Why Do Manufacturers Palletize? Pallet Usage and Benefits 

Why Do Manufacturers Palletize? Pallet Usage and Benefits

Why do manufacturers palletize in the United States and around the world? Palletization provides many crucial benefits for both large and small businesses.

Shipping and storing goods require pallets, which are essential pieces of technology. In the 20th century, wooden pallets were one of the greatest inventions in material handling. Previously revolutionary, they are now taken for granted and can be found behind most dumpsters in most cities.

So What Is Palletization and Why Do We Need It?

As a result of palletization, bulk materials or finished goods are loaded onto pallets. Additionally, pallets allow goods and pallet bases to be stored, handled, and transported together efficiently, a process known as unit loading.

Pallets are often considered to be a technology that should be avoided in an effort to continuously improve supply chain operations in terms of cost, weight, and space

When palletization was introduced, it improved material handling efficiency significantly. We were able to unload containers that took us days to unload before in just a couple of hours instead of days or even weeks

Palletization in the United States: Benefits and Drawbacks

Pallets have been used for a long time as a base for unit loads. The use of pallets can offer numerous benefits as opposed to the handling of unpalletized goods as pallets allow the goods to be handled more easily, thereby saving time and money in comparison with unpalletized handling. Among them are the following:

• As a result of faster unloading and loading, delivery vehicles can be dispatched faster and transportation equipment can be used more efficiently

• More effective truckloads. Due to the standardization of pallet sizes, you know exactly how many skids per truck you can deliver.

• It is beneficial if the trailer loading dock could be made available as soon as the next shipment arrives.

• Compared to manual handling, labor requirements are drastically reduced

• Increased speed of movement over unrefrigerated docks reduces temperature abuse risk for perishable products

• Product and finished goods damage is less likely than manual loading

• Repetitive stress injuries are less likely to happen. Using a pallet jack or fork lift is both most effective and safer than the alternative.

• Better cube and floor space utilization in transportation and storage through more efficient material handling and storage throughout the factory

• By standardizing pallets, you’ll be able to enhance flexibility and ensure compatibility across supply chains

Palletization techniques and approaches

Manual Method

In manual palletization, you load products by hand and place them on pallets. Even though this seems ineffective, there are still a lot of companies using this method. On an assembly line conveyor, boxes might be lifted and stacked onto a pallet, or if an employee is picking out an order for a customer on a pallet jack, the employee might take boxes from several pallets as needed to place them on the pallet they’re working on.

Semi-automated

Semi-automated palletization involves sliding cartons together to form layers without lifting or walking around the pallet. By pressing the start button, a layer is automatically palletized after it has been formed.

Machines

Palletizers are machines that take containers from a conveyor and assemble them into a pattern to form layers, then build the layers onto a pallet to make a unit load.

Robotic AI Palletizers

With Robotic palletizers, you can palletize several SKUs and package sizes onto the same pallet. They’re flexible and can palletize multiple SKUs and sizes. As well as easing the burden off workers, they eliminate the need to lift heavy stuff like HVAC equipment, appliances, or industrial packages. They don’t get tired, never get tired, and work 24/7.