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.
The reason many companies preferred using pallets is it became a soft handling alternative. Soft handling generates less product damage. Palletizing also speeds up loading and unloading while reducing damage in transit. Pallets replaced clamp trucks that were once considered rough on loads and resulted in high incidents of damage to goods.
Pallets use up space in a truck. One company found that pallets did not work as well for them and they found a superior alternative. Frito Lay employs a cube maximization process. This process has aided them to achieve over 90+% capacity utilization and Frito transports all of their salty snacks with this method.
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.
The last item that must be taken into consideration is the cost of the pallets themselves. Whether a pallet exchange program, disposable pallets, or rented pallets (like Chep) are used, the pallets themselves cost money.
Shipping on or off pallets is a cost consideration that needs to be carefully reviewed 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. - 15433
The reason many companies preferred using pallets is it became a soft handling alternative. Soft handling generates less product damage. Palletizing also speeds up loading and unloading while reducing damage in transit. Pallets replaced clamp trucks that were once considered rough on loads and resulted in high incidents of damage to goods.
Pallets use up space in a truck. One company found that pallets did not work as well for them and they found a superior alternative. Frito Lay employs a cube maximization process. This process has aided them to achieve over 90+% capacity utilization and Frito transports all of their salty snacks with this method.
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.
The last item that must be taken into consideration is the cost of the pallets themselves. Whether a pallet exchange program, disposable pallets, or rented pallets (like Chep) are used, the pallets themselves cost money.
Shipping on or off pallets is a cost consideration that needs to be carefully reviewed 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. - 15433
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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.
