Why Digitize Your Returnable Transport Items (RTIs)?
Your returnable transport items (RTIs) keep goods moving through the supply chain. But without the right visibility, they can quickly become a blind spot, especially if you’re still tracking them manually with spreadsheets or disconnected barcode scans.
Without real-time insight, it’s difficult to know where assets are, how many are in circulation, or when and where losses occur. As a result, you might over-order, experience shipment delays, or lose track of high-value assets altogether. Manual reconciliation becomes a constant drain on your time and resources.
What if you could stop guessing where your assets are?
At Lyngsoe Systems, we make it possible. Using technologies like RFID (radio frequency identification and BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), our solutions deliver real-time visibility, automate tracking, and integrate with your existing systems to reduce loss and improve control across the supply chain.
The hidden costs of manual RTI management
Overseeing your RTIs (Returnable Transport Items) manually might seem manageable at first, but as volumes grow, so do inefficiencies. Without accurate, timely data, even well-run operations can experience losses and mounting costs. Often, these challenges aren’t visible until they begin affecting your bottom line.
Lost and stolen RTIs
Your RTIs (Returnable Transport Items) can easily go missing, left behind at customer sites, misplaced between locations, or taken without oversight. When you’re relying on manual tracking, it’s difficult to identify where losses occur or hold anyone accountable.
If you manage large volumes of assets, this becomes costly fast. Replacing lost RTIs adds pressure to your budget and often leads you to overcompensate with surplus stock. When containers aren’t available where you need them, delays and inefficiencies follow.
Container Centralen faced visibility and security challenges across its large-scale pooling network, which serves over 23,000 users and moves more than four million RTIs globally in the horticulture sector.
Container Centralen implemented a custom-designed RFID solution, providing real-time visibility and ensuring each RTI was uniquely identifiable and protected against tampering. This enhanced traceability, improving operational transparency and reliability across the supply chain.
Inefficiencies in the RTI pool
Without visibility into where your RTIs (Returnable Transport Items) are, how long they’ve been idle, or when they’re due back, it’s hard to keep assets moving efficiently. Containers may sit unused or in the wrong place, creating disruption and increasing transport costs.
To stay ahead, you might feel forced to invest in surplus stock. But this adds to storage needs and operating costs. When RTIs aren’t available where they’re needed, shipment delays can follow, and your warehouse teams are left struggling to fill the gap.
Pack and Sea A/S, a Danish company managing 350,000 returnable fish crates, faced similar challenges across its network. It partnered with our team to implement our Lyngsoe LIVE Logistics™ Asset Management solution, which uses RFID tags to uniquely identify each crate.
Our system provides full visibility and traceability of crates across the Pack and Sea supply chain. As a result, the business reduced procurement of new assets by 50% and increased asset utilization by 200%.
Manual tracking errors and high administrative costs
If you’re still relying on paper forms or spreadsheets, you’re probably familiar with the errors they can cause. Even the smallest inaccuracies in data entry can lead to mismatches between recorded inventory and physical assets. These issues often go unnoticed until they cause delays or confusion about where assets are located.
Fixing them takes time and money. Your team has to track down the problem, verify asset movements, and update records. This all distracts from more strategic work.
Digitizing this process, as seen in the Pack and Sea example above, can reduce your administrative workload dramatically. In fact, we were able to support an impressive 70% reduction in the organization’s administrative burden by automating tracking and inventory reconciliation.
How digitizing RTI pool management solves these issues
Digitizing your RTI (Returnable Transport Items) management is key to overcoming the challenges outlined above. RFID and BLE technologies offer a powerful way to automate processes, reduce losses, and get real-time insights into your asset movements.
Optimized pool utilization and cost savings
With digital tracking in place, you gain data-driven insights that help you optimize your RTI (Returnable Transport Items) pool. You can monitor where each asset is in real time and quickly shift containers to meet demand, reducing the need for surplus stock and improving efficiency.
By cutting shrinkage and minimizing misplaced assets, you also lower your procurement costs. You’re no longer buying new RTIs to replace what’s missing. That means real savings and better financial performance.
Digitization also helps you reduce waste. By reusing more containers, you move closer to your sustainability goals and support a greener, more responsible supply chain.
Seamless integration with existing systems
One of the biggest benefits of digitizing RTI (Returnable Transport Items) management is how easily it fits into your current operations. Our solutions integrate seamlessly with existing systems like ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), WMS (Warehouse Management Systems), and TMS (Transportation Management Systems).
When we connect your RTI tracking solution with platforms like your ERP, WMS, or TMS, you get a unified, real-time view of asset movements across your operations. That means smoother data flow for processes like order fulfillment and invoicing, and better visibility into RTI movements, both in the warehouse and in transit, so you can optimize how your assets are used.
This alignment with your existing infrastructure eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and improves overall operational efficiency.
Building a smarter digital RTI management system
Digitizing RTI (Returnable Transport Items ) management provides real-time visibility, reduces losses, optimizes asset use, and cuts operational costs. With seamless integration into existing systems, you can improve efficiency and sustainability across your supply chain.
For more information on how digitizing your RTI management can streamline operations and drive cost savings, chat with our team.
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FAQ
Why is RTI management important for my business?
Effective RTI management helps reduce costs, improve asset utilization, and prevent losses, ensuring your supply chain runs smoothly and efficiently without unnecessary inventory or delays.
How do RFID and BLE technologies improve RTI management?
RFID and BLE beacons enable real-time tracking of your RTIs, providing visibility across your supply chain, reducing losses, and improving asset utilization by automating processes and eliminating manual tracking errors.
What are the benefits of digitizing RTI management?
Digitalizing RTI management improves your operational efficiency, reduces administrative costs, optimizes asset use, and enhances sustainability by providing real-time visibility and better control over your asset pool and supply chain.