Case Story: Bpost

Bpost Gains Real-Time Visibility Across 93,000 Roll Containers, Reducing New Asset Purchases by 85%.

In Bpost’s logistics network, which processes more than half a million parcels every day, roll containers play an important role. The metal carts are used to transport parcels quickly and efficiently within and between distribution and sorting centres.

With 93,000 units, each capable of holding up to 30 parcels, the containers represent important assets for the company. It is therefore essential that they are managed efficiently and intelligently.

How Bpost Transformed Roll Container Management

Bpost has equipped its 93,000 parcel containers in Belgium with live-tracking devices. The initiative has also received international recognition, with a nomination at the Postal & Parcel Technology International Awards in London for ‘Transport Innovation of the Year’.

The Challenge

Managing a critical asset pool across a complex network

Roll cages move through sorter chutes, staging areas, dock doors, vehicles and customer or partner sites. At this scale, Bpost needed a continuously updated view of how the asset pool moved across the network—not simply the location of each container.

To manage them even more effectively and efficiently, Bpost has now equipped all its containers with a live-tracking tag. The tag can also be linked to each individual parcel in the network. In the long term, this will enable Bpost to know where each parcel is located and in which container it is throughout the entire shipping process. This allows the company to make its internal parcel tracking smarter, more accurate and more customer-friendly.

The solution

Connecting RFID, BLE, GPS and intelligent software

Lyngsoe delivered an IoT-based Asset Flow Management solution that gives every roll cage a digitalr carries a customized Beontag Viking Hybrid beacon, combining BLE and passive RFID in a single robust housing designed for Bpost’s roll cages.

Developed by Beontag, the tag provides the durable, long-life identification and location capabilities required for tracking a large asset pool across complex logistics environments. RFID provides fast, precise identification at fixed process points, while BLE supports wider-area detection in buildings, vehicles and external locations. GPS information from Bpost’s mobile devices adds outdoor and customer-site positioning.

Lyngsoe LIVE receives readings from the different technologies, filters duplicate and adjacent reads, validates and enriches the data, and applies business logic to create trusted logistics events. The Asset Flow Management application then presents one shared view of inventory, arrivals and departures, flows between locations, dwell times, assets in transit, individual histories, container status and tag condition.

Connecting RFID, BLE, GPS and intelligent software

Lyngsoe delivered an IoT-based Asset Flow Management solution

85% fewer new containers

Thanks to the tracking system, Bpost knows at all times how many containers are available and where they are located within the network. This allows them to be used more efficiently, reducing the number of containers required. Since the start of the project, Bpost has been able to reduce the purchase of new containers – and therefore the associated budget – by 85%, without any impact on operations. As a result, the investment has already paid for itself since the solution was rolled out.

Live and historical data also reveal slow-moving assets and long dwell times, helping Bpost recover underused containers and improve accountability across internal and external locations.

The location data from the containers also helps to organise transport flows more effectively and optimise service quality, particularly during peak periods such as the end-of-year season. In December, Bpost sees volumes rise to more than 800,000 parcels per day, making the containers particularly valuable. Thanks to the tracking system, the company can now, among other things, intervene more quickly when a local shortage or surplus of containers is likely to occur.

From container visibility to end-to-end parcel tracking

Associating parcels with their destination roll cages turns each container movement into an additional tracking event through sorting, staging, loading, transport and arrival—without requiring a separate manual parcel scan at every stage.

For processes requiring greater indoor precision, BLE Angle of Arrival is being explored to determine the specific sorter chute, buffer area or staging lane. Combined with parcel, manifest and RFID data, this can support sorting and loading validation and help operators identify an incorrect container before it is loaded onto a vehicle.

A scalable platform for additional use cases

The same technology foundation can also support reusable parcel bulk bags and last-mile e-bikes, creating an audit trail for bags and insight into e-bike utilisation and routes. Further asset categories and technologies can be added without rebuilding the complete solution.

(Photo courtesy of Bpost)

 

International recognition

The project and its impact have also received international recognition. Bpost’s container-tracking project has been nominated for ‘Transport Innovation of the Year’ at the Postal & Parcel Technology International Awards in London. The awards ceremony will take place on 23 September.

Learn From Others

Bpost Improves Parcel Logistics with Real-Time Tracking of 93,000 Roll Container

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