A 30,000 Rebadge Overview:

This is a true story about a large tech-giant going through massive rebranding pains. With over 30,000 employees in the United States, they had to issue newly branded HID iClass RFID cards using a very secure process in less than six months. After reaching out to eXpress badging, we used our standard 8 stage rebadging process to complete the task covering: data, photos, design, card-technology, printing, issuance, enablement and verification.

Data: We imported over 30,000 records into our Veonics Portal™. from their source data. The data was not current regarding the preferred first name that is printed on the card, and the mailing address had to be confirmed. We used our Veonics CELLfie™ tool to confirm and allow updates of each record by the recipient via email. At the end of the project, all badge data and photos were obliterated from the Veonics Portal™ within required terms, only after the customer exported the cleaned data and approved photos for internal use.

Photo: We imported close to 20,000 photos and matched them to their associated records. Many of their source photos were not cropped to correct dimensions for a badge. Our Veonics portal was able to auto crop their photos to a standard size. After the photos were corrected, we then set up our Veonics CELLfie™ to authenticate through their mail server and released over 30,000 emails in managed groups to align with print and issuance. In the recipients’ email, they received detailed rebadge instructions, with a secure link to their record. Once selected they could update their photo, “preferred” name and address fields only, or select approved as is. All edited records were updated and approved by both the customer and team at eXpress badging. A series of auto-email reminders were released over several weeks per group until the customers’ ID badge record approval threshold was achieved. The companies previous responses never exceeded 66%; however, based on the positive response, we ended up with an 87% ID badge record approval rate!

Technology: We printed the badges on composite format HID iClass card stock. Since this was the same card in use, only limited testing was needed to ensure the cards produced by HID worked as they should before we printed 30,000 badges. They did not have any barcodes or magnetic stripes that would have required further testing and approvals.

Printing: Getting to this point took most of the effort, as data scrubbing, photo capture, and record approvals took most of the project’s time. Once a group of ID badge records was approved for printing, printed, quality control processed, it was then then affixed to a carrier letter and placed in an addressed envelope to be shipped to the owner of this new photo ID badge.

Issuance: Once printed and mail merged, we used USPS First Class postage and mailed each photo ID badge directly to each recipient. Once the badge record was flagged as “printed & shipped,” a follow-up Veonics CELLfie™ email was sent, asking the recipient to acknowledge receipt or not received by the simple selection of a hyperlink.

Enablement: As badges were printed, we used a feature called RFID Read and Post™ to capture the assigned RFID number, and write it back to the badge record. As badge records were marked as “received,” the customer exported the received records and auto-enrolled in their physical access control system via import. Badges were then ready for use!

Verification: It is a recommended best practice not to distribute all badges to a group until you have tested a small random population first. In this model, testing was done before the start of printing, and then after badges were enabled, paying close attention that the first few releases of badges worked in all systems tested. We also use this stage to resolve any error prints that require reprinting due to quality or data issues.

Throughout this rebadge the organization was faced with many complex and technical issues. eXpress badging was able to overcome all of these challenging tasks with our proven 8 step rebadging process. With our team of experts we were able to take the burden of this comprehensive badging project and complete it right the first time, on time.

Contact an eXpress badging ID Specialist today so that we can see if there’s any means for us to make ID badges easier and more cost effective for you! We specialize in large-scale badging projects, particularly ones that involve multiple designs and varying security technologies. With over 25 years of experience, there’s no project size that’s outside of our scope of capabilities. Our satisfied customers include hospitals, businesses, local governments, and schools. That’s not to say we won’t give small projects the same level or attention and detail, either. Whether you need 10 badges or 20,000, we will make it happen.