If your business involves shifting a lot of pallets, then working with the right pallet supplier is critical to your supply chain and to your business operations. If it’s a regular consistent supply of good pallets that you need, then a reliable pallet provider is hard to come by.

Here are our top tips to help you find a wooden pallet supplier for your business

1 – Determine what your pallet needs are

Before you begin your search for a supplier, put some thought to the type of pallet you need. If your business is scaling or growing, also think about the type of pallets you may need in the  future. Most pallet suppliers stock standard size pallets, such as the Euro pallet size, but if you need something different, then this will reduce the amount of pallet supply companies available to you. Also, if you require a high quality grade of pallet, then again, this will determine what pallet suppliers can consistently deliver this to you.

2 – Do you need heat-treated pallets?

If you’re exporting or importing from outside of the UK, then your pallets will need to be heat-treated. This is a new legislation that is required to prevent the spread the disease and infection.  Even if you don’t directly import or export, your customers might, so there may still be a requirement to have heat-treated pallets for use within the UK.

You might like to read our article on heat-treated pallets

3 – Check the supplier can meet your volume demands

If you require a regular high volume of pallet supply, you need to make sure your pallet supplier is up to the job. Check with them what their manufacturing capacity and capabilities are and ask them how they will meet your demands. Ask them for examples of other large volume orders that they fulfil, to give you peace of mind. Understand what transport capabilities they have also – what does their fleet of pallet lorries look like and how can they ensure to service requirements? You could also ask your pallet provider to sign an agreement – like an SLA agreement – to ensure they commit to the continuous supply.

4 – Make sure you’re more than just a number

If you have a smaller requirement for pallets, make sure the supplier you have won’t let you down. If they have larger customers who are priority, get a sense that they will still be able to ensure a continuous supply to you.

5 – Check what delivery timescales are

Make sure you’re working with a supplier who can meet your timeframes. Ask your supplier what the standard delivery timescale is and make sure that works for you. Some pallet providers, like TIPCI, are able to provide a same day or next day service, but many will require a few days to ship their order to you.

6 – Check for minimum order quantities and delivery charges

Some pallet providers may have a minimum order quantity. If you don’t have space at your site, this could be a problem, so make sure you ask this at the beginning. Also ask the supplier what their delivery charges are. You might find that there is no delivery charge if your order is for over a certain amount of pallets. Either way, be clear of the additional charges and fees that may or may not apply.

7 – Check the quality!

It might be worth doing a smaller order to start with, so you can check the quality of the pallet. If the quality of pallet is essential, then finding a pallet provider who consistently delivers quality pallets is criticial to your supply chain.

If you’d like to know more about TIPCI Group and how we can help you with your pallet needs, please call us on 02392639680 or fill in our contact form and we’ll get back to you.