E-commerce is increasing year over year. In the U.S. sales grew 14.9% in 2019, amounting to $601 billion online sales, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Worldwide, more than 700 million trees are cut each year to make cardboard boxes used in e-commerce. The majority of the 100 billion boxes and 8 million tons of plastic, from tape to bubble wrap to foam, are only used once and end up in the trash.
That’s why LivingPackets created a reusable box for deliveries and an innovative Packaging-as-a-Service system. The circular logistics platform enables tracking, transaction guarantee, and payment features.
Designed to decrease our impact on the environment, THE BOX offers a new and improved delivery experience for e-commerce companies and consumers.
THE BOX eliminates packaging waste thanks to its ability of up to 1,000 trips before reconditioning, the integrated holding mechanism that replaces filling material, a self-locking system eliminating the need for tape, and a digital address display.
LivingPackets’ business model has many devices traveling throughout the world consuming different levels of data. Network usage varies depending upon the functionality incorporated (e.g. recorded messaging, video).
The task of negotiating pricing for different network options across different countries appeared daunting.
Initially, LivingPackets executives met with telecom carriers and MVNOs. They could only offer strict data limitations and a lack of quality control due to network steering – where the provider instructs the SIM to register on the lowest cost network regardless of its signal strength.
The team at LivingPackets chose a different direction. Twilio provides the service quality and flexible data consumption model desired, while offering instant global reach with top tier networks. “Twilio provides us full control over our connectivity, just like we give our customers full control over their packaging in the supply chain,” said Alexander Cotte, Group CEO, LivingPackets.
Without Twilio, it would have taken longer for us to launch.
LivingPackets introduced the industry-first, intelligent packaging solution at CES 2020. THE BOX was recognized as “the product with the greatest potential to change the world.”
Each smart unit contains sensors to monitor GPS and measure temperature, humidity, and shocks. Twilio’s API and documentation facilitated an easy integration into LivingPackets’ system. Twilio Super SIM provides trustworthy cellular connectivity so critical data can be transmitted and made visible to stakeholders on THE BOX app.
“Without Twilio, it would have taken longer for us to launch,” said Cotte. “Twilio gives us control over which networks all of our devices work on, combined with a flexible and scalable cost model. The Twilio team went above and beyond our expectations and helped us significantly reduce our time to market.”
Twilio provides us full control over our connectivity, just like we give our customers full control over their packaging in the supply chain.