Tips For Better Pallet Shipping
If you have a business that sells a lot of merchandise frequently, then replenishing large volumes of stock quickly is always going to be high on the priority. In this article we’ll look at the key considerations when sending and receiving palletised freight.
Checklist for pallet shipping
- Choose your base pallet wisely
- Prepare the work area
- Plan how you’ll stack the pallet
- Make sure the pallet contents are wrapped and secured
- Be ready to manage spills
- Be organised – keep the workplace clean
- Be conscious of time
At the moment, it seems price hikes are everywhere, and freight is not immune from it. The cost of shipping a pallet can vary, depending on where it’s going and how fast it needs to be there. However, there are some things you should know in advance, to make sure the goods on the pallet arrive in the same condition as when it left.
It’s relatively easy to find 100’s of freight and transport companies who can pick up and deliver 1 to 100’s or pallets – so how do you choose the right one for your business?
A highly reliable pallet transport company such as Northline, Followmont, CRL Express, Hi-Trans, Palm Trans, DHL, FedEx and Richers Transport can help your business thrive by moving freight quickly across Australia. However, we created this quick checklist to refer to when shipping freight on pallets.
Many of One World Courier customers have their own freight processes already in place and utilise their warehouse space efficiently, although it’s always worthwhile to look at new ways to send and receive palletised freight.
Step 1. Choose your base pallet wisely
When sending freight, the total weight of the goods plays a very important role in determining how well everything pans out. Therefore, what you’re sending is very heavy, then it’s recommended to use heavy hardwood pallets, which may cost a little bit more than standard pine pallets, although they are more durable than pallets made from pine.
Nowadays, however, the pallet industry is evolving, and you might be able to find some relatively lightweight pallets which are durable and can take heavy loads. We’ve even heard of some manufacturers developing cardboard pallets that are just as strong as wooden ones. These would be more suited to shipments where the pallet content is not too heavy and the weight of the goods won’t compromise the integrity of the pallet base. The last thing we want to see are crushed pallets with damaged goods falling off, causing a hazard.
Step 2. Prepare the work area
It’s always a bonus when warehouse staff are good at wrapping pallets, and even better if they are fast. Although, there can be a trade-off between speed and quality wrapping. That’s why having properly trained staff and an efficient warehouse plan is so important. Think carefully about where the items to be stacked on the pallet are stored and make sure that the most commonly picked items are as close as possible to the packing area. Be always aware of other people and vehicles traversing the warehouse floor. The safety of all workers is the number one priority for warehouse managers.
Step 3. Plan how you’ll stack the pallet
When loading goods on a pallet, take a close look at the boxes, cartons etc that are to be included on the pallet. Pay attention to the contents of each carton, it may give you some clues as to how best arrange the order of stacking. If the boxes, cartons etc are all different sizes and weights, or all the same size box yet heavy, you’re probably better off using a type of interlocking pattern as you stack. This will strengthen the structural integrity of the combined mass of the stack. If every box or carton is the same size, or close enough, then a columnar stacking pattern is best. If the size and shape of each carton is the same size, visualise a brick wall and try to interlock each box in a similar way – working from the inside out.
Here’s a few pointers to keep in mind when stacking a pallet:
- Starting with the heaviest packages on the bottom, you’re creating a stable base for the rest of the packages.
- Stack boxes close to the edges of the pallet, but not over the edge.
- Keep the overall shape of the stack as close to a rectangle or square as possible. Never make a triangle shape. Pallet contents are best stacked in a cubic shape instead.
- Do not stack the pallet too high. If the pallet contents are stacked too high, there is an increased risk that some boxes, cartons etc, will shift and fall over during transport.
- Strapping the packages is one of the most important steps you can take. Always use the appropriate securing materials for the items being shipped.
- You should be aware of just how much weight the pallet can hold. Over-stacked pallets are harder to be handled with the forklift, and they could also bend or break.
Step 4. Make sure the pallet contents are wrapped and secured
To keep the possibility of freight being damaged in-transit, it’s important to wrap the pallet contents with high quality pallet wrapping. Every staff member should be trained on how to wrap a pallet correctly and be checked for consistency in order to maintain high standards. What you don’t want is the receiver having to deal with damaged wrapping or even worse, missing or damaged items due to incorrect wrapping.
Everyone needs a process for pallet management, so it’s important to create a company-wide process, setting out clear guidelines about when certain items should or shouldn’t come into contact with other materials while being transported on a truck. Mixing dangerous goods with food products for example is a recipe for disaster.
Step 5. Be ready to manage spills
To ensure that the risk of damage to the freight on the pallet, trained staff must adhere to WHS standards for mopping spills and reporting toxic spillage. Your internal SOP’s should always be made top-of-mind to every member of staff working in the warehouse environment. This also means making quick access to materials such paper towels or mops so they can clean up any spills along the way.
Step 6. Be organised – keep the workplace clean
When your warehouse is well-ordered and clean, it becomes efficient place to work. Warehouse staff need to move around with ease, so make sure there isn’t any clutter or boxes that need re-stacking somewhere else. Empty boxes and other clutter in the aisles make it difficult for staff to move around efficiently and increase the likelihood of time consuming & costly accidents. As such it really pays it implement and enforce a robust clean-up plan.
Step 7. Be conscious of time
The last thing you want to do is to still be working on wrapping a pallet when the courier of trucking company rocks up ready to pick up the items. No one likes waiting for something or someone else, especially when they have other shipments to take care of. Just make sure everyone who is working on preparing the pallet for shipment is aware of the intended pickup time. If your warehouse team is running late – simply let the pick up ops team know in advance. This is one way to reduce the risk of being charged a fee for a re-pickup.
The same thing applies when receiving a pallet and no one is there to receive it. This is not only frustrating for the driver, it also causes many problems in the receiving dock. Help one another out, always be aware that others are relying on you to keep things moving. Think outside of the box, go that extra mile and one day you’ll be running the warehouse.
Final Thoughts
When shipping pallets, at One World Courier we’ve taken care of the essentials. We’ve carefully partnered with pallet freight transport companies who provide a variety of services to get your pallet freight where it needs to go. You don’t need to do any research to compare pallet freight prices, we’ve done that for you and packaged it up in one website.The time and effort we’ve put in building the freight quote platform means you can simply book a pallet freight job with us and know you’ll be saving time and money.