PMS – Returnable Packaging Management Software

Recording returns in the system for each transport order executed involves selecting the applicable options in the situations below: 

– physical return of packaging,

– presentation of vouchers issued to justify the temporary location of the packaging,

– declaration of packaging as lost or damaged.

The user selects the warehouse and transport order for which the packaging is returned. Selecting the transport order automatically displays all the details related to it, and the editable fields are filled in by the person taking back the packaging with the data valid on the date of return.

The automatic processing of the newly entered data and subsequent information updating in the application for each transport order ensure the accuracy of the record of packaging returns. 

In addition, there are restrictions on filling in the editable fields that eliminate the possibility of errors, as they block the processing of data that does not meet certain criteria. 

The difference between packaging used for deliveries by a carrier and packaging returned (or declared as lost/damaged etc.) by the same carrier is the number of packaging products remaining in its custody either to be returned or charged to it at a later date, if the loss or destruction of some of them is its fault).

Carriers do not always return the packaging they have taken with the goods after each delivery. That’s why the wholesale return option is available in the application. With the xTrack PMS application, the user also has the possibility to keep track of the returns for each carrier. This means that when a carrier returns packaging used on several trips in one batch, it can be recorded in the system simply, quickly and without errors. 

The user can view in the application the list of deliveries recorded in the system as made by the carrier in question and enter the data relating to the packaging physically returned in bulk for all applicable options, and the application automatically processes the information and updates the database. 

The difference between the packaging a carrier has taken for one or more trips and the packaging it has returned is the number of packaging products it has to return (or cover the cost of, if it is responsible for the loss or destruction of some of them).

Vouchers are documents issued by the company receiving the goods delivered by the carrier, which temporarily replace the physical returnable packaging. Carriers hand the vouchers over to the warehouses from which they took the goods to justify non-returns. Then, the warehouse managers take the necessary steps to recover the unreturned packaging before the expiry of the vouchers so that it will not be lost.

While in smaller firms a single employee can manage the physical return of packaging temporarily replaced by vouchers without approval from a superior, in a 3PL company there may be several stages of approval (or rejection) of these documents until the final recovery of the packaging, as the hierarchy is determined by the number of warehouses and the way their network is managed.

In both cases, in addition to the main voucher data, the documents themselves can be saved in the PMS database in digital format by scanning. However, the complex version of the application also allows for the approval or rejection of documents, for reasons identified and specified in PMS, by one or two other hierarchical superiors who have different access rights. Depending on the data in the application and in the TMS system, for example, they can identify, propose, reject or approve carriers who will eventually recover the physical packaging before the vouchers expire.

Some returnable packaging deteriorates over time, is accidentally destroyed or lost for various reasons such as non-recovery before the voucher expiry date, damage or loss of the voucher, or theft, resulting in shortages that need to be covered to prevent bottlenecks in the loading process and therefore in transport or delivery.

In such situations, the 3PL service provider must purchase packaging to compensate (replace) the missing or damaged packaging in order to be able to physically return them to the customers from whom they originated (in the case of 3PL companies) or to use them for their own needs (in the case of companies managing their own packages).

The clearing operation is carried out according to the type of packaging required. The system automatically displays the packaging of the selected type available in the company’s reserve stock and allocates them to compensate for lost, damaged or expired packaging of the same type, taking into account the chronological order in which they have been recorded in the system. The user has the possibility to approve the way the application has done the compensation or to make changes if they do not agree with it. In addition, if the available packaging was not sufficient to cover the losses, the user can see, after the automatic clearing is completed, how much packaging of the selected type needs to be purchased later.

In addition, in the automatic loss compensation process, the application also uses information from contracts with carriers, and in the case of 3PL service providers, also from contracts with customers whose goods they handle. 

The management of returnable packaging makes it easy to identify which companies (3PL company/company managing the returnable packaging, carrier or recipient of the goods accompanied by packaging) generate losses, and to calculate the amount to be charged when the losses exceed the agreed limits.

3PL service providers are the first to benefit from this functionality, as cross-transfer of ownership of the same number and type of packaging leads to reductions in transport costs. The reduction in these costs can be significant especially if the company serves an extensive network of warehouses and the distances between them are considerable.

Users are able to view the number and type of packaging available in the warehouses with which the company collaborates. They can easily make the decision to change the ownership of some packaging in one warehouse to cover the shortage in another warehouse. 

The exchange is done quickly, at database level, and in the event that one owner’s packaging does not reach the warehouse where they are needed on time, this operation has the advantage of solving the problem on the spot, without any losses or additional costs for any of the parties involved.