Have you ever had piles of pallets stacked up without knowing what use to put them? Have they become so many that it was a problem for you to find space to store them? Then you should know about pallet pools, a tool created to manage and optimize the use of pallets in companies and that can be a great source of savings for companies that need to send pallets.
What is a pool of pallets
A pallet pool is a system in which a supplier makes available to its customers -usually in a rental system for journeys made- a number of pallets so that they can use them in their shipments. In the same way, it is the supplier who is in charge of the pallets once they reach the delivery point, saving the company that makes the shipment and the company that receives them from this task.
The problem that a pool of pallets solves
Where does the need for these pools come from? When a company sends a palletized merchandise, the surplus pallet supposes an additional expense, since each unrecovered pallet only lasts one trip. Small and medium-sized companies often decide to write off this pallet, but the bigger a company is, the more ‘lost’ pallets it has. Which at the end of the year can add up to a lot of money.
But the problem is not only with the sender, but also with the receiver. Although at first it may seem like a gift to get free pallets, on many occasions the recipient cannot make use of them, they are deteriorated or their volume is so large that it is difficult to get rid of them, suffering storage problems. Think, for example, of the large distribution, which can be flooded with mountains of pallets every day.
Before professionalization with the advent of pallet pools, it was common to see how companies tried to get by with each other, with more rudimentary systems. If the previous week you had left 33 pallets at your destination, that week, after delivering, it was up to you to take another 33 empty pallets.
However, the participants in these systems -which are still being used- can attest to the usual fights over the differences in quality and the status of the delivered and collected pallets. This combination of circumstances precipitated the birth of these pool services.
Advantages of the pallet pool
We are going to break down some of the advantages that this type of solution can bring us:
Standardization
Pallet pools have helped to standardize quality levels, since before each manufacturer was free in their manufacturing processes and in the specifications of their products. The pools allow us to count on the fact that the pallets we are going to receive will be as we expect, which in turn has an impact on the improvement of our operations. In addition, the companies that offer these systems are gradually increasing the options available when choosing qualities, materials, designs, etc.
Flexibility
Opting for a pool of pallets turns a fixed expense into a variable one. It is also easier to adapt it to the needs of each moment and the demand of each season, increasing or reducing its use more easily. This allows us, in turn, to better optimize our financial resources.
Optimize and detect inefficiencies
The traceability offered by pallet pools has allowed some companies to detect inefficiencies in their processes. Also, a good pallet pool system should normally be more efficient than the inter-company solutions discussed above.
Specialization
Hiring a pool of pallets allows companies to focus on the core of their business instead of on processes that are usually going to be more difficult than for specialized companies. Both the transit of deliveries and collections as well as the repairs of pallets in poor condition are processes that, in principle, will make a pool of pallets more efficient.
Environment
The repair of pallets in poor condition is one of the constants of these pool systems. This makes it possible to extend the useful life of the pallets, which has the consequence of reducing the number of pallets that are thrown away prematurely or without being reused after their repair.
Related Posts
