Logistics Asset Tracking

Where logistics teams start

Begin with the asset categories that cause the highest downstream disruption when missing - typically high-value RTIs, pallet jacks, and shared dock equipment. Set geofences for key transfer points and assign alert ownership.

Once the workflow is proven in one hub or corridor, scale to more facilities and asset types using the same naming and alert standards.

Operational result

Movement timelines replace manual reconstruction during loss investigations and chain-of-custody reviews. Warehouse workers spend less time searching for shared equipment at shift start. Dwell-time patterns surface so operations can address bottlenecks before they cause detention charges.

For non-powered assets that move unpredictably between facilities, TagLogger delivers the accountability layer that barcode scanning misses and GPS tracking can't justify at scale.

Returnable transport item (RTI) shrinkage: closing the float

Returnable transport items — pallets, totes, cages, dunnage racks, IBCs — sit in a category most operations don't measure tightly. The published industry estimate puts annual RTI shrinkage in the 10–25% range across the average pool. At a plastic pallet pool of 50,000 units valued at $35 each, even the low end of that range is $175,000/year quietly leaving the float. The pool gets refreshed with new units, the cost goes into general overhead, and the actual shrinkage rate stays unknown because nobody has location data on individual units.

Tracking RTIs is a different problem from tracking finished goods. Finished goods get a barcode scan at every dock door and the location is implicit in the scan event. RTIs leave the dock, go to a customer, sit somewhere, and theoretically come back. The 'sit somewhere' phase is where the float collapses — at customer sites that have stopped returning them, at third-party warehouses that took possession during transfer, at recycling routes that picked them up by mistake. Without per-unit location, the operations team is reconstructing this from incomplete records months after the fact.

• Tag a representative sample of the RTI pool first (10–20% across categories) to baseline the actual shrinkage rate against the assumed rate — most operations find the real number is materially different
• Set geofences around customer sites with the highest historical no-return rates; track dwell time per RTI category to surface accumulation before it becomes write-off
• Use the timestamped movement history during loss investigations and chain-of-custody disputes — particularly when RTIs cross between sister facilities or contracted carriers
• Cross-reference dwell-time data with customer-billing cycles to identify which customers are quietly accumulating RTIs vs those returning on schedule

The output of an RTI tracking program is typically two numbers: the actual annual shrinkage rate (almost always different from the assumed rate) and the named accumulation points. From there, the operations team can prioritize recovery routes, billing changes, or contract amendments. The tracking layer doesn't fix RTI shrinkage by itself — but you can't fix what you can't see, and most pool managers are operating without the visibility today.