In 1999, Navigator Systems took a major technological step forward with the release of HireTrack Eclipse. The new software expanded the boundaries of equipment rental software even further with an expansion of their labor scheduling functionality and a simplification of quote creations. One difference with Navigator Systems is that everyone at the company has a production management background, and therefore, they are in an ideal position to leverage a mountain of experience and years of expertise. They use their familiarity with the challenges that end-users face to develop systems and processes that are well-suited to their customers’ needs. “Since each of us has done load-ins, slept under stages, and worked for 48 hours nonstop on huge productions, we have an enormous competitive advantage over other software companies that have tried to take existing programs and make them work for the entertainment industries,” says Navigator Systems’ Greg Smith.
In 2009, Navigator Systems introduced the HireTAG system, an integrated RFID solution designed for the events rental industry, providing a quick and easy mechanism to track practically every item of the customer’s equipment when it leaves or is returned to the warehouse. “Basically, the technological advance was in the construction of the tags,” Smith notes. “We took existing low-cost passive tag technology and modified it to work in the harsh RF environment of metal objects like truss, motors, cable and rack mounted hardware. The HireTAG arch system can scan hundreds of pieces of equipment through a road case, which will save countless warehouse hours that go into counting and checking out or in your equipment.”
Navigator Systems is continuing to innovate and expand their software offerings. The company is preparing to release an updated version of the HireTrack System called HireTrack NX in early 2012. Just recently, they have begun beta-testing the system with a few highly-trusted customers. This new SQL database incorporates hundreds of requests from customers into a system that is easy to use for the end user, and much easier for IT managers to manage, while adapting to an ever-changing world of technology.
For now, the company is keeping some of the new features and options a closely-guarded secret. But managing director David Rose promises that HireTrack NX will prove to be “a game-changer.” Navigator Systems, he adds, has been listening to its customers “as the industry has matured and grown into a business that demands more of its software. Contact relationship management has become a huge part of the business, and so we are addressing that, along with the ability to get more information out of the data which our customers have been entering for the last 15 years.”
