IFCO launches TRLLN, a pioneering tracking-as-a-service solution for global asset visibility

IFCO, a global leader in reusable packaging solutions for the fresh food supply chain, is launching TRLLN (pronounced “trillion”), a standalone technology venture designed to help companies improve visibility across large, fast-moving asset networks.

Unlike traditional tracking models that often require gates, scanners, or fixed hardware installations along the supply chain, TRLLN’s infrastructure-free approach allows companies to deploy asset tracking significantly faster and with less operational complexity.

“As a leader in fresh food logistics, we realized that the visibility challenge we addressed in our own network is relevant across industries. Every sector managing millions of moving assets faces the same issue. We found a way to solve it cost-effectively and at a scale that has not been achieved before,” says Mike Pooley, CEO of IFCO.

The platform addresses four core visibility questions across industries: where the asset is, whether it is in the right condition, whether it has reached the right destination, and what its full movement history shows. While use cases differ by sector, the technology can be applied across a wide range of industries.

TRLLN brings proven asset tracking hardware and software technology to companies managing large networks of reusable and mobile assets, including pallets, containers, crates, parts, industrial equipment, and other critical assets. Across industries, the service supports use cases such as reducing asset and product losses, improving inventory management and pool sizes, monitoring temperatures in cold chains, and enabling digital product passport applications.

TRLLN runs on versatility

The technology behind TRLLN was developed inside IFCO and proven across one of the world’s largest reusable packaging networks with over 400 million reusable packaging containers circulating worldwide.

This scale enabled a cost-competitive solution that combines high-tech active Bluetooth Low Energy labels attached directly to reusable assets with an AI-enhanced software platform for location, movement, and condition insights.

The new venture makes these track-and-trace capabilities available to companies beyond IFCO’s customer network, enabling them to monitor their own assets across wider markets and supply chains. The platform can be used through the TRLLN dashboard or integrated into customers’ existing systems through API connectivity. 

Closing supply chain visibility gaps in asset tracking

Today’s global supply chains move millions of reusable assets every day, yet inefficiencies and blind spots still affect asset pools across industries. Asset and product losses create significant financial and operational impact, with global losses and theft estimated at between $30 and $50 billion annually.

Traditional tracking systems often remain too costly and complex to scale across dynamic, multi-partner environments.

TRLLN was built to address this challenge through a Tracking-as-a-Service model. Unlike asset tracking systems that depend on gates, facility hardware, or local infrastructure, the platform's digital tags travel with the assets themselves. The centerpiece is the Intelligent Node, a Bluetooth Low Energy label – roughly the size of a postage stamp – with printed electronics and a custom-designed chip.

The platform combines these connected labels with cloud software, managed connectivity, and advanced AI analytics. The service offers customers this service through an annual subscription model based on the number of tracked assets. 

“Visibility gaps often appear between facilities, where traditional tracking systems are hardest to deploy,” says Dr. Sebastian Grams, CEO of TRLLN and Chief Digital Officer of IFCO. “TRLLN closes these gaps by moving intelligence to the asset itself. The solution is plug-and-play and designed for fast deployment. At the same time, it gives organizations the data they need to reduce losses, improve asset utilization, and manage complex supply chains more effectively.”

*All images courtesy IFCO.

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