Your boss quickly tells you, “We’re paying too much for pallets!” Your job description suddenly includes “Pallet Cost Cutting Specialist.” And unacceptably, your school somehow never offered a “Pallet PhD Program” so you are stuck. I have good news for you: Pallets are simple. At least, they are supposed to be simple. By the end of this article, you should be able to swiftly cut your spend on pallets and be a hero for your boss and your team. And, let me assure you, pallet heroes are the best heroes!
Step 1: Consider recycled pallets. Everyone loves new. Secondhand and hand-me-downs bring a frown to even the happiest face. Yet, in the pallet world, recycled is the new new. Add it to the surge in popularity of all things vintage and retro. Record players to recycled pallets, it’s all cool.
That may or may not be true. What is true is that recycled pallets cut the cost dramatically. Consider recycled options at least ½ of the price of new. So you can be a hero for your team without even finishing this article by buying a recycled pallet instead of new. Be warned, recycled pallets are not new. They are more worn. They are less consistent. But, they do the job. So if you make this switch, make sure to tell your team about all the savings. Then the whole team can celebrate their arrival.
Step 2: Remove any unnecessary wood on your pallet. Most people have overbuilt pallets and they don’t know it. They are paying for lumber, nails, and a person to combine them for extra strength they don’t need. Do you need every piece of wood on your pallet? Probably not. To find out, you can do two things. 1) Use our “Design Your Pallet” wizard on our homepage to figure out what’s best. 2) Contact us or your current provider and ask them this question: “What can I remove from my pallet design without risking our application?” Some companies will throw a fuss about how complicated it is to change designs or make a custom change. Don’t buy it. Tell them less raw materials should mean less labor and cost for them. It is a true win-win situation.
Now, there are a few spots to look for excess:
- Top deck board count. Could you remove a board from the top deck? Maybe two?
- Bottom deck board count. Could you remove a board from the bottom?
- Stringers. If you have more than 3, do you actually need more than 3?
- Board thickness. Do you need ¹¹⁄₁₆” or ⅝”? Could you do ⁹⁄₁₆” or even ½”?
- Board width. Pallet boards usually come in 4” or 6” widths. If you have 6” boards, could any of them change to 4” boards?
Step 3: Question the wood species on your pallet. Typically, there are three buckets of wood options:
- Hardwood (strongest + heaviest)
- Softwood (lightweight)
- Recycled (mix of all different kinds of hardwoods and softwoods)
In this case, recycled lumber is the cheapest option. However, it has more variability with thickness and performance. So if you are more flexible on how perfect your pallet is, start there. If you need more consistency, then the question comes down to how heavy and how strong you need the pallet. If you don’t need an extremely strong pallet, go with softwood. If you need extra capacity, go for hardwood.
Step 4: Ask your supplier for a price reduction. We post our pricing in our store and give full transparency. However, most pallet companies keep things hidden. They don’t have a set price for their pallets. They price what they think they can get out of you. In that situation, you unfortunately need to constantly be the leaky wheel to get the grease. Lower prices come to those who ask. Question delivery costs. Question wood prices. Question their internal cost-cutting initiatives. Don’t be a jerk. Don’t mistreat people. But be bold and ask. If you choose not to ask, then you choose to pay more.
Take these four steps and you will be a hero. Impress your boss. Help your team. Save your company. Feel good doing it. If you want more tips to save money on pallets, check out more of our content at www.gruberpallets.com.