Modular Box
Pooling & Governance

A unified approach to reusable logistics assets

The logistics industry has long relied on single-use packaging, which generates significant waste and inefficiencies. While recyclable, corrugated cardboard still consumes large amounts of energy, water and wood. The sheer volume used annually (enough to cover the surface of Denmark) makes it a pressing environmental concern. Meanwhile, fragmented systems for reusable transport items and underfilled trucks add unnecessary costs and emissions.

The GS1 SMART-Box pooling governance pilot, within the IKIGAI project, aims to address these issues. By establishing an open pooling model for reusable, standard, modular boxes, the pilot seeks to reduce waste, improve interoperability, and optimise transport efficiency. This initiative will be scaled in Belgium and France, where collaboration between retailers, brands, poolers, and logistics partners will be key to adoption.

From standardisation to shared value

GS1 is best known for enabling the widespread adoption of the barcode, a universal standard that transformed global commerce. It is now bringing the same commitment to shared standards into the world of reusable logistics assets. This IKIGAI pilot’s objectives cover three main areas:

• Open pool governance: clear ownership rules, defined stakeholder roles, scalable flow management and governance processes to ensure transparency and trust.
• Best practices for transport and warehousing: smart palletising, eliminating unnecessary wooden RTIs, optimising stacking, and integrating with eCMR
• Best practices for supply chain operations: improving interoperability, reducing single-use films and straps, enabling digital label activation and enhancing track-and-trace capabilities.

By combining these elements, this pilot aims to make reusable packaging systems in logistics viable on a large scale, reducing costs, waste and complexity.

Business value

The GS1 SMART-Box system offers supply chain actors:

• Regulatory alignment with EU waste, packaging, and sustainability directives.
• Lower operational costs, thanks to reduced packaging waste and more efficient warehouse handling.
• Improved truck fill rates, with the potential to cut road freight emissions by up to 35%.
• Interoperability across the value chain, enabling collaboration even among competitors.

• Less usage of one way packaging, savings potential in logistics packaging and consumer packaging has a positive effect on the business case and sustainability balance sheet.

Challenges and forward path

The success of the open pooling model depends on widespread stakeholder adoption, particularly in markets where proprietary solutions already exist. Clear governance rules, early buy-in from influential stakeholders, and pilot testing with multiple poolers will help overcome these barriers.

The pilot will progress in three phases:

• Identification of governance priorities, pooling structures, labelling and palletising needs, and collaboration opportunities with other IKIGAI Logistics Innovations pilots.
• Design and implementation of specific use cases in Belgium and France.
• The final phase will involve evaluating the results, establishing proven best practices, and preparing for a wider rollout.

By providing a common standard for reusable boxes and a governance model that supports open participation, the GS1 SMART-Box pilot will align with IKIGAI’s wider goals of fostering collaboration, reducing waste and enabling more sustainable logistics networks across Europe.