Surfing the smartphone wave
Once a cottage industry, the Australian surfboard market was smashed by a wave of low-priced, mass-produced imports in the past decade.
But one artisan decided to ride out the tsunami by adopting technology better known for mobile payments, to keep track and improve delivery of his bespoke creations.
From Marshall, near Geelong, Josh Dowling's custom surfboards take a fortnight and 30 separate fabrication steps to make. Until recently the process was documented on a dog-eared specification sheet taped to each board.
The low-tech approach continued in the JD Shape's office, with the customer records system comprising an email archive, scribbled notes, and pictures on his Facebook page.
For surfing buddy and apps developer Stephen Franklin, Dowling's back-of-the-envelope operation was the perfect test bed for a production control app using near-field communication (NFC) tags and a smartphone scanner.
NFC short-range wireless technology requires a distance of about four centimetres to initiate a connection. It allows small amounts of data to be shared between an electronic tag and an NFC-enabled device.
NFC is employed in mobile payment systems, including MasterCard's PayPass and Visa's PayWave; which aim to speed payment at point of sale by allowing customers to tap their card or phone at the checkout.
Franklin's app is used by Dowling to enter order details on his Android phone and transmit them to the tag embedded in each surfboard. At each stage of manufacturing, customer information and design specifications can be retrieved.
Camera, search and share functions within the app also enable Dowling to find and send images of previous boards to customers deliberating over the minutiae of their latest design. For diehard surfers, a new board is an emotionally driven purchase and requests for progress reports are common.
Photos can also be posted to Facebook or Instagram.
"The app will allow it to be a little bit more streamlined for me," Dowling says.
"Each board is discussed pretty intensely - a lot of emails back and forwards."
Franklin said that while scanning technology was not new, past attempts to employ it in the surfboard industry had centred on proprietary systems that were out of reach for small players like Dowling.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
NFC (near-field communication) is a short-range wireless technology that connects when devices are about four centimetres apart. In the article, NFC tags are embedded in surfboards and hold small amounts of order and design data that an NFC-enabled smartphone can read or write during each production step.
Josh Dowling used a production control app on an Android phone developed by a friend. He enters order details into the app and transmits them to an NFC tag embedded in each board. At each fabrication stage the tag can be scanned to retrieve customer information and design specifications, replacing paper spec sheets and scattered emails.
The app streamlines record-keeping across 30 fabrication steps, improves delivery tracking, reduces reliance on taped spec sheets and email archives, and makes it easier to provide customers with progress updates — important for emotionally driven purchases like custom boards.
The app’s camera, search and share features let the shaper find and send photos of past boards to customers debating design details. Photos can also be posted to Facebook or Instagram, helping with customer engagement and marketing.
Yes. The article notes NFC is the short-range wireless tech behind mobile payment systems such as MasterCard’s PayPass and Visa’s PayWave, which let customers tap a card or phone at the checkout.
Past attempts to use scanning technology in the surfboard industry relied on proprietary systems that were too expensive or complex for small makers. Using an Android app and standard NFC tags made the system affordable and practical for a one-person or small workshop operation.
The surfboard maker used simple, low-cost digital tools to compete with low-priced, mass-produced imports. For everyday investors, it’s an example of how digital adoption can help niche manufacturers improve efficiency, customer service and differentiation.
Order details are entered into the Android app and written to the NFC tag embedded in each board. At each manufacturing stage the tag is scanned to retrieve the stored customer information and design specifications, replacing fragmented records like emails and scribbled notes.
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