• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Blogs » Think Tank » The Advantages of a Corporate Pallet Program

Think Tank
Think Tank RSS FeedRSS

The Advantages of a Corporate Pallet Program

June 26, 2020
Tyson Steffens, SCB Contributor

Professionally managed pallet programs yield cost savings, transparency and optimization now, while positioning pallet users for the future.

Such programs increase the value of every dollar spent in multiple ways. While each is tailored to the customer’s individual needs and operating environment, all share the benefit of direct cost savings.

A well-planned and executed pallet program provides increased value in two major ways: transparency and optimization.

Transparency. Information, goals, and execution must all be transparent. Commodity buyers typically name pallets as among the most difficult product categories to manage. Complicated questions arise: Why did pallet prices rise in the east this quarter? What’s driving the market price? Are we using the best design? What have we done to improve? Why don’t we have clear data on pallets like we do for other raw materials?

A well-developed pallet program provides the transparency necessary for those questions to be answered. The current environment can be documented, allowing for the tracking of changes and measurement of progress. The program manager can personally verify and record pallet specifications at all locations, as well as service requirements, ordering processes, and all interactions between pallets and products. Opportunities for improvement can documented, along with estimates of cost savings, increased efficiency, and long-term value potential. Well-developed pallet programs also provide customized reports with spend information. Market updates and lumber data can be reviewed and shared regularly. Having such comprehensive information at your fingertips means the program manager can make data-driven business decisions.

Optimization. A successful pallet program relies on users’ ability to optimize physical pallet design, sourcing plans, and the way in which pallets interact with the greater supply chain. Pallets are a pivotal point in the chain, and should be considered a strategic purchase. Companies strive for maximum value out of each dollar spent. This might include changing a design to better align with local lumber opportunities, investing $10,000 in a conveyance line to unlock $50,000 of annual savings in pallet spend, or partnering with suppliers that can best provide for material and business needs.

The ability to generate ideas is only half the battle. To maximize success, you need to produce a plan, identify potential trouble spots ahead of time, and build a relationship with operators encountered in the process of baselining. An effective pallet program manager will have this entire process in mind from the first meeting. Backed by a team of technical experts, that individual can help to discover and execute new opportunities, face challenges, and deliver results.

A well-planned, executed, and managed corporate pallet program allows companies to react quickly to disruptions and capture opportunities. Modern-day business strategies must adjust to new trends at a continually faster pace. Major supply-chain disruptions seem more frequent than ever before, and can have a devastating impact on operations. For example, during the Chilean earthquake of 2010, global paper pulp supplies were disrupted, U.S. paper mills shifted into high gear, and hardwood disappeared from the Eastern Texas pallet market. During the current global pandemic, program managers have been monitoring the health of pallet manufacturers, and instituting no-touch delivery processes to help guard the pallet supply chain and the individuals who support it.

Not all change is disruptive. Sometimes change comes as a great opportunity. For example, wooden pallets enabled by the internet of things can now participate in the planning of supply chains of the future. The capturing of such an opportunity requires extensive knowledge of the pallet supply chain. Companies need a pallet program manager to coordinate and execute such efforts. Imagine being able to document the reduction of wood use across all sites, or aggregating pallet information to engage in predictive analytics.

Tomorrow will bring the need to react to factors we haven’t even considered. Nevertheless, we can prepare our pallet spend and supply for change and disruption. With an effective pallet program, companies can position themselves strategically for the future, while saving money in the present.

Tyson Steffens is a Principal with The Pallet Alliance.

Logistics Transportation & Distribution All Warehouse Services Order Fulfillment

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • INTERIOR OF A CHICKEN FARM, WITH WHITE CHICKENS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE

    Worst Avian Flu in U.S. History Is Hitting Poultry

    Food & Beverage
  • TWO FINGERS MANIPULATE WOODEN LETTER BLOCKS TO TURN FROM SHOWING THE WORD RECOVERY TO RESILIENCE

    Five Challenges to Supply Chain Resilience in 2023

    Supply Chain Visibility
  • A PERSON HOLDS UP A TABLET COMPUTER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPER-IMPOSED BY A GRAPHIC SHOWING A COMPLEX WEB OF SUPPLY CHAIN ELEMENTS

    Three Post-Pandemic Actions for Repairing Global Supply Chains

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing