“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” – Forrest Gump.
Life can be unpredictable, as we were reminded famously in the movie Forrest Gump and, more recently, by dramatic supply chain disruption events. But picking a pallet supplier should never come with random surprises. In today’s supply chain, there’s too much at stake to end up with a sour taste in your mouth from the wrong partner. You want to ensure you have the pallets you need when you need them.
In this blog, we examine the benefits of using an asset-based pallet provider, particularly one with a national footprint and international reach.
Why an asset-based provider?
When you establish a relationship with an asset-based provider, you know exactly what to expect. While pallets can seem like a commodity or generic good, the devil is in the details. If you are sourcing pallets from multiple sources, differences in terminology or incorrect assumptions may impact your operations—even nuances such as nominal versus actual wood component sizes, quality variability, or your particular needs for delivery equipment—van or flatbed, banded or unbanded stacks, etc.
By establishing a partnership with your asset-based provider, the supplier will come to intimately understand your ordering and delivery requirements and other important nuances of their service, eliminating pallet headaches from the equation. Additionally, locally sourced pallets help support local businesses and the local economy. Local provision can also mean shorter delivery distances to expedite deliveries when needed and with a smaller environmental footprint.
Why a national asset-based provider?
While sourcing from an asset-based provider makes sense, a better option is a provider with locations across the country. Here are some of the benefits.
Your supply chain security blanket: When it comes to pallet supply, you deserve a security blanket. Look for a supplier that controls its supply chain from material supply to delivery—coast to coast. Local asset-based companies tend to cut off brokers when supply is tight to service their best customers. In times of disruption, local asset-based companies can quickly feel the pinch of local lumber supply impacts, for example. Whether fire, rail strike, or other scenario, local operations do not have an automatic fallback position.
That’s where having a national supplier with a responsive network can fill any local shortfalls. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, PalletOne alleviated lumber supply issues in Maine by shipping pallet components from Alabama to ensure pallet supply to customers in the Northeast.
Making procurement easy: When you deal with a leading national asset-based provider, you can handle your pallet and industrial packaging needs and reporting requirements through a single point of contact. This means fewer suppliers to juggle and fewer accounts to manage.
PalletOne’s Pallet Concierge service means that a single contact can not only manage your pallet needs across the country, but our relationship with UFP Packaging means we can also provide your other industrial packaging requirements – again simplifying your supplier base.
Deep resources to ensure you receive exactly what you need: As the country’s largest asset-based pallet manufacturer, PalletOne has a wealth of resources to optimize your pallet supply chain. From its national quality assurance program to its state-of-the-art design and testing capabilities to its continuous investment in people and equipment, PalletOne is dedicated to delivering the best.
Life may be like a box of chocolates, but why gamble on whether or not you will be delighted each time you select one? Why not contact the national sales team at PalletOne? Let’s explore how we can help you secure and optimize your supply chain for the long haul.
