Shipments imported in containers are most often in the form of loosely arranged cardboard boxes. The reason is savings – simply speaking: more goods can be transported at one time. However, a large number of cardboard boxes is a big problem, as well as high costs associated with their storage and transport. The solution is palletization. What exactly it is and what are its benefits – please read the article.

What is palletization?

Palletization is nothing more than arranging goods on pallet carriers – in simpler terms – on pallets. Palletization is a part of logistics that prevents goods from being damaged or lost during transportation or storage.

And when is it worth thinking about it? Always! This saves a lot of time and money.

This applies especially to those entrepreneurs who import goods in containers. These are usually packed to the brim with cardboard boxes. One container contains several, and often a dozen or so, shipments, consisting of hundreds of the above-mentioned boxes.

In order not to lose them or send them to the wrong place, the entire unloading process involves placing specific batches of goods on pallets. Sometimes one shipment is one pallet, sometimes a dozen or even several dozen.

Surprisingly, a large number of importers still wish to have their shipments delivered loose, box by box, instead of secured on pallets. Thus, they lose specific amounts, twice as much. How is this possible?

How not to lose but gain?

The benefits of palletizing goods can be best explained with an example.

Let’s assume you import goods from China. One container contains 1,500 parcels, weighing 44 tons. In Poland, you have three customers (three shipments), which will receive 100, 500 and 900 boxes, respectively, each weighing almost 30 kg.

After customs clearance, all goods are divided into the above-mentioned shipments, which are located on 5, 18 and 24 pallets.

If you decide not to palletize, warehouse employees will manually move each box from the pallet to the vehicle. A shipment consisting of 24 pallets and 900 boxes is nearly 27 tons of goods to be loaded manually!

The whole process takes time, and each hour of a warehouse worker, and usually several people, translates into specific costs. It’s not everything! Our exemplary 27 tons of individual cardboard boxes still need to be unloaded, which again generates costs and time.

Savings resulting from palletizing the goods.

Based on our example, if you decided to palletize the goods at the stage of unloading the container, the goods would be placed on a dedicated pallet. This would be secured and waiting for you to pick it up.

What and how much would you gain from palletization?

First of all, time. Delivery of goods on the above-mentioned 24 pallets and loading them onto a truck takes less than 1 hour not at least 3 for 4 hours, as would be the case with individual boxes. The entire work is performed by one employee. Therefore, instead of paying for 12 hours of warehouse workers, you will pay for one hour.

Plus additional costs. What costs are we talking about? The difference is about PLN 600.

For loading bulk goods, the costs amount to approximately PLN 1,323, which include – costs of 12 work-hours – 3 people work for approximately 4 hours, materials, frequently occurring transport costs – additional parking of the vehicle.

For loading goods on pallets, the costs are approximately PLN 720, which includes the costs of 1 work-hour and the cost of pallets. No additional costs.

As you can easily see, palletization in our case saves over PLN 600 compared to the operation without it. If we add a specific number of transports per year, this amount increases significantly.

Benefits of palletizing

There are numerous benefits of palletizing. Firstly, it is the efficiency of loading or unloading, which is much less time-consuming than loading “rubble”, i.e. bulk goods.

The above, obviously, translates into lower costs while saving time. Plus, the savings you gain on forwarding services.

It doesn’t end there! Palletization also means more efficient flow of goods in the warehouse, increased staff safety and easier control of warehouse stocks. It significantly facilitates transport, but also increases the protection of your goods by properly securing them.

If you have any questions or have already decided that your next transport will be done only with the use of the palletization service, please contact us. Our team will take care of everything and secure your goods for transport, and you will be able to spend your time and money on the development of your company.

IF YOU NEED SUPPORT, CONTACT US. DTA HAS BEEN HELPING IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR OVER 30 YEARS.