On July 1, 2020, the e-Pack project will launch. A consortium of three institutes of the ŁUKASIEWICZ Research Network aims to develop intelligent returnable packaging for the e-commerce industry.
Market trends indicating dynamic changes in brick-and-mortar and electronic commerce are mobilizing the e-commerce industry to implement changes in the organization of logistics processes, particularly in reducing operating costs. Immense competition and the systematic growth of sales volumes have made process optimization, the sharing economy, and reusable solutions a subject of particular interest to the industry.
Three organizations belonging to the ŁUKASIEWICZ Research Network: the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing, the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology, and COBRO – Packaging Research Institute will join forces to develop comprehensive solutions for intelligent returnable packaging (including a prototype of the packaging and drop-off point, the return process, and supporting applications) that address the e-commerce industry’s problems regarding shipment handling – in particular, the return of goods purchased and delivered to the customer.
The product will bring benefits to sellers, buyers, and logistics operators – including reducing delivery costs, increasing product protection, allowing for the collection of additional information, and having a positive impact on environmental protection.
– The idea of intelligent returnable packaging is based on the Physical Internet concept, which allows for the sharing of resources by logistics operators in a transparent manner, modeled on the operation of the Internet – says Tomasz Markowski, Deputy Head of the Identification Technology Center at ŁUKASIEWICZ – Institute of Logistics and Warehousing. – We are very much looking forward to working with the other Institutes and to an interesting product that logistics operators, sellers, and buyers will be able to use.
The project is planned for 3 years. Its budget is PLN 5.2 million and will be financed from the funds of the ŁUKASIEWICZ Research Network.