- ROI begins with visibility, but actionable insights are the real game-changer.
- From steel racks to plastic trays, panelists share real-world lessons in building smarter business cases.
- Winning adoption means solving field-level pain points, not just crunching numbers.
The Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) recently hosted a very useful educational webinar exploring how companies can define a successful business case and return on investment (ROI) for technology-enabled reusable packaging. Moderated by RPA’s Todd Hoff, the panel featured industry experts John DiPalo (Antares Vision Group/ACSIS), Dave Horvat (Real Time Intelligence), Kristoff Van Rattinghe (Sensolus), and Michael Schwabe (Surgere).
Together, these panelists represented companies tracking hundreds of millions of reusable assets globally. Their collective experience offered a comprehensive view of what it takes to justify technology investments and to ensure they deliver measurable and lasting value.
Focus on Use Cases: Primary and Secondary
Defining a clear and impactful use case was highlighted as the foundational step in launching a successful technology initiative. Dave Horvat explained that most companies start with the same two goals: loss prevention and cycle time reduction. But he urged listeners not to stop there.
“Nearly everybody comes to the table with those two metrics,” he said. “But they aren’t always compelling enough to unlock capital.”
Horvat stressed the value of exploring broader metrics—what he calls secondary use cases—that emerge after the system is in place. To illustrate, he shared a compelling example:
“One customer didn’t believe they could manage a pooled asset fleet effectively, so they purchased three identical fleets of containers—one for each supplier—just to avoid the complexity. Same asset, different colors. Once we implemented visibility, we showed them they could support all three suppliers with a single pooled fleet. They went from 3x the cost down to one and a half or 2x, with much better balancing.””
By analyzing usage data, Horvat’s team could advise on which supplier needed more containers and which was already exceeding allocations. “Now they’re not just throwing empty containers on a truck—they’re sending them where they’re actually needed. That’s operational efficiency.”
Secondary use cases like this—balancing inventory, avoiding over-purchasing, identifying high-loss locations—often drive stronger returns than the original goals. “I promise you, once you start collecting data, the insights will surprise you,”” said Horvat.
Kristoff Van Rattinghe of Sensolus added that the most valuable opportunities often emerge from the field. “It’s the people doing the work who find the new ways to use data. They’ll say, ‘Now we can do this,’ and you build from there.”
He emphasized that digitalization opens the door to creative problem-solving: “It’s a journey. The best projects we’ve seen are where a champion believes in the technology and drives it with process knowledge.”
Scaling the Solution: Site-by-Site or System-Wide?
While some companies start small, others aim for broader implementation from day one. Michael Schwabe highlighted the unique challenges of multi-site or multi-customer rollouts.
“When you move beyond your own facility and try to implement across partner locations, you introduce a lot of variance,” he said. “You’re not just dealing with your own operations—you have to think about business agreements, onboarding suppliers, even installing tech on the other side of the loop.”
He cited customers who pay to implement tracking on behalf of their suppliers, just to ensure visibility across the entire network. “Others require their suppliers to participate. But either way, it adds a layer of complexity you have to plan for.”
Schwabe often advises starting with a single site or a defined loop where variables can be controlled. “That’s where you prove the value. Once the ROI is demonstrated, scaling becomes easier.”
From Visibility to Action
Visibility alone doesn’t generate ROI. It’s the ability to act on that data that turns insight into value. Horvat was blunt: “A visibility platform will give you actual insights. But that’s only going to produce an ROI if your organization is prepared to take action.”
To help drive action, Horvat’s team attaches contextual data to every datapoint they collect. “We apply the 5W framework—who, what, where, when, and why—as often as we can. The more context you can build into your data, the more actionable it becomes.”
John DiPalo emphasized the need for flexibility. “You’re not going to know all the information you want to capture at the start,” he said. A successful project allows for adding new data elements and evolving the use case over time.
Van Rattinghe underscored the importance of exception management. “Don’t show all the data. Just show what matters to that person, at that moment,” he said. As an example, he described a yard manager who previously spent 30 minutes daily on a bike locating assets. “Now he finds them instantly in the app. It changed his job.”
Building the Financial Case
The financial case for investment varies depending on asset type and volume. Horvat distinguished between high-value, low-volume assets like steel racks, and low-cost, high-volume ones like plastic trays. For expensive assets, the focus is often on minimizing plant disruptions. “If my return time creeps up even slightly, I want to know before I run out of racks and shut down a line,” he said.
For lower-value assets, visibility reduces loss and improves efficiency. Horvat cited a baking company that lost 25–30% of its trays annually. “By identifying where the losses occur, we gave them a roadmap to reclaim millions of dollars.”
Michael Schwabe noted that the best business cases often start by identifying the most common processes and products. “Don’t start with the fringe case,” he said. “Start where you’ve got volume and multiple teams involved. That’s where ROI shows up quickest.”
DiPalo advised engaging finance teams with a full picture of cost impacts: from asset purchases to unplanned trucking and cardboard substitutions. “When returnables aren’t available, companies make costly decisions. This program helps prevent that.”
Van Rattinghe added a competitive perspective: “Sometimes it’s not just about the spreadsheet. If your competitor has visibility and you don’t, they’ll outperform you. That message resonates in the C-suite.”
Final Takeaways: From Pilot to Permanence
The panel closed with a round of recommendations. Schwabe’s was clear: “Don’t think of returnables and tech separately. If you’re investing in containers, track them. Otherwise, you’re operating blind.”
DiPalo shared a principle he calls the “3 Ps”: Pilot becomes Production, and Production becomes Permanent. “Make sure your pilot is realistic, includes the right people, and delivers a quick win,” he said. “It sets the tone for everything that follows.”
Van Rattinghe pointed to adoption as the real measure of success. “It’s not a tech problem. It’s not an ROI problem. It’s adoption. Help people believe this will make their job easier. Then you’ll see real change.”
Horvat agreed. “If you don’t have an action plan ready, all you’ve done is run a science project.”
For more on technology-enabled reusable packaging, including ROI calculators and white papers, visit the RPA Technology Hub at www.reusables.org.
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Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
