Reusable industrial packaging : why tracking is becoming essential

In many industrial sectors—such as aerospace, chemicals, and agri-food—reusable industrial packaging like wooden crates, pallets, drums, and rigid containers is widely used to transport goods. These durable packaging solutions offer a dual benefit: reducing waste from single-use packaging and limiting recurring purchasing costs.

However, in practice, most of these containers are still treated as disposable. They are neither tracked, nor efficiently collected, nor properly leveraged for their full reuse potential.

The risks of not tracking reusable industrial packaging

Without a tracking system, it becomes difficult—if not impossible—to know how many packaging units are in circulation, which ones are lost or stuck at a client’s or logistics partner’s site, and how many times each item has actually been reused.

This lack of traceability can lead to uncontrolled recurring purchases, despite high reuse potential. It can also result in logistical inefficiencies, and in the inability to prove effective reuse, which is required by current regulations.

Implementing an Effective Reuse Tracking System

Setting up an individual traceability system for each reusable industrial packaging unit is no longer complex or costly.

With unique identifiers (QR codes, barcodes, RFID…), each container can be tracked at every stage of its lifecycle: dispatch, receipt, and return.

The data collected makes it possible to manage reuse flows in real time, identify bottlenecks or losses, and provide compliance evidence to regulatory authorities or eco-organizations.

In Summary

The reuse potential of reusable industrial packaging is often underutilized due to a lack of structured tracking. And yet, implementing a simple and well-adapted traceability system not only helps reduce losses and extra costs, but also enables companies to meet growing regulatory requirements.

Adopting a more rigorous approach to packaging management means choosing a more sustainable, more cost-efficient, and more responsible logistics model.