Global Tracks, a specialist in IoT, and IPP, a leading rental pallet provider in Europe,recently announced the launch of a ‘Connected Pallet’ project; a bespoke IoT development initiative for IPP’s pooling system, one of Europe’s leading circular economy models. The project will underpin the development of greater insight into one of the most established reuse models in the supply chain.
Global Tracks is a Netherlands based expert in the development and provision of specialist IoT solutions in many sectors; logistics, automotive, solar, and mobility. Global Tracks technology deploys bespoke IoT modules to enable the digitalization of existing business processes and the development of new models and processes. By leveraging advanced data technology, companies can gain greater insight into their products, processes, and supply chains.
IPP is a long-standing expert in pallet pooling solutions for FMCG, Industry, and Recycling. Every year, the company supplies more than 50 million pallets to customers across Western Europe. IPP is part of Faber Halbertsma Group, one of Europe’s largest circular economy businesses, producing pallets and operating a number of leading pallet pooling solutions.
The two experts have agreed to work together to develop insight into how to deploy Global Tracks’ IoT expertise in the context of the IPP Pool and the extensive data provided every time a pallet is used. The new solutions can be used to help make it easier for customers to work with IPP by digitalizing the data flows that up until now are provided in a more analog way. Based on the data available, IPP can gain insight into asset damage, usage, and loss. In the future, the connected pallet may become pivotal in new, unique applications and possibilities.
“In a reuse model it’s vitally important that we maximize recovery of pallets in a timely way,” stated Eric Schrover, CCO at IPP. “It’s what we do as poolers. At any given time, millions of pallets are being processed across the breadth of many supply chains. Any inefficiency in a pooling model can mean an enormous loss of value. IPP is focused on sustainable sourcing, efficiency improvement, waste reduction, and collaboration across the supply chain, in order to mitigate costs and environmental impact. By monitoring physical location and flows, we gain insight into process inefficiencies. We expect that Global Tracks will be instrumental in helping us to access such insight as part of our wider digitalization ambition.”
“These solutions that we are developing show that IoT is especially useful in highly traditional business processes and can even be applied to low-value assets,” added Ralf Heeremans, CEO at Global Tracks. “The potential of IoT is not limited to high tech companies. Whilst the humble pallet has been in use since the 1940s, we are facing the challenge together with IPP of taking it into the 21st century. It’s all about efficiency with regards to future material handling, storage, and distribution.”