Pallets are being used more frequently to reduce the amount of manual handling, but it is doing so at the expense of freight. With the cost of rising freight, does this still make sense? As companies consider these factors, here are some examples of when not to palletize.

Companies had a choice to go with pallets that speed up loading and unloading and reduce product damage to goods or to floor load. Clamp trucks were often used to speed loading but because of the damage they created, they were referred to as the squeeze of death as they caused high damage. Pallets became the alternative. They provide a softer approach.

Pallets use up space in a truck. One company found that pallets did not work as well for them and they found a superior alternative. Frito Lay employs a cube maximization process. This process has aided them to achieve over 90+% capacity utilization and Frito transports all of their salty snacks with this method.

Another consideration is that while the pallet takes up space, weight must be a consideration, because this can detract from the payload. As an example, 60 Chep pallets weigh over 3,900 lbs. By taking away pallets, you can increase the weight of the product that can be hauled by 8%. A manufacturer of heavy consumer goods ships from its plants to its DC's on slip-sheets. They have calculated that the extra labor required to palletize at the DC is much less than the freight gain.

There are numerous costs associated with shipping on the floor (without pallets). Labor can be reduced by the right application of technology. Hand stacking requires intensive labor, which is increased as the case size declines. One type of technology used to cut labor is "slip sheets". This is where the product ships on a large piece of plastic, which is grabbed by a push-pull device and pulled onto the platens of the forklift. It allows the product to be handled with only additional labor required for palletized shipping when that is a customer requirement.

The last item that must be taken into consideration is the cost of the pallets themselves. Whether a pallet exchange program, disposable pallets, or rented pallets (like Chep) are used, the pallets themselves cost money.

Shipping on or off pallets is a cost consideration that needs to be carefully reviewed against the potential for damage.

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