EPAL UK & Ireland has announced that EPAL has launched a traceable pallet that will significantly improve the traceability and efficiency of users’ supply chains. Previously reported here, the EPAL QR Code initiative potentially marks the largest unique identification initiative for pallets to date, depending upon uptake by pallet buyers. The QR code is optional rather than mandatory.
The EPAL QR pallet features a scannable code linked to a unique serial number, helping to boost supply chain visibility, improve efficiency, and optimize stock management.
Located on the right-hand side of the pallet, the QR code can be linked to the goods being transported and gives users other essential information such as the pallet manufacturer, the age of the pallet, how many times it has been used in the EPAL network, the number of repairs it has had, storage times, and location.
“Many companies from industry, trade and logistics are looking for ways to digitalize and optimize their logistics processes to make them more effective and reduce costs,” Michael Brandt, head of EPAL’s Innovation Lab, commented last June. “The digital EPAL europallet with QR code will be part of these digital logistics processes in the future. In addition to track & trace and automated booking of goods and pallets, the EPAL Euro Pallet with QR code will also facilitate the digitization of pallet inventories and pallet exchanges.”
EPAL QR Code: Improved Visibility Will Aid in Preventing Pallet Loss
Pallet users can share this information easily with their partner suppliers and customers in the supply chain. The improved visibility will reduce pallet losses because it enables businesses to know exactly where their pallets are located and enables swift action in the case of events such as product recalls.
The QR code is marked on the Euro pallets with long-lasting inkjet printing, successfully tested within the EPAL network, and readable with a standard barcode reader.
“The Euro QR pallet is a significant development for EPAL, adding traceability to the list of benefits users already enjoy from being part of the EPAL network,” commented Felicity Smith, National Secretary for EPAL UK & Ireland. “It is an innovation that means EPAL pallets now not only protect the goods they are carrying but can also provide operational data that is essential for an efficient modern supply chain.”
The EPAL QR pallets are manufactured and repaired to the same independently audited quality standards as regular EPAL pallets. The pallets are freely exchangeable within the existing EPAL international pallet pool across 35 countries.
Administering some 650 million EPAL Euro pallets and 2 million box pallets internationally, EPAL is the world’s largest open exchange pool. EPAL UK & Ireland is governed by a Board of Directors drawn from within the pallet industry and has an independent Chairman. EPAL represents the views of UK and Irish producers and users at the EPAL General Assembly. The group administers the EPAL system in its market region and assists UK and Irish users and suppliers in facilitating the operation of the EPAL system. All EPAL-specified pallets are ISPM15-compliant as standard since 2010.
Source: EPAL (www.epal-pallets.eu)
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
