17.02.2021
WHY SHOULD COMPANIES PALLETISE?
Dita Tjumina
Chief Sales Officer
Pallets are the bridge that keeps manufacturers, retailers and distributors connected. Most organisations, outside of their shipping and warehousing divisions, do not understand how important these powerful tools are to their organisation.
A pallet is much more than just a simple object. Pallets are typically seen as a simple necessity and their full potential is frequently overlooked. Most warehouses take their pallets for granted but do not consider exactly how much palletising can really help with supply chain cost reduction as well as a more effective shipping programme.
How Widely Are Pallets Used?
It is estimated that pallets account for about 36% of worldwide lumber use! About 80% of all commerce globally is carried in and on pallets. They are used in just about every industry on the planet in at least one part of the supply chain. There is a complete science to optimising the use of pallets.
Palletising is Uniform
Using pallets for transport and storage is a uniform measure that makes the movement of goods for distribution between different points easier for all the parties involved. Most pallets sizes are standardised with only a few options to choose from. Most industries use similar sizes and frames so it is easy to trade goods between locations and avoid issues when it comes to loading, unloading and storing.
Palletising Saves Space
Palletising goods ensures more space saving opportunities. You can load more goods on to a pallet and optimise space saving techniques to get the most out of your warehouse space. Of course, space saving pallets also can help you to save a great deal on your shipping costs. Being able to more effectively stack your products means that you can ship more efficiently.
Pallets save space in the warehouse. They can easily be stacked on top of each other with goods in place (as long as the products allow for stacking) so that vertical warehouse space can be utilised and less of a footprint is required for storage.
Many retail locations use pallets to display items as well.
Palletising Saves Time and Manpower
Overall wood pallets are the industry standard across a wide range of industries for the movement of goods. Palletising saves time. Saving time saves money. The less time your warehouse crew has to spend moving things around, the less money you have to spend on labour costs.
Pallets allow oversized items, heavy items and stacks of lighter items to be moved effortlessly with a fork lift or a pallet jack, allowing one person to do the job of three to four people in less time.
Pallets offer enclosure options like shrink wrap and pallet collars to ensure that the contents are safe and secure and resist spilling. Of course, saving time on movement is essential but so is saving time on loading and unloading at the distribution point.
Unloading a floor loaded container can take two lumpers 4-8 hours to unload, but if the contents were palletised the unloading would take one person about 30 minutes. That saves not only a lot of time, but also manpower.
Recyclable Material
Pallets offer a natural recyclable solution for all your logistic needs. Pallets have a long lifecycle and can be reused many times before they reach the end of their lifecycle. Even after they have outlived their usefulness for logistics, they can be recycled for other uses.
They also have a high return rate for resale purposes. Pallets are a sustainable option for all logistics needs. They are economical options that offer a great return on your small investment.
