Returnable Inventory.

Returnable transit items (RTI) are used to carry goods within the supply chain or within the manufacturing process. Roll cages, pallets, plastic crates and totes are only few examples of the different RTI’s that exists. Typical RTI owners include postal operators, manufacturers, retailers and RTI pooling companies. Very often the exact number of owned RTI’s is unknown due to the various factors such as where the RTI has travelled, who has used it last, and when the RTI should be returned.

RFID brings additional visibility to the above mentioned issues. Because RFID tag equipped RTI’s can be read simultaneously and without human intervention, all RTI’s that leave the postal operator or pool owner can be registered automatically and allocated for certain customers in the data base. When there’s a trail in the records, customers can be charged accordingly for the exact duration they have used the RTI.

Manufacturers can benefit in many ways by controlling the manufacturing with the help of tagged RTI’s. The lifecycle of the RTI can be long, and the RTI can be used in all types of weather conditions, which poses a challenge for a RFID tag. RFID tags are robust and durable - designed and tested to meet the environmental challenges with the RTI.