Tosca’s renewal with TrackOnline reflects the increasing importance of digital asset management as pooling networks become larger and more interconnected.
Increasingly, we are reminded that managing a reusable packaging pool is much more than physically moving pallets, crates and containers. As pooling networks expand across multiple countries and trading partners, the software used to track those assets has become a crucial part of operations.
Case in point is a recent announcement from Tosca, which has renewed its multi-year agreement with TrackOnline, the cloud-based platform that manages the company’s European pooling network. The agreement, signed May 14, extends a partnership that has supported Tosca’s reusable packaging operations in Europe for several years. Under the renewed agreement, Tosca will consolidate multiple operating environments into a single cloud-native platform while continuing to manage reusable assets across its European network in real time.
For a company operating thousands of reusable plastic pallets, crates, and bulk containers across numerous countries, visibility into where assets are located and how quickly they are returned can directly impact service levels, fleet utilization, and replacement costs. According to the companies, the renewed platform includes TrackOnline Insights, an analytics and reporting module, along with API-based integration into Tosca’s ERP environment.
Familiarity, Future Readiness
“We have worked with the team behind this platform for many years, and that trust has been built up over time,” said Raf Fonteyn, vice president of technology, EMEA, at Tosca. “Choosing TrackOnline is therefore a logical next step for us. We stay with a partner who knows our operations while moving to a platform that is ready for the future and capable of supporting our company’s ambitious growth plans.”
While reusable packaging has traditionally been viewed as a physical asset business, the technology behind those assets has become more sophisticated in recent years. Pool operators increasingly rely on software to monitor inventory, coordinate return movements, integrate with customer systems, and analyze asset utilization across their networks.
The growing use of IoT-enabled reusable packaging is also providing additional streams of operational data. Rather than simply confirming an asset’s location, connected devices can provide information on movement, dwell time, and utilization that can help operators improve fleet performance.
European regulatory changes are also placing greater emphasis on data. As the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is implemented over the coming years, companies participating in reusable packaging systems are expected to face increasing demands for transparency and reporting.
TrackOnline said its platform is designed to support those requirements while helping customers optimize return flows and reduce asset losses. “Tosca knows our platform inside out and has once again made a deliberate choice for TrackOnline,” said Danny van Kampen, owner of TrackOnline. “That trust gives us the energy to continue building a platform that supports day-to-day operations.”
Tosca supplies reusable plastic packaging and pooling services to retailers, growers and manufacturers worldwide. TrackOnline provides cloud-based software for managing reusable packaging and other returnable logistics assets.
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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.
