Enhancing visibility and reducing costs with RFID solutions
In the logistics world, Returnable Transport Items (RTIs) - such as pallets, crates and containers - play a critical role in keeping supply chains moving efficiently. While they may seem like pretty small components in a much larger system, the mismanagement or loss of RTIs can lead to hidden costs that can significantly affect a company’s bottom line. For many businesses, the financial and operational impacts of these losses are often underestimated. Here we explore the hidden costs of RTI mismanagement and how RFID solutions can provide game-changing benefits.
The consequences of ineffective RTI management
One of the most significant challenges companies face with RTIs is keeping track of them. The sheer volume of these items circulating through supply chains makes manual tracking time consuming and prone to errors. RTIs often get misplaced, lost, or even stolen, leading to unexpected and costly replacement expenses which in turn leads to inflated operational costs.
RTI losses also create inefficiencies, such as wasted time spent searching for missing items, delays in shipments and underutilized assets - these directly affect productivity, slowing down warehouse operations, and causing delays in the supply chain. The lack of real-time visibility and control over RTIs not only causes inventory discrepancies and strains logistics budgets, but also negatively affects overall productivity and customer satisfaction.
It’s estimated that up to 25% of RTIs are lost or misplaced annually in some industries, costing millions in replacements. The need to frequently replace lost RTIs drives up operational costs, while ineffective management can lead to overstocking or underutilization, which in turn impacts warehouse space and storage costs. Ultimately, these issues not only affect your balance sheet but also reduce your ability to meet customer demands efficiently.
Transforming RTI management with RFID technology
Fortunately, innovative solutions like ours can support with the tracking of RTI’s. By attaching RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) or BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) tags to RTIs, you can achieve real-time visibility into their location, status, and usage patterns throughout the supply chain. Each RTI is assigned a unique identifier that can be tracked automatically as it moves through different points in the supply chain, eliminating the need for manual counting or scanning.
This technology can dramatically reduce the number of lost or misplaced RTIs, improving asset utilization and cutting down on replacement costs. Our client Pack and Sea is a great example of this, reducing their procurement of new assets by more than 50% following their implementation of the Lyngsoe LIVE Logistics™ Asset Management solution. Real-time data provides you with actionable insights that allow for better resource allocation, improved accountability, and faster response times when issues arise.
The ROI of RFID in RTI management
As we have discovered, RTI loss and mismanagement may at first glance seem like minor issues, but they carry real costs, leading to inefficiencies and inflated expenses. Adopting RFID tracking solutions help you to uncover the hidden potential in your RTIs by increasing visibility and asset utilization whilst minimizing losses.
For businesses looking to remain competitive, investing in RTI tracking is not just an option - it’s a necessity. Thanks to enhanced visibility, you can significantly reduce RTI replacements and labor costs, whilst accelerating ROI and streamlining your operations. Contact Lyngsoe Systems today to find out more about our solutions.
