Returnable containers
What are you trying to move?
Containers travel between suppliers and plants many times a year. Each trip, someone prints a paper label, puts it in the slot, and takes the old one out. When a label is missed or left behind, the wrong parts arrive at the wrong line. When a container is empty, nothing on it says where it should go back to.
Location tracking tells the office where the container is. It does not tell the person holding it what is inside, whether it has been checked in, or what to do with it next.
The container tells you
A display on the container shows its current state:
- Identify: container number, part and quantity.
- Verify: on arrival, a phone tap confirms the delivery and the status changes to Received.
- Display: when the container is emptied, it shows Empty and the supplier it goes back to.
The display is electronic paper. It keeps its image without power and changes only when the state changes. It reads like a paper label, in daylight or under factory lighting.
If you already track your containers by BLE, UWB or GPS, we connect to that system. We do not replace it.
Where this stands
This is a concept demonstration, built on our own controller boards for E Ink panels. We are looking for companies that handle returnable containers every day and would like to try it with us.
If you can tell us three things, we can tell you quickly whether it fits:
- How are your containers labelled today, and who changes the labels?
- Roughly how many containers go missing in a year?
- What happens when a delivery is received wrong?
Meet us at electronica 2026
See the live demonstration at our booth in Munich, 10–13 November 2026 (Messe München).
Looking for the controller boards themselves? They are also shown at the booth of our European distributor, BECK Elektronik.