The push for sustainability is reshaping industries worldwide. Nowhere is this more felt than in global supply chains. Sustainability is quickly becoming a make-or-break factor for long-term business viability. Companies face immense pressure to reduce their environmental footprint, prove their green credentials and comply with many different upcoming regulations.
So, how can you effectively achieve these ambitious environmental targets and demonstrate real green credentials, without compromising on efficiency or spiraling business costs?
The answer lies in something surprisingly fundamental: knowing exactly where your critical supply chain assets (like those reusable pallets, containers and other returnable transport items) are at every point in your supply chain.
Why waste thrives without visibility
Think about the high volume of RTIs (Returnable transport items) moving through your supply chain to move your goods from A to B: pallets, containers, trolleys, carts and much more. Without precise tracking, these assets can easily become invisible ‘blind spots’.
This lack of asset visibility is a widespread issue; for example, a Deloitte study on packaging practices in the automotive industry revealed that suppliers and OEMs consistently struggle to get the right packaging to the right place at the right time. This often stems from inefficient returns management, a lack of cohesive tracking systems across diverse supply chain partners and insufficient management attention to what's often perceived as a mere cost, rather than a strategic asset. The firm even estimates a loss rate for reusable container pallets and lids as high as 15–20 percent, highlighting the significant financial and operational impact of these underlying problems.
The lack of RTI visibility leads to many inefficiencies and environmental waste, such as:
Lost and found (actually, mostly lost):
Misplaced or entirely lost assets lead to constant replacements, consuming new resources and energy for manufacturing and transport.The overstocking trap:
A lack of real-time usage data forces you to overproduce or overstock "just in case," tying up capital and creating excess.Empty runs and idle time:
Vehicles crisscross continents, sometimes half-empty, burning fuel unnecessarily because asset availability isn't optimized.Premature disposal:
Assets are retired too early because their true condition or usage history isn't properly documented, preventing repair or reuse.
These issues often go unseen. But they lead to substantial wasted capital while negatively impacting the planet. The fragmentation and guesswork around asset management makes it impossible to build a truly lean, efficient and green operation.
Addressing inefficiencies within the supply chain is no longer optional; it's a critical imperative. As highlighted in a November 2023 report by the World Economic Forum, a company's supply chain (often referred to as Scope 3 emissions) accounts for 75% of its total emissions on average. Considering that these value chains also represent over 90% of a company's impact on vital natural resources, optimizing them is crucial. Companies that fail to meet these critical sustainability performance demands risk not only their reputation, but also slowing their growth and competitive edge in a market increasingly prioritizing eco-conscious practices.
Sustainability efforts aren’t optional and neither is proving them
New upcoming regulations aren't just recommendations, they're becoming legal mandates. European legislation like the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the upcoming Digital Product Passport (DPP) all demand verifiable data on asset usage, environmental impact and circularity.
Agreements like the Paris Accord set the tone in the EU, which calls for dramatic improvements in sustainability performance. For example, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies are expected to lower their carbon intensity by over 90% by 2050 to meet these targets.
Similar requirements for sustainable packaging, comprehensive product traceability and supply chain due diligence are rapidly emerging or already in force across major markets worldwide, including North America, Asia and beyond. From extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes in Canada and plastic reduction acts in California to growing traceability initiatives in China and deforestation regulations mirroring EU efforts in the UK and Brazil, this widespread regulatory shift is forcing companies to gain unprecedented visibility into their operations and supply chains, extending far beyond their direct control.
Trying to meet these requirements with manual tracking is something you can’t and don’t want to do. What you do want is a solution that offers:
Lifecycle traceability:
With this you’re able to capture every step in an asset's journey, from production to use and reuse, creating a digital twin.Digital asset profiles:
This entails comprehensive historical data on each item, ready for reporting.Verifiable movement history:
Where you can see time-stamped location logs for audit readiness, proving responsible handling and usage.
Future-proof compliance starts with real-time data. At Connected Load Carrier we help you prepare with ease, turning regulatory challenges into possibilities of gaining a competitive advantage in your industry.
Easily meet sustainability demands with our IoT solution
The global push for sustainability demands a shift from linear "take-make-dispose" models to a circular economy and returnable transport items (RTIs) are central to this transition. However, their true potential can only be unlocked with precise tracking.
Our IoT-as-a-Service solution is specifically designed to help you run more efficiently while making sustainability effortless. By equipping your assets with smart trackers and connecting them to our intuitive 360 Asset Control Tower, we deliver real-time data that empowers you to move from reactive logistics to proactive, sustainable control.
This allows you to optimize asset pools by identifying and re-circulating idle carriers. It also helps improve maintenance and rotation based on actual usage. Lastly, it demonstrably proves the reuse cycles of your RTIs for sustainability goals and regulatory reporting.
With our solution you can easily:
Optimize your asset pools:
Easily identify idle or underused carriers and put them back into circulation, maximizing their lifespan and reducing the need for new purchases.Improve your maintenance & rotation:
Gain real-time insights into asset wear, usage and condition to optimize maintenance timing, extend lifecycles and minimize costly replacements.Demonstrable your circularity:
Precisely track and prove the reuse cycles of your RTIs, directly contributing to your sustainability goals and providing the verifiable data for regulatory reporting.
With data-driven decision making, sustainability happens by design, not by added effort.
Visibility is the foundation of sustainable asset management operations
In today's complex world, supply chain sustainability is no longer an optional extra; it's a fundamental requirement for business resilience and competitive advantage. The good news? It doesn’t have to mean a full-scale transformation. With the right IoT tracking, smart tools and clear insights, you can make steady, meaningful progress… one step at a time.
Real-time visibility is the backbone of any modern, sustainable, efficient and compliant supply chain. It empowers you to make smarter decisions, reduce waste, optimize resources and confidently meet the demands of a greener future.
Ready to turn sustainability into a business advantage? Whether you're aiming to reduce your footprint, improve reporting, or just make better use of your load carriers, we're here to help!
Let’s explore how smarter asset control and scalable IoT can transform your operations.
