Therefore, making a complete monitoring of all pallets from the moment they enter the warehouse to load merchandise until they are sent to their destination is a difficult task to control and that can also lead to economic losses for companies if it is not managed correctly.
The importance of plastic pallets for efficient management
What does it mean to manage pallet inventory well? It involves making sure you have enough units to ship. One of the proposals is to use recyclable and reusable plastic pallets that meet all quality standards. The rationale is that plastic pallets are stronger and safer to handle, ensuring that the product reaches its destination in perfect condition and that the pallets have a longer useful life. With a longer useful life, they allow to keep the pallet park stable avoiding a possible breakage of pallet stock due to damage to them.
With this solution we managed to meet two key objectives: save logistics costs and be a much more sustainable company. That is why more and more companies are opting for plastic pallets when transporting and distributing their products, but also to better manage and control the inventory of pallets. From Naeco we are going to explain to you what challenges and problems companies that use wooden pallets face and how to successfully manage inventory, thanks to plastic pallets and the hiring of external logistics operators.
Points to consider when managing a pallet park
When managing the pallet park, we must consider the following points:
- Pallet recovery. It is important to recover the pallet that we have put in the circuit because sometimes lower quality or damaged pallets end up arriving at the plant. In this sense, the plastic pallet is versatile and by means of marked or engraved logos, color manufacturing or labels or RFID systems we can identify the pallets that belong to the circuit or to the company and achieve a greater volume in their return.
- Classification and counting of damages. Once the pallets have been returned to the warehouse, the damage must be assessed and those that can be recovered from those that cannot be separated. In this process, many pallets are left by the wayside. A problem that generates significant economic losses for the company every year. The plastic pallet in the same conditions as the traditional pallet has a longer useful life. In addition, at Naeco we have repairable models, which consist of replacing a damaged skate with another. This system lengthens the life of the product, reduces the number of waste.
- Added repair costs. Recoverable damaged pallets will need to be repaired. The repair of wooden pallets is a manual and laborious job in which there are also greater occupational risks when handling sharp elements, splintered boards, etc. In the case of the plastic pallet, the repair is quick and easy, which reduces the economic costs of repair.
- Landfill disposal. Pallets that are damaged beyond repair must be disposed of. They are generally taken to the local landfill at the end of their useful life where discharge fees are based on weight, which implies an added cost and a negative impact on the environment. In the case of the plastic pallets that Naeco offers to its customers, they can be returned to Naeco where they are recycled and turned into pallets favouring sustainability and promoting the circular economy.
All these steps demonstrate, firstly, how expensive it is to manage an inventory of pallets and, secondly, that using wooden pallets means dedicating more human and financial resources over time.
Hence, companies that manage large volumes of merchandise bet and invest more and more in plastic pallets as it is a safe logistics solution for the distribution of their products and that also improves the control and management of pallets.
