Packages can be tracked using a variety of techniques such as, barcodes, RFID, and other technologies. But printing Bluetooth-enabled labels is a great way to make tracking packages and other items easier.

After perfecting this technology, Reelables is already distributing millions of these smart labels. The London-based firm created a smart label that is easy to affix to things and can be automatically tracked via a mobile application. Initially working with CPI on the original concept using lithium, their smart label now allows a zinc coated battery to be fabricated directly alongside the wireless tracking circuit on a thin plastic film.

“Today, millions of Reelables’ labels are being printed and deployed around the world tracking point-to-point visibility and giving businesses a single source of truth for where their cargo is that is consistent and reliable across different modes of transport and transportation providers,” Brian Krejcarek, co-founder and CEO of Reelables, said. “Reelables’ key customers are large Fortune 500 companies. Customers are mainly logistics providers and cargo forwarders using our product for better visibility and accountability for the supply chain.”

The pandemic put a great strain on the supply chain and demonstrated the need for better visibility to prevent fraud, loss and missing items. In 2022, a global report indicated that nearly one in 10 consumers suffered parcel theft or loss during a 12-month period, equating to more than one billion packages.

Until now, tracing goods as they move through the supply chain has largely been a black box. Barcodes require manual scanning, and shipment information may need to be entered by hand at various points in the supply chain, both leading to potential human error. The result is often a mismatch between the record of information and reality. A worker could simply miss a scan or steal a package. If that’s a box of pharmaceuticals, or high-value goods, it becomes a very costly problem. Legacy GPS tracking devices are not a great alternative either as they are expensive, necessitate out-of-process workflows, and require reverse logistics.

Reelables labels automatically collect actual location data from the cellular network data and trigger events the moment a shipment arrives or departs a warehouse or waypoint, or an exception is detected. They also generate inventory counts, providing a complete warehouse audit nearly every minute or less. With Reelables, logistics providers and end users, such as retailers and manufacturers, know in real time where every piece-level item is in the supply chain with 100% accuracy.

For manufacturers or retailers who are shipping time-critical, high-value goods, and don’t control the infrastructure along their logistics corridors, Reelables 5G smart label solution is ideal. These businesses are accountable for demonstrating to their customers that items are arriving when they’ve promised.

“This is a major breakthrough when it comes to supply chain visibility and automation,” said Brian Krejcarek, CEO and Co-Founder of Reelables. “Achieving mass production and pervasive deployment of these thin film wireless smart labels will change how businesses track items, reduce theft and loss, and demonstrate accountability to their customers. We are excited to bring this to market now so retailers and manufacturers can start printing these labels at scale and lighting up under-utilized LPWAN network capacity with a killer application: tracking the billions of shipments that are made every year around the world.”

About Reelables

Reelables makes the only printable 5G label available in the world. It is the first company to achieve mass production of a brand-new category of thin film, wireless smart labels with coated batteries that are flexible enough to be printed on in off-the-shelf barcode printers and fully disposable after use. Offering both paper-thin Bluetooth and 5G smart labels, Reelables automates supply chain and logistics visibility at scale for logistics providers, retailers and manufacturers, providing exact shipment location and inventory counts for each item without the need to manually scan barcodes or read RFIDs. Its ability to track shipments and inventory at the item level helps companies reduce theft and loss and increase accountability. Reelables is headquartered in London and backed by Y Combinator and 500S.