AGAR is a marketing and advertising company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Started in 2008, they offer a broad range of services including event management, content management, and communication. Focused on an experiential approach, they weave this theme into their work including event production, digital technology, music, art and content to grow culture for brands and communities.

AGAR is focused on creating memorable experiences for people, communities, and the brands that serve them. As their team works on diverse projects, they maintain a growing inventory of IT and event equipment to create great events.

Warehouse to venue – streamlined equipment management

This is where EZOfficeInventory plays a key role in enabling their success. Ethan Miller works in the production operations team and his job includes assisting the operations manager with warehouse, transportation, and inventory management. He explains that before AGAR automated operations with EZOfficeInventory, they were using Excel spreadsheets which was not an efficient or scalable solution.

The switch to EZOfficeInventory has helped them increase efficiency and reduce equipment loss. They are currently tracking everything from company issued IT equipment to event furniture and props with EZOfficeInventory.

The team at AGAR finds it extremely useful to log into EZOfficeInventory to access all the available resources and select what they need for a particular event.

Ethan described a typical use case. Over the 2021 Holiday Season, they assisted Procter & Gamble with a tree lighting event at the main city square in Cincinnati, OH.

One of their team members, an experiential director, was in charge of this event and she wanted to build the best experience possible.

EZOfficeInventory made it easy. She simply logged in, browsed available items, and checked out what was needed. This ranged from display sign elements to festive snowflake backdrops to ensure a great event with no last minute equipment availability issues.

Using Access control for powerful control over inventory

The access control capability within EZOfficeInventory has enabled the AGAR team to keep their production work separate from operations. While the entire company has access to the system, they can take limited actions while Ethan is one of three people with complete access. This has enabled more stringent control over their inventory.

Creating a “shopping style” user experience with EZOfficeInventory

One of the main selling points for EZOfficeInventory was that it creates a compelling, “shopping-like” experience for the producers at AGAR.

“it’s easier to get new production folks onboarded when the experience is more appealing,” says Ethan. “It’s more likely for them to be engaged with that.”

The thumbnail pictures are particularly beneficial as the team can see exactly what they are checking out which saves unnecessary trips back and forth to the warehouse.

“Our warehouse is 15 minutes away and there isn’t anyone there full time, so it’s good to not have to go back and forth to confirm which items are required,” explains Ethan. “It definitely saves us a few hours a week.”

Customizing the system for maximum ease

As they focus on creating unique and compelling experiences, AGAR needs to ensure their inventory is stored in a specific way for quick and easy access. They have customized the system to suit their unique needs. For example, certain types of items have names that start with their color.

“If someone is looking for an item for an environment and they want just blues and yellow, they just look up blue and this pulls up these chairs and pillows and rugs so that’s a pretty good way of using it,” explains Ethan.

They have likewise also created logical Groups and Subgroups of items for convenient browsing to save their team time and enhance project management across the organization.

Conflict free, predictable scheduling

As multiple team members check inventory in and out for events, EZOfficeInventory has been highly effective in helping AGAR streamline scheduling. If a team member reserves or checks out an item in EZOfficeInventory, it is marked on the availability calendar and they are given a preference in case of a conflict.

“People appreciate knowing that if they make a reservation via the system, they can be sure that equipment will be held for them,” explains Ethan. “It’s good to have reliable workflows and schedules.”

Accurate IT device management with EZOfficeInventory

AGAR is tracking all their company owned IT devices within EZOfficeInventory as well. This is especially beneficial for them when it comes to employee turnover.

They are able to maintain an updated and accurate log of devices via serial numbers and also add notes such as the previous apple managed ID on the device. This way they can track who is assigned to which device and they can easily ensure accountability.

“It’s good to have our IT in one space because that can be overwhelming and you can forget about certain items,” explains Ethan.

They have also been able to track their IT equipment and keep account of any items that are lost/stolen at events since each one is individually logged into the system.

Intuitive and engaging interface makes it easy to onboard new team members

One reason for their success with the system is that it is intuitive and easy to use.

“We have had 7 or 8 new employees and we have gone through a 30 minute training on the system for all of them, which is all you need,” says Ethan. “It’s a very easy interface.”

He adds that the support team is extremely responsive, have a great understanding of the system, and are always able to help when needed. Overall, it offers them great value for the cost.

The future with EZOfficeInventory

As AGAR grows and scales operations to include larger events and activations, they will be adding more inventory. They plan to fully use EZOfficeInventory capabilities to streamline workflows.

“It can really help us scale as we add more inventory to keep tabs on things and reduce risk of things getting lost or stolen,” concludes Ethan.