streaming needs, there has been a considerable increase in the ability of hybrid equipment to meet a variety of client needs using existing equipment, especially small switchers. The ROLAND V-160HD is a popular solution for managing hybrid events.

“Up to 16 mixed video inputs can be composited in the eight-layer video effects engine on Program, with an AUX bus and Multiviewer also available for up to 7 outputs. USB-C Streaming webcam output is included for use without any additional devices or drivers, using standard UVC video drivers for up to 1080p streaming. An impressive 40 channels of audio can be handled by the built-in auto mixing to bring together analog sources as well as the embedded audio (Rentex)."

Cameras are all in high demand for similar reasons. “We are not seeing a decline at all. In fact, we are seeing demand go up. We can't really buy them fast enough, but you take what used to be just a breakout room, and nobody was recording it, nobody was streaming it, nobody was broadcasting it. Now, all of a sudden, every one of those 30, 40, 50 breakout rooms is a one or two-camera shoot,” Mummert said.

And they have cameras and equipment available for clients interested in 4K footage. “It's mainstream available at every piece in the chain. When we moved from the SD world to the HD world over a decade ago, it was kind of a gradual process, and then all of a sudden, everything had to make the switch. 4K has been a lot more gradual because maybe the camera is capable of 4K, but we're not switching in 4K,” said Parker.

Technology continues to evolve to meet event needs of every size. Listen to more tech updates, including PB Pro alternatives and the ever-important question... When it comes to pixels, what's more critical quantity or quality (resolution or HDR)?

Rentex has been around since 1980. It's one of the business's biggest and most trusted audio, visual, and computer rentals. The business is transforming for the better after implementing a technologically advanced inventory system.

The RFID system means quicker turnarounds, better quality control, more accuracy, and a thorough return process. Imagine a 3-day, multi-room convention where the AV rental lacks equipment elements. What a nightmare. These large orders have many components involved.

The inventory system doesn’t track a single item and straightforward order. “We track a wireless mic kit with a base shoot, antenna, wireless windscreen,” said Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Accounts, Janné Mummert. Large AV rentals require robust processes. “It does take a lot of room for human error out of the equation,” said Mummert.

Human error will be avoided, like finding out a mic kit doesn’t have the fitted boom in return but not realizing it until the order needs to go to its next renter. “It’s one thing to be able to identify larger assets, but it's another thing to make sure that it works,” said the Director of Process Design & Improvement, Bryon Huber. Huber understands the client's needs intimately and spent 17 years working client side. The immediate, real-time feedback lets Rentex focus on checking that the equipment works as it should.

According to Retail News Asia, improved inventory processes “provide much more flexible, scalable, and dynamic storage solutions in a wider range of supply chain facilities.” Huber explained the process in detail, “we can take an entire truck, a 53’ trailer that’s backed up to our dock, and we can scan the entire contents with about 95% efficiency, within about 2 minutes, which is unreal. Using our directional scanners, we’re able to bounce that radio frequency off the walls of the truck. It's like a chirp. We send a little signal that says, ‘hey, who’s here?’ and those codes respond to the gun and say, ‘we’re here.’”

According to Supply & Demand Chain Executive, “Today’s customers expect the same visibility and transparency in their business-to-business (B2B) transactions as they experience in their personal transactions.” RFID prepares every account manager with the latest information available. The system will positively impact each rental.

Looking for a partner to support your next event? Rentex would love to speak with you!

Key Points:

• Cameras capturing breakout room sessions are now standard at live events.
• Event laser projectors are getting brighter and lighter.
• Customer feedback drives current AV innovations and trends in the live event space.

At the AVIXA Xchange Live booth at InfoComm 2022, Ben Thomas tapped Rentex’s Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Accounts, Janne Mummert, to co-host a panel of audio-visual experts to talk about the return of live events and to find out what’s happening with live events technology. Joining Thomas and Mummert were Seth Teates, CTS-D, Regional Sales Manager at Analog Way, Chris Prosio, Regional Sales Manager at BARCO, Dan Meehan, Senior Key Account Manager at Panasonic Live Events/Rental & Staging, and Mike Bergeron, Senior Category Owner at Panasonic Live Events/Rental & Staging.

For Mummert and the panel at InfoComm, 2022 was like a family reunion where close business relationships could come together again after two plus years of virtual events and zoom meetings. And that is the essence of the magic of live events; they are opportunities for people to come together and meet in person, share learnings, see new things, and get excited about available technology.

Live events may be back, but that doesn’t mean things remain the same. A lot has changed, from consumer expectations to live events technology. “In the corporate space, we’re seeing a push towards 4K,” Prosio said. “We’re seeing a push towards hybrid and internet; everything going through a network. And that will be the next big trend pushing through this industry.”

One of the things Meehan couldn’t wait for people at the show to see was Panasonic’s KAIROS live production platform. “It’s so all-inclusive, it’s almost defined a new category of capability and functionality,” Meehan said. “Knowing what I know about the live events business, possibly the greatest thing about it is if pre-live show engineering didn’t plan for something, KAIROS has that covered.”

A new product family from Analog Way made its debut at InfoComm 2022. “It’s our Alta 4K series,” Teates said. “It sits between our MidraTM 4K series and our Aquilons. You’ve got thirteen or sixteen inputs with four or six outlets, plus your monitoring output.” Teates believes it will hit a sweet spot for live event customers due to the increase in hybrid event needs.