It’s estimated that about 10 percent of all returnable industrial packages are lost annually. While the loss of one or two cages, stillages, or trollies can be easily written off, losing assets every week from multiple depots or sites will amount to a significant operational cost, ranging in tens of thousands of dollars each year in replacements. In reality, most of these missing assets can be attributed to the use of inefficient processes that provide poor visibility into the location and movement of these packages.

With over two decades of experience in returnable shipping asset (RSA) tracking and management, Vestigo Corporation helps solve this challenge with its integrated suite of online applications. The company provides real-time tracking and end to-end visibility at all points of the supply chain for every RSA type, helping clients locate their assets with ease.

Many customers are unaware of how RSAs are being shipped out to job sites, and how many RSAs are picked up.

As the President of Vestigo Corporation, Alex Mitchell, says, “Vestigo Corporation has created its one-of-a-kind cloud-based tracking platform for RSAs. Dubbed Vestigo, the platform provides an electronic and archived record of accountability at each step of the supply chain.”

It utilizes mobile devices and unique ID media such as bar codes, RFID, or 3G/4G tags to measure and improve the usage, accountability, shrinkage, and velocity of various RSAs.

Unlike a GPS locator service that is highly dependent on the direct line of sight with a satellite, Vestigo provides detailed reporting of each movement and archives each transaction.

The database of archived transactions is secure and password-protected and can be queried by any data inputs from the original transactions. The data can then be downloaded either through generated reports or automatically through e-mail and can be integrated with existing systems.

Flexible data entry points allow for easy communication between the customer’s existing in-house tools and tracking systems. Needless to say, Vestigo provides users with all necessary information to make informed decisions, saving time previously spent managing RSAs.

The time savings are just one facet of Vestigo’s value proposition. The company also offers unmatched cost benefits to its clients. For instance, a leading manufacturing company possessed a fleet of 8,000 totes worth about $2,500 each, putting the value on their balance sheet for that entire fleet at $20 million. The company shipped about 38,000 units each year, making these RSAs a crucial and expensive asset for every business.

With a cycle time of roughly 76 days, they wanted to figure out where they were losing their RSAs in the supply chain and track, measure, and improve it. They started using the Vestigo platform, which increased their return rate by three percent within the first year. It highlighted their major bottlenecks, bad actors, and recipients that were holding onto the totes for too long, disrupting the supply. This translated into an immediate $632,000 one-time savings and $126,500 annual savings.

The numbers alone are a viable reason to choose Vestigo, as is the nearly endless level of customizability it offers. Clients can white label the platform to mold it to their unique branding and function. Businesses can even grant custom access to users down the supply chain to extend visibility to those parties. Vestigo even has an iPhone app to scan inbound and outbound shipments and inventory.

“This isn’t our secondary business. This is all we do,” Mitchell states.

Perhaps this is why Vestigo is able to offer such a powerful roster of tangible and effective capabilities. The company continues to stay true to its roots and follows a clear path forward to simplify tracking for thousands of shippers in America.