Case Study: University of Cambridge achieves scalable pooled COVID-19 testing and real-time test-kit tracking with itemit

Cambridge University Is Using itemit’s Asset Tracking System For Asymptomatic Test Kit Tracking

The University of Cambridge partnered with itemit to support a pooled asymptomatic COVID-19 testing programme that needed fast, scalable logistics and real‑time communication across 37 colleges and more than 50 sites. The core challenge was ensuring the right test kits reached the correct households on schedule, were promptly collected and tracked through a closed‑loop supply chain, and that inventory and location data were available immediately — something a manual system could not provide under the tight implementation timeline.

itemit delivered its asset tracking system (QR tags, GPS trackers and a cloud app) to track test kit boxes, record scans and GPS locations, and automate status updates between drivers, colleges and testing labs. The solution was rapidly deployed (including a PPE pop‑up warehouse in under three days), enabled verification of deliveries and recovery of misplaced boxes, and supported the University’s testing capacity and outbreak control — for example, itemit’s tracking underpinned operations that tested 10,000 students in the final week of term without a single positive case and supported ongoing weekly testing operations.

University of Cambridge

Rob Glew

Researcher in Operations and Supply Chain Management