What To Consider Before Purchasing a Wooden Pallet
17 May 2018
In many businesses the moving and storage of goods produced are critical elements of the process, and choosing the most effective materials to be part of the supply chain can play an incredibly important role in the ultimate success of a venture.
When shipping goods, buying wooden pallets is usually part of the equation for safe and efficient transport of a business’s output.
Choosing the right kind of pallet is important, as is knowing the differences between the basic types and the major factors to consider when making choices.
Do Your Research
Wood is an excellent material for pallets, as it is durable and tough enough to protect the items being shipped while enabling easy movement at different points by the use of machinery such as forklifts.
Not all pallets are the same, as they come in different sizes and can be designed to carry different loads.
This means that businesses need to be aware of the weight of goods being shipped and will need pallets to match the items that need to be moved. Some pallets are much stronger than others.
When buying wooden pallets, there are four main considerations to bear in mind.
These include the durability of the pallet, as it must be strong enough to reach its end point without disintegrating. The size and load-bearing capacity of the pallets also extremely important.
Look at pallet suppliers and investigate them thoroughly.
You need to know that a supplier will deliver the right kind of pallets in sufficient quantities and of a sufficient quality to meet your needs.
Choosing the wrong supplier could lead to grave consequences that could have significant negative effects on your business.
Regulation-Compliant
The fourth vital consideration to bear in mind when sourcing pallets is to ensure that they are compliant with ISPM 15 regulations.
ISPM 15 stands for what is known as International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15. This is essentially a measure of fitness for purpose as determined by the International Plant Protection Convention.
This regulation demands that all packaging made from wood – whether crates, pallets or dunnage or other varieties – has had treatment to kill any parasites in the wood to make sure that they are not taken to new areas where they could breed and cause environmental problems.
Treating wooden pallets could take the form of heat treatment or fumigation to eradicate any fungus, insects or other types of parasite or pest that live in wood.
If a pallet has had the necessary treatment, it will bear the distinctive IPPC stamp, which should be clearly evident.
A trustworthy pallet supplier will make sure that your pallets have been treated and conform to this important regulation.
When buying wooden pallets, it is up to the business owner to do their due diligence and find out what kind of pallets are best suited to the goods they are shipping and which pallet suppliers can relied upon to produce these pallets consistently and reliably.
Once you have done your research and found a trustworthy supplier of pallets that are durable and up to the task, then much of the hard work has been done to establish this critical part of your business enterprise.