Pallets are being used more frequently to reduce the amount of manual handling, but it is doing so at the expense of freight. With the cost of rising freight, does this still make sense? As companies consider these factors, here are some examples of when not to palletize.
Companies had a choice to go with pallets that speed up loading and unloading and reduce product damage to goods or to floor load. Clamp trucks were often used to speed loading but because of the damage they created, they were referred to as the squeeze of death as they caused high damage. Pallets became the alternative. They provide a softer approach.
The downside - pallets consume capacity in a truck. A manufacturer of frozen pizzas hand loads all of their trucks. Load maximization is a key cost driver for them. Another redeeming factor is that the cases of pizza are relatively large and light.
You have to take into consideration the pallet weight when determining payload. By removing pallets, you can increase the weight of the product carried. For example, if you have 60 pallets, they weigh over 3,900 lbs and decrease that weight of product by 8%. In many cases, DC replenishment shipments can be more economically shipped without pallets. The extra labor costs associated with palletizing when they are received, are often calculated to be less than the freight savings.
There are numerous costs associated with shipping on the floor (without pallets). Labor can be reduced by the right application of technology. Hand stacking requires intensive labor, which is increased as the case size declines. One type of technology used to cut labor is "slip sheets". This is where the product ships on a large piece of plastic, which is grabbed by a push-pull device and pulled onto the platens of the forklift. It allows the product to be handled with only additional labor required for palletized shipping when that is a customer requirement.
You have to also take into consideration the cost of the pallets. There are many choices - disposable, rented, used, exchange programs. It doesn't matter what you choose, but you do have to include the cost of pallets.
The decision to ship on or off a pallet is a consideration, and more and more Companies are factoring this into their decision making process as they review cost savings against the potential for damage.
Sign up for the exclusive free Truck Loading Manual that can SAVE YOU MONEY and offer you the perfect Operator Manual for truck operators at www.TransportationOptimization.com. While there, request a call back from one of the premier transportation consultants in the industry, Tom Moore from Transportation | Warehouse Optimization. Working for many companies in the top Fortune 50 like Procter & Gamble and BP, they understand your unique problems and can help you solve them. Transportation | Warehouse Optimization - Solutions that work. Solutions that save. - 15246
Companies had a choice to go with pallets that speed up loading and unloading and reduce product damage to goods or to floor load. Clamp trucks were often used to speed loading but because of the damage they created, they were referred to as the squeeze of death as they caused high damage. Pallets became the alternative. They provide a softer approach.
The downside - pallets consume capacity in a truck. A manufacturer of frozen pizzas hand loads all of their trucks. Load maximization is a key cost driver for them. Another redeeming factor is that the cases of pizza are relatively large and light.
You have to take into consideration the pallet weight when determining payload. By removing pallets, you can increase the weight of the product carried. For example, if you have 60 pallets, they weigh over 3,900 lbs and decrease that weight of product by 8%. In many cases, DC replenishment shipments can be more economically shipped without pallets. The extra labor costs associated with palletizing when they are received, are often calculated to be less than the freight savings.
There are numerous costs associated with shipping on the floor (without pallets). Labor can be reduced by the right application of technology. Hand stacking requires intensive labor, which is increased as the case size declines. One type of technology used to cut labor is "slip sheets". This is where the product ships on a large piece of plastic, which is grabbed by a push-pull device and pulled onto the platens of the forklift. It allows the product to be handled with only additional labor required for palletized shipping when that is a customer requirement.
You have to also take into consideration the cost of the pallets. There are many choices - disposable, rented, used, exchange programs. It doesn't matter what you choose, but you do have to include the cost of pallets.
The decision to ship on or off a pallet is a consideration, and more and more Companies are factoring this into their decision making process as they review cost savings against the potential for damage.
Sign up for the exclusive free Truck Loading Manual that can SAVE YOU MONEY and offer you the perfect Operator Manual for truck operators at www.TransportationOptimization.com. While there, request a call back from one of the premier transportation consultants in the industry, Tom Moore from Transportation | Warehouse Optimization. Working for many companies in the top Fortune 50 like Procter & Gamble and BP, they understand your unique problems and can help you solve them. Transportation | Warehouse Optimization - Solutions that work. Solutions that save. - 15246
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Sign up for a exclusive free truck loading Manual that can SAVE YOU MONEY and offer you the perfect Operator Manual for Truck Operators. While there, request a call back from one of the premier transportation consultantsin the industry. Tom Moore or one of his associates will get back with you. Transportation l Warehouse Optimization - Solutions that work. Solutions that save.
