How technology can be used to scale circular rental businesses

When we sat down with Andrew Rough, CEO of Advanced Clothing Solutions, for HappyPorch Radio, we expected to learn about circular fashion, and the value to brands of exploring the opportunities in owned rental and resale. Which we did, in spades. But it also proved to be a brilliant example of how thoughtful technology strategy can make all the difference in enabling circular businesses to scale. Processing over 6 million clothing items annually while running at just one-third capacity, ACS has quietly built a technological backbone that's doing just that. 

As software engineers focused on the circular economy, we were particularly struck by how Andrew's team has addressed some of the most complex technical challenges facing anyone trying to scale circular operations. We can relate, as we help companies navigate such challenges as well. Their approach offers fascinating insights for anyone building technology for the circular economy.

The Power of Platform Agnosticism

One of the most elegant aspects of ACS's technical strategy is their commitment to remaining platform-agnostic. Andrew described this philosophy beautifully: just as they work with multiple shipping partners like FedEx, DPD, and Royal Mail to give brands maximum flexibility, they've taken the same approach with technology platforms.

"We are able to integrate our warehouse management system with all these different tech platforms because it comes back to a fundamental suite of APIs," Andrew explained. By building standardised API suites, ACS has created what Andrew calls a "really quick to market" integration process that helps remove one of the biggest barriers to circular economy adoption: technical complexity.

From our perspective at HappyPorch, this approach resonates deeply. We've seen too many promising circular economy initiatives stall because of integration challenges. And then we help them effectively move beyond that. In ACS’s case, they have essentially solved this problem by building technology that speaks everyone's language. When Andrew described successfully integrating with a retailer's 130 different outlets and their order management system, we recognised the technical achievement this represents. While most companies would have demanded the client adapt to their systems, ACS built systems that adapt to their clients.

This platform-agnostic approach also demonstrates pragmatic foresight. As Andrew noted, "There's a lot of players in the technology space. One could argue that there's too many and it gets a bit confusing. I do feel that there will be consolidation in that space in due course." By staying agnostic, ACS has positioned itself to weather whatever consolidation comes, rather than betting on specific technology winners.

RFID vs. Barcodes: A nuanced decision

The evolution of ACS's approach to RFID versus barcode technology offers an instructive case study in how operational realities shape technology adoption. Andrew's candid explanation of their journey reveals the kind of practical thinking that separates successful implementations from theoretical perfection.

In the apparel industry, traditional barcodes created significant operational friction. As Andrew put it, "You have to have line of sight. So you would have to have a scanning gun, and then you would have to maybe open up the jacket or the dress item and then scan it." Anyone who's worked in logistics understands the cumulative impact of these small inefficiencies at scale. 

We’ve seen as much in our work with clients. However, the choice between barcode and RFID is not a binary one. Factors such as product category, quantity, budget, customer preferences and processing workflow all influence the decision. It’s not a one size fits all proposition. For those of larger scale endeavours, ACS can definitely help with discerning the best path forward. For smaller operations in a variety of sectors wanting to refine and uplevel their circular business, we’re happy to help. 

ACS’s shift to RFID transformed their operations: "With RFID, it just flows through the facility and allows us to track the items" But the decision wasn't straightforward. The economics had to make sense. For rental items, where garments return multiple times and require wash-durable tags, the higher RFID investment was justified. For resale items, which might only pass through the facility once, it initially wasn't.

However, ACS didn't accept this limitation as permanent. Over the past year, they've worked with RFID manufacturers to bring costs down enough to extend the technology to resale operations. "That's been a big step that we've made," Andrew said, and we can appreciate why. This breakthrough enables consistent data collection across all their operations, regardless of the business model.

Understanding the economics, accepting initial limitations, but continuously working to overcome them is exactly the kind of pragmatic innovation the circular economy needs more of.

Data: Where The Value of Circular Systems Shines

We particularly enjoyed Andrew's discussion of data collection and its applications. His honesty was refreshing: "We collect a huge amount of data or I'll be very candid, we traditionally haven't been very good at actually communicating that data, but we're making big steps forward on that."

This transparency resonates with us because data utilisation is often the overlooked challenge in circular systems. It's relatively straightforward to collect data. The real challenge is transforming it into actionable insights. ACS is doing exactly this, and the results are helping effect real world change in how garments are designed.

"The brand has then been able to go back to their supply chain and say 'There's a common fault here that's been identified,' and that's actually changed the way that they've had their sourcing of the items," Andrew explained. This is a great example of the benefits of a fundamental shift from linear to circular data flows.

In traditional retail, brands lose visibility once items are sold. Circular models create continuous feedback loops. As Andrew beautifully articulated: "The advantage of a circular fashion solution is that you're constantly getting information about your product because by its very nature, it's circular."

From a systems perspective, this is profound. ACS isn't just processing garments, they're creating data streams that help brands build better products. They're capturing real-world performance data that would be impossible to gather in linear models. When our cohost Tandi, active in the fashion space herself, mentioned receiving feedback about product durability from ACS that helped improve design for both rental and general customers, it perfectly illustrated the multiplier effect of this approach.

Stepping beyond that, Andrew shared the possibility digital passports for garments could hold:  tracking manufacturing details, ownership history, repairs, and authenticity verification. All of increasing interest and importance, to both consumers and brands. He drew a compelling parallel to food traceability: "You go into the supermarket and they can tell you which farmer grew that raspberry in Fife. We should have that same information in fashion items."

Building Technology for Bidirectional Operations

A recurring theme we’ve noticed among many we’ve spoken to was how ACS has had to evolve beyond fundamental assumptions about logistics technology. Most warehouse management systems are optimised for outbound operations, getting products out the door efficiently. Circular operations require bidirectional thinking. Something we’ve enjoyed helping companies effectively grapple with, strategically and technologically. 

ACS has developed significant proprietary technology to handle this challenge. Their warehouse management system was built in-house, and they've adapted automated pick and pack systems to work for both outbound and inbound operations. 

This might seem like a small technical detail, but it represents a fundamental shift in how we think about logistics technology. The entire industry has optimised for linear flows, and companies like ACS are pioneering the systems needed for circular operations.

Scaling the Infrastructure for Circular Economy

What makes ACS's technological approach so compelling is how it's designed for scale. Processing 6 million items annually while running at one-third capacity demonstrates that proper technology implementation can create the infrastructure needed for circular economy solutions to compete with linear models on efficiency and cost.

Andrew's vision for European expansion leverages this technological foundation effectively. The platform-agnostic architecture and standardised APIs make geographic expansion more feasible by reducing integration complexity with local partners. As he noted, "There's no reason why we can't look after inventory and service European customers from the UK."

What This Means for the Circular Economy

From our perspective at HappyPorch, ACS has demonstrated that circular operations can be as efficient and scalable as linear ones when supported by appropriate technology. Andrew's observation about the shift in organisational ownership of circular initiatives particularly resonated with us. "Traditionally circular fashion solutions were maybe something that the sustainability team would handle, but now it's being handled by different parts of a brand or a retailer... to the main trading director, to the commercial director, and ultimately to the CFO and the CEO."

Their approach offers valuable lessons for anyone working to scale circular solutions: think in terms of platforms rather than point solutions, understand the economics of your technology choices, design for bidirectional operations, and never underestimate the strategic value of good data.

The circular economy needs more companies thinking with this kind of technical sophistication and commercial pragmatism. ACS shows us what's possible when technology strategy and sustainability mission align.

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You can hear, read and glean all the resources mentioned in Andrew's episode on HappyPorch Radio here. Visit ACS here.