The humble pallet can be more important to many businesses then we give it credit for. After all, the entire point of your business is to create, sell and deliver your products right, no matter what that may be?

Well, by that logic the delivery service must be just as important as the other two key tenets of a successful business – and pallets can be key to doing this and doing it well. By utilizing your pallets successfully, your business can save considerable time and money. The opposite however is also true, and the business that underestimates their pallets during shipping is essentially throwing away money.

Here are some brief examples of how not to use your pallets – make sure you and your business are not doing any of these and you will quickly have an efficient, cost effective shipping. `

Do Not Leave Gaps

The key to effective use of your pallets during transport is efficient packing. Now, depending on the products you produce, it may be harder or easier to affect an efficient load out. Broadly speaking however, you should always aim to minimize gaps on the pallet. If you have large gaps, you are literally paying to transport empty space and that is not a recipe for cost effective delivery.

Do Not Overhang

By the same token it is important that whilst you try to utilize all the space on the pallet, you don’t push it too far. Overhanging items are a clear sign of trying to utilize packing space that simply doesn’t exist, and that is not going to add any efficiency in transport. For one thing, the pallets won’t load cleanly onto the vehicle, meaning that it could take additional trucks to collect and deliver, clearly adding to costs. Secondly, overhanging items are more vulnerable to damage during transport.

Do Not Have Poor Loading Facilities

After you have packed your pallets as efficiently as possible, the next big savings in time and money can be made by upgrading your loading bay. For example, a building company can install a flat concrete floor relatively cheaply, but the savings in time, energy and money it can bring can really outweigh those costs. If you have ever tried to pull a loaded pump truck over broken, pitted concrete or even worse, gravel then you will understand where I’m coming from!

Do Not Use Damaged Pallets

If you plan on utilizing your own stock of pallets, then make sure that they are in good condition! Pallets can have a rough life after all, shunted around with heavy weights on top of them, often stored outside at the mercy of the elements. Wooden pallets can rot, plastic pallets can chip or split and both types can suffer broken slats or feet. Damaged pallets will be harder to pack, harder to handle and harder to load. They are also more likely to allow damage to occur to your items during transport. It may be boring (ok, it is boring!) but make sure you perform regular inspections on your pallet stocks, and order replacement pallets in good time.