Tally sheets drift.
Paper counts agree on delivery day and drift apart afterwards. By month end, nobody trusts the balance.
Q · A
What is crate tracking software?
Crate tracking software records where each returnable crate is, who holds it and how it rotates between growers, distribution centers, stores and wash lines. Rotion does this per crate, on the QR, barcode or RFID codes already on your fleet. Customer balances, losses and wash capacity then come from scans instead of tally sheets.
- Per-crate identity on existing labels
- Balances per customer from scans
- Autopilot flags crates overdue at a customer
01The problem
Why crates go missing.
Crates leave with every order and come back when customers get around to it. Every crate that does not come back is bought twice.
Customers sit on crates.
A few customers hold far more crates than they need. Without per-crate data, you only notice at the next shortage.
Wash capacity is hidden.
A pool’s real capacity is its rotation through washing. Queues at the wash line look like shortages elsewhere.
02How it works
Your crate loop, scan by scan.
Drivers and customers scan at handover with any phone. Stacks scan as one batch, and every crate stays traceable.
- 01
Dispatch
Crates leave the packing line on a delivery. One SSCC scan covers the whole stack.
- 02
At customer
Custody moves to the store or customer. Dwell time starts counting per crate.
- 03
Return
The driver scans empties at pickup. Balances update for both sides at once.
- 04
Wash and out again
Wash cycles and inspections log per crate, then the crate goes out again.
03Pool
Where the pool is right now.
Every crate has a holder and a place. The pool board shows all of them at once, and which customer is holding on too long.
Crates in the pool24,000
Four stages, one track.At customers11,20047%
In transit3,10013%
Wash queue2,40010%
Ready at the DC7,30030%
Fresh Market Gent
2,840crates heldAvg dwell 6 d14 d
Overdue120
Groenhal AntwerpenFlagged
2,310crates heldAvg dwell 9 d14 d
Overdue410
Daily Basket DC
1,980crates heldAvg dwell 4 d14 d
Overdue30
Polder Fresh
1,760crates heldAvg dwell 5 d14 d
Overdue0
Green Corner
1,540crates heldAvg dwell 7 d14 d
Overdue85
Urban Grocer
770crates heldAvg dwell 11 d14 d
Overdue140
+ 3 more customers
Autopilot
Groenhal holds 410 crates past 14 days. Proposes a pickup with Thursday’s delivery.
ApproveNot now
04Wash line
The wash line sets the pace.
Crates come back in waves, and the wash line has a fixed capacity. Rotion shows the queue before it turns into a shortage at the packing line.
Thu+1,200
Crates over wash capacity. The queue builds on Thursday.
Wash capacity3,200 / day
- Mon2,600Within
- Tue2,900Within
- Wed3,000Within
- Thu4,400+1,200
- Fri2,700Within
- Sat1,800Within
Wash capacityCrates returnedOver capacity
Autopilot
Thursday returns exceed wash capacity by 1,200 crates. Proposes moving two Thursday pickups to Saturday morning, so the queue stays within one day.
ApproveNot now
05Platform
Built for crate pools.
Everything a producer or distributor needs to run a crate pool across customers, depots and wash stations. Pick a feature to see it.
Explore the platform
Balance per customerRotation and dwell timeHistory per crateDeposits and settlements Autopilot Balance per customerAll regions · last 30 days
| Customer | Out | Back | Open | Dwell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store 2214 Ghent | 1,240 | 1,196 | 44 | 5 d |
| Customer 14 | 860 | 648 | 212 | 21 d |
| DC Zellik | 2,310 | 2,287 | 23 | 2 d |
| Grower Hoogstraten | 1,580 | 1,531 | 49 | 7 d |
| Store 0917 Leuven | 640 | 611 | 29 | 6 d |
Open total · crates357 · € 1,785 deposit value
Rotation and dwell timecrates
Avg cycle11.4 d
Dwell at customer6.2 d
Turns per year31
Dwell per customer, days
Asset historyCRT-600400-0412GRAI 8712345.00042.7 · 17 cycles
- 06 OctDispatchedDC Antwerp N. → Store 2214
- 08 OctReceivedStore 2214 Ghent
- 15 OctReturnedDriver scan · route 7
- 15 OctWashedWash line B · cycle 17
- 16 OctInspectedOK · ready to go out
Carried lot 2026-41, cherry tomatoes
Deposit statementReady to send
Q3 2026 · Customer 14
Issued4,820
Returned4,571
Open or lost249 × € 5.00 per unit
Balance due€ 1,245.00
Send statementExport PDFBacked by 9,391 scans
06Sizing
Size the pool before the peak.
Enter your peak week and see how many crates the pool needs, and how many a faster rotation saves. An estimate, not a quote.
Crates needed at peak26,400crates
14 d26,400
12 d22,629
Two days faster3,771
crates fewer with a cycle two days shorter
Lost over 10 weeks1,800
crates at the current loss rate
Estimate based on your inputs and a 10% buffer. Rotion measures your real cycle time per customer.
Field results from operators running Rotion across pools, retail and industry.
28%
S.01fewer assets lost
9%
S.02smaller fleet needed
575,310
S.03assets tracked
Trusted by these organizations.
07Field notes
What crate data shows.
Wash cycles set real capacity.
Cycle data shows where crates queue, when wash capacity limits delivery, and which flows starve the loop.
Harvest peaks hit every loop at once.
Growers, packers and retail peak in the same weeks. With rotation history, you plan the peak around the crates you already own.
Balances decay without scans.
Scan-based balances keep you and each customer looking at the same number all season.
Run more than one asset type?
Q.01Do we need to replace our ERP or route planning?
No. Rotion runs alongside your ERP and route planning and fills what they do not cover: crate-level history, loss patterns and per-customer balances. Connectors exist for SAP, Odoo, WMS and TMS.
Q.02Do our customers need to install anything?
No. Customers can confirm handovers on the web or a phone, and drivers can scan for them. Adoption does not depend on every customer cooperating.
Q.03Do we have to scan every single crate?
No. With SSCC batching, a stack or pallet of crates scans once per handling step while each crate stays traceable.
Q.04Can we use the labels already on our crates?
Yes. Rotion reads QR codes, barcodes, RFID and GS1 GRAI identifiers, so relabeling is usually not needed.
Q.05How does Rotion reduce crate loss?
Every crate has a holder and a location at all times. Autopilot flags customers holding crates too long and proposes a pickup or reminder, so recovery happens before a write-off. Operators running Rotion report 28% fewer assets lost.
