Pallets: What Can Go Wrong?

Welcome to the first installment of the 2016 Pallet Resource Guide. When it comes to pallets, quite a bit can go wrong if they are treated as an afterthought or as “just a pallet.” Adverse outcomes can range the spectrum from pallet collapse and production downtime to angry customers or fatality. While it is inevitable that pallet users will seek the lowest price, it is important to understand the importance of pallets and the role they play within the broader context of supply network optimization. Such information helps us to understand more accurately their true value proposition, as well as in articulating that value to others in the organization and across the supply network.

The goal of this project, the 2016 Pallet Resource Guide, is to provide the necessary information needed by practitioners to make the best decisions possible when it comes to optimizing pallet selection, management, and usage. As this Guide progresses, it will not necessarily follow a linear path, but will gradually populate the critical sections of the Guide. Please excuse the ongoing development.

At the current time, those planned sections include:

Introduction to Pallets

Why Palletize?

What Is a Pallet?

Pallet Selection and Purchasing Best Practices

Should My Pallets Be Hardwood or Softwood?

U nderstanding Recycled Pallets: GMAs

Remanufactured Pallets Offer a Green, Low-Cost Option for Custom Pallets

The Impact of Suboptimal Pallet Systems

Cut the Scrap! Eliminating Unwanted Pallet and Packaging Accumulations

Pallet Management and Pooling

Pallet Alternatives