This paper reflects a research project done on behalf of a
manufacturing company that was experiencing
difficulties in tracking and managing its returnable
containers. The company uses returnable containers to
transport purchased parts from some of its suppliers. The
company does not have an effective system in place for
tracking and locating these containers in the supply
chain. The inability to effectively track the containers has
created many problems and negatively impacted the
company, its logistics provider, and suppliers. As part of
the research project, the information and physical flow of
containers through the supply chain were documented
and analyzed. From the analysis, a number of problems
and their relationship to the company, logistics provider,
and suppliers were identified. The overarching problem
was inadequate visibility of the containers throughout the
logistics chain