A World of Shipping Built on Pallets
January 03, 2017
If you browse any DIY blog or Pinterest design book these days, you’ll probably end up thinking that wood pallets can do anything. You wouldn’t be that far off from the truth. Wood pallets have become an interior designer’s dream and have been used as coffee tables, bed frames, headboards, plant holders and more.
But don’t forget how important pallets have been in shaping the world we live in today—even outside of reclaimed wood projects. In fact, Slate writer, Tom Vanderbilt, even called the pallet “The Single Most Important Object in the Global Economy.”
Says Vanderbilt, “…pallets are arguably as integral to globalization as containers. For an invisible object, they are everywhere: There are said to be billions circulating through global supply chain (2 billion in the United States alone). Some 80 percent of all U.S. commerce is carried on pallets. So widespread is their use that they account for, according to one estimate, more than 46 percent of total U.S. hardwood lumber production.”
If you want to know how much pallet planning can play a role in shipping, look no further than everyone’s favorite Nordic furniture store. IKEA once redesigned a simple $0.50 mug three times to optimize it for pallet packing. Since IKEA sold about 25 million of these mugs every year optimizing was important—and effective. Where once they could only fit 864 mugs per pallet, the redesign allowed them to increase that to 2,024 mugs per pallet and reduce shipping costs 60%!
In short, pallets are awesome. So awesome, in fact, that we have dedicated an entire team to creating custom and off-the-shelf wood crates along with their own spokesman, Pallet Guy (and he is pretty rad).
Planning for your package’s journey is more than creating a custom and durable outer mixed with a stunning and protective inner. You must also consider the shipping, warehousing and transport of product. And that is when Pallet Guy will become your best friend.
Learn more at palletguy.com or by contacting Ernest Packaging Solutions who will help create a great crate experience!
