Australians rely on sea transportation for nearly 99% of their exports. Whether you manage a shipping warehouse or your company depends on international exports for your products, you likely know the importance of pallets.
Pallets aren’t just essential for containing products, they also keep your products safe, stored, and standardised for international or domestic shipping. Unfortunately, not all products and equipment fit neatly into standardised pallets.
So what’s the solution? The answer lies in custom pallets. While these options might be more expensive than standard pallets in many situations they’re worth it when you consider the benefits that come with them.
In this guide, we’ll go over some of the custom pallet advantages so you can decide if they’re right for your specific needs.
1. Cater to Your Specific Needs
The most common type of pallet on the market for storing and shipping are standard pallets. As we discuss in this guide, the standard size measures roughly 1165 mm in width, 1165 mm in length, and 150 mm in height.
In an ideal world, all the different products and equipment that companies offer would fit on these standard pallets. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case.
Certain industries have large or awkwardly shaped products that simply don’t fit on standard pallets. Some companies go as far as to change their product design so that it can fit on standard pallets.
Instead of doing this extreme step, just invest in custom pallets. They allow you to cater your shipping solution to your product instead of the other way around.
2. More Efficient Warehouse Storage
If your product fits neatly in a box, then a standard pallet is great for optimising storage space. Sadly, there are a lot of products that aren’t able to do this. This can result in a lot of wasted warehouse space.
When squeezed onto a regular pallet, your products will take up much more space.
Not only that, but you can’t stack them. When you use pallet customisation you’re able to maximise your warehouse space with pallet efficiency which will save you a lot of money over time.
3. Better Warehouse Management
When you squeeze stock onto pallets that don’t fit them, you’re left with a lot of mismatched pallets spread out over racks. This can make doing inventory a nightmare.
With custom timber pallets, you make warehouse management simple and streamlined. You easily know how many products are in each pallet so you don’t have to waste your time physically counting.
4. Branding Potential
Custom wooden pallets for branding can include things like your logo, name, or slogan. Now, you might be thinking that pallet branding is a waste of time.
However, remember that a lot of people come in contact with your goods during the loading, unloading, storing, and transportation. This exposure can help foster a sense of professionalism with whoever comes in contact with it.
5. Meets ISPM15 Standards
If you buy your custom pallet solutions from a professional supplier like Pinewood Products, it will also meet ISPM15 standards. These sanitation standards are internationally recognised after being established by the World Trade Organisation’s International Plant Protection Convention.
The goal of it is to prevent pathogens from travelling through poor wood material. So why is this a benefit?
If your pallets don’t meet these standards, they’ll likely be held up in overseas terminals. Custom pallets that meet them will provide peace of mind since they’re not likely to be detained.
6. Improved Product Protection
When you load an oversized product on a standard pallet there are two ways it can be damaged. First, since parts of it are likely sticking out it can scrape up against walls during loading or transit.
Second, the wood might not be able to hold it which can cause a collapse. This results in waste material, shipping, and money.
Not only that but your reputation will be hurt when the client receives damaged goods. Custom pallets help minimise or even eliminate any damage during transit.
7. Less Shipping Concerns
Pallets are the standard choice of packaging for most forms of shipping. So much so that often if a product isn’t on a pallet, it won’t be permitted.
This can create a lot of shipping concerns if your inventory doesn’t fit on a conventional pallet. Custom-made pallets help eliminate this concern.
8. Fewer Oversized Shipping Costs
Shipping products from Australia is already expensive. Unfortunately, a variety of factors predict that those costs are only going to rise. Because of this, it’s vital to save money where you can.
That starts with oversized shipping fees. When you ship items that don’t fit on a standard pallet they end up taking up a lot more space on the boat, truck or plane. As such, you pay fees to account for the wasted space.
When you use custom pallets, any products made for it will fit perfectly. So you’re not flushing money down the toilet for oversized shipping costs.
How to Find a Custom Pallet Supplier
We’ve discussed the benefits of custom pallets, but it’s important to remember that you only get these benefits if you go with a quality manufacturer. So how do you find a supplier you can trust?
First, you want to make sure that they even offer custom pallets. Then, you want to inspect what type of wood they use. Pine is a great option for pallets. Next, talk to them about your needs.
Pay close attention to how they respond to you. A good, communicative relationship with your pallet supplier is essential.
Numerous advantages come with it, from more cost-effective solutions to streamlined business logistics. If it feels like you aren’t being heard, look elsewhere.
Need Custom Pallets? Contact Pinewood Products
We hope this guide helped you learn more about the benefits of custom pallets. Here at Pinewood Products, it doesn’t matter if you need standardised pallets or custom ones – we apply the same level of quality to everything we make.
Over our three decades of experience, we’ve mastered the art of pine product manufacturing. Not only that, but our family-owned business believes in a people-first approach to business.
So if you’re ready for the best custom pallets, get in touch with us today.
