A low-cost and disruptive supply chain optimisation and asset tracking system

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Reusable packaging is becoming increasingly common across supply chains -- for example the thick green plastic boxes displaying fruit and vegetables in supermarkets. They are robust and can be reused many times, making them an environmentally-friendly solution.These containers can however become a challenge as they are easily lost in the complexity of most supply chains (left idle in warehouses, diverted elsewhere due to lack of space or damaged goods, wrongly filled with other items instead of being returned or being stolen). According to the 2015 Reusable Packaging Forum, **15-20% of reusable packaging goes missing**, with numbers consistent across many industries -- that's approximately **1.4bn crates that are lost each year in Europe alone**.At Sensize, we have developed a proof of concept system for monitoring supply chain assets worldwide using the latest IoT technology that can track packaging throughout its life-span (5-10 years) and provide information on its condition (via temperature, accelerometer and tilt sensors) so that:* Reusable packaging owners can control their valuable assets and ensure they are being used for the single cycle their clients paid for;* Stakeholders across the supply chain can identify weak links and mis-managed warehouses, improving efficiency and rotating stock more quickly;* Stakeholders can avoid theft and damage (e.g. frozen food kept at the wrong temperature, items being dropped, etc.);* Plastic waste from lost/abandoned packaging is minimised;* Food waste is reduced (according to BCG, widespread adoption of digital supply chain tools could reduce the problem by $120 billion annually);* Costs can be reduced across the whole supply chain.Our solution has already generated considerable interest from the market, including the world leader, but it still has limitations. With support from InnovateUK, we will perform the industrial research necessary to simulate real world utilisation, refine the technology and develop a protype demonstrator tracking system. This will also be able to perform supply chain analytics and implement optimised communication and power management strategies.Incorporated in November 2016, Sensize Ltd is a Cambridge-based company dedicated to monitoring supply chains worldwide using the latest IoT technology. Reusable packaging objects are fitted with trackers that monitor location and the environment and send the data to the company's back-end system, hosted in the 'Cloud'. This generates actionable intelligence for supply chain users. After timely delivery of our disruptive project, we will **create 265 jobs** and generate accumulated **profits of £71 million** by 2025 (143x ROI).