A PACK EXPO Las Vegas panel brought together System Loco, Wave Reaction, and Inotec Group to discuss how technology-enabled reusable transport packaging is delivering measurable value, from loss reduction and operational efficiency to compliance with tightening regulations.
Why Technology-Enabled RTP Is Moving From Theory to Practice
The session, moderated by RPA board member Marty Mares, opened with an acknowledgment that the industry has moved past the exploratory phase. As Mares put it, “Manufacturers and end users want insights. In fact, they’re demanding we all become smarter on this topic.”
The panelists represented complementary sides of the technology-enabled RTP ecosystem:
- Souroush Honary, CEO of System Loco, specializing in embedded IoT for in-transit monitoring
- Dan Violi, CEO of Wave Reaction, providing software for tracking, managing, and analyzing large fleets of returnables
- Kirstin Heidenwag, Director of Marketing at Inotec Group, focused on RFID and in-mold labeling for durable identification
All three agreed on one theme: the value is no longer hypothetical. With the right data and the right processes, companies are uncovering inefficiencies they never saw—and proving ROI faster than expected.
Identifying the Real Problem—Not Just the Symptom
When companies approach solution providers, they often arrive with a narrow view of the issue. Violi sees this regularly: “Prospects come with a vague feeling that something’s wrong. They own tens of thousands of RTIs, but without tracking, they can’t tell if they’re doing a good job or a bad one.”
Honary encounters a different but related pattern: companies want to start with cost. “The first question is always price,” he said. “But the real question is: what will it save? What value will it create?”
Both stress the importance of understanding the current state and what it will look like if a pilot succeeds. A company managing 50,000 RTIs today may need very different technology once their pool scales to 500,000.
In some cases, the “real problem” isn’t the one customers walk in with. Honary gave a convenience-store example: the retailer believed pilferage was their main challenge. “But once we mapped the process, we realized the bigger issue was the time required to open and verify every tote at the store.” System Loco ended up designing a smart tote, using partners like UTS and Inotec, that validated full shipments with a single scan.
The lesson: technology works best when paired with real process understanding, not assumptions.
Turning Data Into Insights (and Insights Into Action)
Collecting data is easy. Structuring it, contextualizing it, and making it actionable is harder.
“You can gather all the data in the world, but without context, it has little value,” Violi said. The most successful implementations start with companies explaining:
- the KPIs their leadership cares about
- how their workflows actually operate
- what a “win” looks like internally
With that clarity, dashboards and analytics become powerful. In one case, Wave Reaction helped a global OEM manage new tariff exposure. “We reformatted the data so they could instantly see which steel racks were outside the country and when they needed to be back. That prevented a six-figure hit,” Violi said.
Heidenwag emphasized the foundational step: reliable data capture. RFID, barcodes, or hybrid systems only work when they map cleanly onto tracking points, digital twins, and ERP/TMS interfaces. “Optimal data management requires securely recording physical tracking data throughout the process and transferring it to a central database,” she said.
The throughline across panelists: technology is not the solution—good data is.
Regulatory Pressure and the Need for Traceability
Panelists emphasized how rapidly regulation is accelerating the shift toward technology-enabled RTP, especially in Europe under the PPWR and EPR frameworks.
“Many people still don’t realize how much impact PPWR will have,” Heidenwag noted. “You can’t meet reuse targets without traceability. You need to know where your assets are in the supply chain.”
Technology-enabled assets also simplify EPR reporting, offering:
- audit-ready data
- transparent material flow records
- real-time visibility for compliance teams
The panel agreed: the regulatory tailwind is significant, and companies without digital visibility will face rising administrative and financial risk.
AI, Digital Twins, and Future-Proofing Supply Chains
AI generated plenty of discussion, but panelists argued that the immediate priority is data quality. Violi cautioned: “If the data going into an LLM (Large Language Model AI) is poor, the insights will be poor. Good AI outcomes depend on high-quality data.”
Digital twins are becoming part of this foundation. Honary sees a shift toward integrating event data directly into customers’ ERP or TMS platforms, not asking them to adopt yet another standalone interface.
Ultimately, AI will enhance prediction and optimization, but the groundwork must be laid through robust asset-level visibility. Reusable packaging happens to be an ideal carrier for that infrastructure.
If Companies Do One Thing…
Marty Mares closed by asking all three panelists for the single piece of advice they’d give companies diving into technology-enabled RTP.
Heidenwag: “Find the benefit, and find your biggest pain point. Combine them.”
Violi: “Pick a path and start moving. Avoid analysis paralysis. Run a pilot you can execute and learn from.”
Honary: “Focus on solving the biggest problem you have. Work with partners who can prove value fast—and make sure the ROI is real.”
Across a session full of nuanced takeaways, this was the simplest unifier: start small, solve something real, and build from there.
For more background on reusable transport packaging, visit our reusable transport packaging hub.
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.
