Shipsy’s returnable packaging material (RPM) module tracks pallets, crates, kegs, cages, trays, and totes across every movement in the outbound-return loop — from plant to depot to customer and back. It reconciles expected stock against observed stock at every node, identifies leakage and stranded assets in near-real-time, and automates the write-off and recovery workflows that used to be manual quarterly exercises. Enterprises deploying RPM typically recover 20%+ of the asset pool they thought was permanently lost.
Why we built this
RPM is a hidden cost line in every brewery, beverage, FMCG, and automotive network we’ve audited. A single enterprise can have 500K+ crates, 100K+ pallets, and millions of trays in circulation — each one worth $5–$100, with replacement cycles driven more by loss than by wear. Leakage ranges from 5–25% annually, eating into margin that nobody reports because the system of record never actually knew where the assets were.
The root cause is that RPM movements are invisible to the standard TMS. A truck picks up finished goods; the finished goods are tracked; the pallets under them are not. When the truck returns empty, nobody counts. RPM got built as a first-class asset-tracking layer on top of Shipsy’s TMS so every RPM unit gets the same accounting rigor as a parcel.
How it works
RPM runs four integrated mechanisms:
Mechanism 1 — Event-based stock ledger. Every node in the network (plant, depot, customer, cross-dock, third-party yard) has an RPM stock ledger per asset type. Every movement — pickup, drop, return, transfer — is an event that debits one node and credits another. The ledger is event-sourced, so the current balance is derivable from history and reconcilable against physical counts.
Mechanism 2 — Scan-based movement capture. RPM units are labeled — barcode, QR, RFID, or LPN — and scanned at every movement. The driver app captures “loaded 40 crates from depot A” and “delivered 40 crates to customer X.” The loop closes when the empties are picked up on a future trip and scanned back at the depot. For bulk assets without individual scanning (e.g., kegs palletized in stacks), count-based capture is supported with variance flagging.
Mechanism 3 — Leakage detection and aging. The system maintains an aging view per asset at each node. An RPM unit sitting at a customer for more than its expected turn-time is flagged (aging threshold per asset type — e.g., 21 days for beverage crates, 7 days for bakery trays). Aged inventory surfaces in a recovery dashboard, and the system can trigger automated customer communications (reminders, pickup requests, charge-back notices).
Mechanism 4 — Settlement and write-off workflows. For enterprises that levy RPM deposits or charge-backs, the module computes the financial picture automatically: who owes what, how much has been billed, how much is at risk. Settlements tie into Nexa’s reconciliation workflows, and contested counts route through Vera’s dispute resolution.
Here’s the circular flow at a glance:
Early results
Enterprises deploying RPM typically report, within 90 days:
- 20%+ recovery of the circulating pool previously written off as leakage.
- Asset aging visibility in hours, not quarterly inventory cycles.
- Customer-side deposit and charge-back disputes drop 30–50% because the evidence (scan timestamps, signed receipts) is irrefutable.
- Procurement cycles stabilize — the enterprise stops over-ordering replacements to cover unknown leakage.
A global alco-bev leader operating across 70+ countries uses RPM tracking across its global distribution footprint to manage crate, keg, and pallet circulation at scale.
What’s next
Three upgrades: RFID gate-reading at hubs and plants (eliminating manual scans on bulk movements), IoT-tagged tote monitoring (live location for premium assets where leakage is most costly), and cross-enterprise pool sharing — for sectors like brewery distribution where multiple producers share a crate pool, unified reconciliation across pool participants.