It was great to spend the day in Hamburg at PalettenSymposium 2026, bringing together businesses and experts from across the pallet, pooling, retail and logistics industries.
The event offered plenty of insight into the challenges and opportunities facing reusable packaging and pallet networks across Germany and Europe — from raw materials and sustainability to pooling models, logistics and the role of better data in managing reusable assets.
We were also pleased to take to the stage with PreTurn GmbH, part of the Schwarz Group, to share some of the work we have been doing together in the Czech Republic.
Creating greater transparency across PreTurn’s reusable packaging pool
PreTurn is introducing a new pool of MaxiPac reusable containers, used to transport products through retail supply chains.
As high-value reusable assets, these containers need to move efficiently through the network, be returned for their next cycle and remain visible as they pass between different locations and organisations.
Sensize has been working with PreTurn to create greater transparency across the pool using our Parent/Child tracking system.
Each MaxiPac is equipped with either a cellular Parent tracker or a lower-cost Bluetooth Child tracker. Parents provide cellular connectivity while also detecting nearby Child trackers, allowing PreTurn to build visibility across a much greater proportion of its asset fleet.
The resulting data helps PreTurn understand:
- where assets are moving through the network;
- inventory levels at different locations;
- how long assets are spending at particular sites;
- cycle times across the pool; and
- where potential loss points or operational bottlenecks may be developing.
This gives pooling operators information they can use to improve how the fleet performs — helping assets return more quickly, improving utilisation and reducing unnecessary replacement costs.
From tracking assets to understanding the whole pool
Our presentation focused on the wider opportunity created when visibility extends across the fleet.
For pooling providers, the commercial value comes from being able to understand how assets are being used across the network: where inventory is building up, where cycles are slowing down and where assets may be leaving expected flows.
That information can support better logistics and pool-management decisions, while helping operators get more productive use from the assets they already own.
Insights from across the industry
There was plenty to take away from the rest of the day too, with discussions covering the pallet market in Germany and across Europe.
Speakers included Nils Redde on pallet wood and forests, Stefan Krautwurst-Leister from DACHSER, Petri Sakari Toivanen from SmartRetur and Arne Ringkowski from ALDI Nord, alongside many other contributors from across the sector.
A big thank you to Stéphanie Justine Gehrke from PreTurn for joining Luke D’Arcy from Sensize on stage and sharing PreTurn’s first results, and to Olaf Oczkos and the PalettenSymposium team for bringing the industry together.
There were also more questions after our presentation than we had time to answer — a good indication of the interest around practical, scalable tracking for reusable packaging pools.
Do you operate a reusable packaging or pallet pool and would like to discuss how greater fleet visibility could support your operation? Book a free demo with us today.
