Reelables

Reelables provides wireless smart labels for supply chain and logistics visibility, catering to freight forwarders, third-party logistics (3PLs), warehousing operations, retailers, and manufacturers, including large Fortune 500 companies. The company was established in 2018 by CEO Brian Krejcarek and CTO David Stanton. Krejcarek, a self-described “serial entrepreneur” with an engineering degree from the University of Illinois, has founded several wireless sensing and IoT companies. Stanton brought a background in engineering and computing, having managed multiple technical teams at IAG. The two met at Drayson Technologies, a UK-based startup focused on RF energy harvesting, where they identified the limitations of existing technology and envisioned placing IoT chips on thin, printed batteries.

Their journey as a company began in Silicon Valley after participating in the Y Combinator accelerator program in the winter of 2019. Initial research and development, which started in 2017, focused on directly printing batteries to power ultra-low power devices. This led to the development of their core technology: a reel-to-reel, thin-film manufacturing process that fabricates active wireless circuits and coated zinc batteries onto a single, paper-thin, and flexible substrate. This process allows the smart labels to be mass-produced and printed using off-the-shelf thermal barcode printers, integrating seamlessly into existing customer workflows. The business generates revenue by selling these smart labels, which are designed to be disposable after use and are made with an eco-friendly zinc-manganese battery coating, avoiding the need for special e-waste disposal.

Reelables offers both Bluetooth and 5G-enabled smart labels that consolidate a standard shipping label and a tracking device into a single product, such as a 4”x8” label. Unlike passive RFID or barcodes that require manual scanning at choke points, Reelables' active labels automatically transmit data. The Bluetooth labels broadcast an identifier that allows for complete inventory counts and location tracking every minute. The 5G labels connect directly to cellular networks (initially NB-IoT, with LTE-M planned) to provide real-time, piece-level location data worldwide without requiring any additional infrastructure. This provides a reliable single source of truth for cargo location across different transport modes. A specialized version of the 5G label also monitors temperature from -10 to 60 degrees Celsius with high accuracy, catering to the pharmaceutical and food and beverage industries by helping to prevent spoilage and meet regulatory compliance. The system provides real-time alerts for exceptions, such as temperature deviations or when shipments split from each other, and data can be accessed via an app, dashboard, or API. Keywords: supply chain visibility, smart labels, asset tracking, logistics technology, Bluetooth tracking, 5G tracking, inventory management, printable electronics, thin-film battery, real-time location system, cold chain monitoring, Brian Krejcarek, David Stanton, Y Combinator, IoT sensors, freight forwarding, third-party logistics, warehouse automation, cargo tracking, shipping labels, NB-IoT, supply chain automation