When it’s time to buy pallets, there is more to consider than just price. A lot of companies just look for the lowest price for their pallets, and that ends up hurting them when there is a quality issue, or if they need pallets quickly. It’s important to consider the quality, and level of service of your pallet provider, in addition to price.
You’ve got a lot riding on your pallets – so it’s important to invest in quality to ensure your products safety. A faulty pallet can damage or destroy a load of goods, and even a well designed pallet will fail if you are stacking more loads than it can handle. Minor imperfections can damage your product and even your equipment. For example, bagged products such as cement, topsoil, and fertilizer can be torn apart when placed on pallets that are built with nails that are not flush. Heavy construction materials such as patio stones and cement block must be placed on pallets with durable stringers and platforms. Improperly treated wood can lead to contamination of goods such as loosely wrapped or perishable produce or pharmaceutical shipments. Not all pallets are created equal, and a cheap pallet will usually not have as high a load capacity nor be suitable for specialized products.
Another factor to consider is service—especially delivery times. Most pallet manufacturers hold very little inventory. You don’t want to have to shut down production because you have no pallets on which to put your goods. This can happen if you don’t order your pallets when your inventory is running low, making you liable to run out before another shipment can be delivered. All too often people forget to order pallets in a timely manner. The lead time for most producers is typically 5 days. However, a good pallet vendor can usually expedite a quick turnaround within 2 business days when necessary.
Price is always an important factor, but prices in the pallet industry can be deceptive. Because of the low barrier cost to enter the market, many new manufacturers offer unreasonably low prices that are not sustainable, and hurt the industry in the long run. Experienced manufacturers may offer products that cost a little more, but they provide better quality and service.
