our consultants help you buy plastic pallets that fit your needs

7 Essential Questions to Ask before You Buy Plastic Pallets

As a logistics or purchasing manager, you already have a checklist you use when you buy plastic pallets for your company. You know how much you are supposed to spend and what delivery and payment clauses to have in the agreement with the packaging producer.

However, there are some essential questions you need to clarify with the producer before you shake hands on the deal. Having clear information on these issues helps avoid costly misunderstandings, including getting a batch of pallets that do not fit your needs.

Thus, before you start discussing the contractual details of purchasing plastic pallets, make sure that you cover these seven key questions:

Are the Plastic Pallets Adapted to Your Company’s Material Handling Equipment?

Most companies use automated material handling equipment, such as:

  • Conveyor belts
  • Robots
  • Pallet trucks
  • Forklifts

Depending on the equipment your company uses, you need to order pallets with skids or feet. The configuration of the pallet base is essential for smooth handling, avoiding bottlenecks and accidents that could damage the pallets, handling equipment and the products stacked on the pallet.

When in doubt, always trust the expertise of Logistic Packaging consultants. We have years of experience working with clients in all industries and know what type of plastic pallets best suit your needs.

Are the Pallets Suitable for In-Store Display?

Many retail stores use pallets as in-store displays to save money on packaging materials. However, not all plastic pallet models are adequate for this purpose.

Thus, it is important to tell the packaging producer all the potential use cases of the pallets you want to purchase. In this situation, we can recommend retail display pallets, or half pallets, that meet all the requirements for in-store display:

  • Professional design
  • Reduced size to avoid taking up too much floor space
  • Easy to handle by store employees from the backroom to the sales area
  • Solid build with a long lifespan.

Can We Order Pallets in Specific Colors?

Many companies color code their pallets for specific use cases. This is most often the case in the food processing and pharmaceutical industries, to avoid cross-contamination. Color coding is also used in the complex internal logistic loop of the automotive industry, to designate pallets used for specific parts or suppliers.

A professional packaging producer like Logistic Packaging understands your need for personalizing your pallets. Thus, we will deliver your order according to your specifications.You can also buy plastic pallets and other packaging solutions like foldable small containers and stack-nest boxes in the specific color for each use case.

Are The Pallets Made from Materials Approved for Food Contact?

Companies in the food industry must comply with very strict safety and hygiene standards. One of these standards refers to the raw material used for secondary packaging that comes into direct contact with food products.

These materials must not leak any chemicals into fresh meat, dairy, fish, fruit or vegetables. To answer these strict requirements, Logistic Packaging offers a special range of cleanroom pallets made of materials tested and approved for food contact.

Will Your Pallets Fit into Our Racking Systems?

Warehouse managers must start discussions to buy plastic pallets by sharing their racking configurations with the packaging producers. Although most racking systems and pallets have standard sizes – EURO or ISO – surprises may always show up.

Purchasing pallets that do not fit into the racks is an extremely costly mistake. And it is one that can be easily prevented by open communication. If you have an atypical racking system, we can design and produce customized plastic pallets that fit it.

Do We Need Open Deck or Closed Deck Plastic Pallets?

Open deck and closed deck plastic pallets have distinct use cases. They are not interchangeable for various applications. Thus, buying pallets that do not fit your packaging applications can lead to:

  • Shorter lifespan of the pallets
  • Damaged handling equipment and products
  • Constant overheads for replacing damaged pallets
  • Loss of customer trust and business reputation.

The Logistic Packaging team can recommend the best plastic pallets for your needs according to your common use cases.

Can You Create Specific Base Configurations?

What happens if you found the perfect plastic pallet type and size but need a different base configuration? For example, nine instead of six feet or skids instead of feet? All you need to do is tell our consultant that you need a specific base.

We can easily customize the pallets for you and make sure it meets your exact specifications.

Logistic Packaging is here to help you select and buy plastic pallets that truly fit your business needs. Send us an email today and our experienced consultants will answer all your questions and help you make the best choice!