Addressing RTI Challenges with Advanced Tracking Solutions
Returnable Transport Items (RTIs) are invaluable assets within supply chains, designed to ensure the secure and efficient transport of high-value goods. While RTIs like pallets, baskets, crates, reusable containers, and cylinders offer notable benefits, their management presents unique challenges. Inadequate tracking and control of RTIs often result in excessive costs, lost assets, and logistical inefficiencies. Here, we explore the primary obstacles of RTI management and how implementing an advanced tracking solution can mitigate these issues, enhance operational efficiency, and significantly reduce costs.
Shrinkage and Asset Loss
One of the most pressing challenges in RTI management is shrinkage, which refers to the annual rate at which RTIs are lost, damaged, or misplaced within the supply chain. The industry average for RTI shrinkage ranges from 10 to 25 percent annually, representing a substantial financial burden for companies. RTI loss affects a company’s available inventory and requires additional costs to replace lost or damaged units. The failure to track RTIs across facilities, especially in multi-node supply chains, is a primary driver of shrinkage, leaving companies with significant expenses from these underutilized assets.
Untracked RTIs are especially susceptible to becoming misplaced, stuck at a facility, or even damaged due to improper handling. For example, a logistics provider might move goods between warehouses, inadvertently causing RTIs to accumulate at one location while creating shortages at others. Without a comprehensive tracking system, quickly identifying and relocating these assets is challenging, exacerbating inventory shortages and raising operational costs.
High Maintenance and Repair Costs
Another challenge companies face in managing RTIs is the need for regular maintenance and repair. RTIs can degrade over time without proactive upkeep scheduling, leading to non-compliant or unsafe assets that threaten product safety. The costs associated with unplanned maintenance and replacement are substantial yet often overlooked by companies.
Poor maintenance scheduling may also lead to unforeseen compliance issues, as regulatory standards mandate regular RTI checks, particularly for industries with strict safety standards, such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals. This is further compounded by the manual tracking of RTI conditions, which is time-consuming and vulnerable to error. When tracking is done manually, RTIs needing repair or servicing can easily go unnoticed, shortening their lifespan and raising the frequency of replacements.
Scheduling and Compliance Issues
Effective RTI management requires not only regular maintenance but also timely scheduling of asset utilization. Managing RTIs becomes arduous without real-time tracking, often resulting in costly scheduling disruptions. Inadequate tracking leaves companies reliant on “safety stock”—extra inventory kept on hand to offset the uncertainties of asset availability. Holding additional RTIs inflates inventory costs while potentially delaying the timely return of assets, leading to production inefficiencies and higher distribution costs.
Moreover, regulatory compliance is a growing challenge in today’s globalized supply chains. Industries like pharmaceuticals and food production are subject to specific handling and sanitization requirements for RTIs. Missing regular maintenance cycles or inspections due to a lack of tracking may result in non-compliance fines and increased regulatory scrutiny. For instance, failure to maintain RTIs in the pharmaceutical industry can result in safety concerns and added costs related to compliance violations. Without automated RTI tracking, it’s nearly impossible to maintain consistency in these critical scheduling and compliance requirements, putting the business at risk of non-compliance fees.
Case Studies in Asset Tracking
Several companies have successfully overcome RTI management challenges by implementing automated tracking solutions. One example is a chemical manufacturer with an extensive RTI fleet transporting materials to paint manufacturers. The company realized it had a surplus of costly RTIs due to poor tracking and frequent last-minute requests. By introducing an advanced RTI tracking solution, the company gained real-time visibility of each RTI’s location, condition, and availability, enabling it to reduce surplus stock and eliminate expensive last-minute orders.
Another case involves a gas company facing issues with RTIs, specifically gas cylinders that customers often lose or do not return on time. To address this, the company implemented an RTI tracking system to monitor cylinder returns, ensuring accountability and reducing asset loss. The tracking solution also enabled the company to introduce a rental and deposit program, improving asset return rates and utilization. The results included reduced shrinkage, better customer accountability, and a noticeable improvement in overall efficiency.
These cases illustrate that automated tracking solutions provide companies with the real-time data they need to optimize RTI usage, cut costs, and improve operational workflows.
Why Partner with Antares Vision Group
Partnering with Antares Vision Group brings measurable value to managing RTIs, addressing shrinkage, maintenance, compliance, and scheduling issues with precision and efficiency. Our Returnable Asset Management solution provides comprehensive visibility and real-time tracking to minimize asset loss, streamline operations, and enhance accountability across your supply chain. By leveraging advanced tracking capabilities, we help empower businesses to maximize RTI utilization and reduce costs, creating a sustainable approach to asset management. Take control of your RTI operations with our expert team and innovative solutions—Contact us today for a demo.