Returnable transport items (RTIs) are used for the handling and transportation of products between supply chain entities. Once they are emptied at receivers, they are returned to senders to be reused again for the forward flows. RTIs distribution planning problem consists in defining the timing and the quantity of RTIs to be delivered to each consumption point (i.e. the point where empty RTIs are needed). The key issue is to ensure the best service level at consumption points at minimum cost. Our research is motivated by the practical case of an OEM in the automotive industry, where RTIs are shared among the suppliers of the OEM, and where RTIs distribution planning is a critical issue. The objective of this paper is to present RTIs distribution planning models that are available in the literature. Furthermore, a discussion on possible scenarios to optimize RTIs distribution planning in the automotive industry is conducte