How Last Wave Productions Improved Crew Planning with Rentman

About Last Wave Productions 

Last Wave Productions is a San Francisco-based AV and live events company founded by two experienced industry professionals. In just a few years, they've grown from providing wedding DJ services to becoming a full-service event production business managing 150–300 events annually for major corporate clients. 

"We are a people-focused event company. Everyone on our team is committed to making our clients' events a success. We really focus on ensuring that our clients are taken care of, that we meet their needs, and that we deliver the best productions possible."
_{Mike Schimtz - Operations Manager, Last Wave Productions}

With a small core team and a network of freelancers, managing communications and project coordination became increasingly challenging as the company grew. Operations Manager Mike Schmitz began looking for a system that would help them scale while keeping their people-first culture, which led them to Rentman. 

‍The challenge: Manual processes that didn't scale

Before implementing Rentman, Last Wave Productions was stuck using slow manual processes that couldn't handle their growing business. The biggest problems were in three main areas: 

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Crew planning nightmare: Managing freelancer invitations consumed half of Mike's work week. Each invitation required individual emails or text messages. There was no way to track who had already been asked about an event or who had declined, leading to embarrassing situations where freelancers received multiple calls about the same event. 

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Disconnected systems: Mike described their old system as “like browsing a website from the 90s.” It was clunky, outdated, and frustrating to use. Invoicing and equipment management were completely disconnected, requiring constant translation and manual coordination. Equipment packages had to be tracked separately from inventory, making it impossible to see real-time availability.

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Information scattered everywhere: Critical project information was buried in months-old email threads, making it difficult for the team members to find the right information and execute events properly. This lack of centralization was causing stress and inefficiency across the entire operation. 

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Transforming operations with Rentman 

At the LDI Show in Las Vegas, Mike and the founders discovered Rentman's booth. Unlike generic software that needed heavy customization, Rentman is built specifically for AV & event production companies. They were immediately convinced and signed up on the spot, assigning Mike the responsibility of implementing Rentman across their operations. 

Once the system was fully up and running, Rentman became the backbone of Last Wave Productions' operations, leading to:

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Better workforce management: The crew planner has transformed how Last Wave manages freelancers, saving them 20 hours per week on crew management alone. What once took half of Mike’s work week now takes just 30 minutes a day. They can instantly send invitations to multiple crew members, track responses, and plan events weeks ahead. 

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"In that half-hour block, I'm able to stay ahead of things and have all of our events staffed 2 weeks to 2 months ahead of time."
_{Mike Schimtz - Operations Manager, Last Wave Productions}

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‍One platform for all operations: Equipment, crew, and invoicing now work together, making it easier for the team to get the latest insights into availability and track any changes. 

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Automation and efficiency: The platform's automation features have eliminated countless manual tasks, replacing them with: 

● Automated crew notifications for schedule changes and cancellations

● Digital signable quotes with Stripe integration 

● Automatic email reminders for unpaid invoices 

● Document templates for consistent communication

‍Looking ahead 

Last Wave Productions continues to push the boundaries of what's possible with Rentman. They're implementing RFID technology for warehouse management, exploring Zapier integrations for additional automation, and building custom tools using Rentman's API. 

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For Mike and the team at Last Wave Productions, Rentman has been the foundation for maintaining their people-first culture while scaling efficiently. The platform eliminated manual processes, provided a single source of truth for project information, and enabled better care for both clients and freelancers.Most importantly, Rentman allows Last Wave Productions to focus on what they do best: delivering exceptional events and building lasting relationships. 

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Ready to transform your event production operations like Last Wave Productions? Start your 1-month free trial today!