In every industry, there’s often an underrated cog in the machine that deserves a lot more attention than it gets. When you think of logistics, you probably think of trucks, shipping containers, and manifests. In this context, pallets are an amazing invention that ensures goods travel safely.
The city of Chicago holds tremendous economic importance in the U.S. Did you know that over $3 trillion worth of goods travels through the region every year? Any disruption in logistics can impact the entire country.
Pallets are simple and extremely versatile items whose small role makes the entire logistics chain that much smoother. Let’s learn how.
1. Pallets Mitigate Expensive Storage Space in Chicago
Perusing the price per square foot for warehouses in Chicago will show you that $7.27/sq.ft seems to be the average. However, it can rapidly increase depending on location and that’s a problem. The average warehouse is just shy of 180,000 square feet which means you are paying $1.3 million just on storage space!
Of course, the benefits of operating a warehouse in Chicago do offset the cost, but it is still a factor to consider. Pallets ensure that every single valuable square foot of space is utilized properly. With pallets, it becomes easy to stack goods, and it is very common to see stacks go as high as the roof.
Storage efficiency is key to reducing the cost of warehouse leasing in Chicago and pallets are your best friend. It also helps that you have a range of pallet choices according to your needs. As The Pallet Plug states, there are different grades such as A Grade, B Grade, and C Grade. These refer to how worn or used the pallet is.
Thankfully, businesses looking at pallets for sale in Chicago have the option of picking pallets depending on their budget.
2. They Ensure The Speed of Logistics is Maintained
Chicago is home to over 100 locally headquartered logistics tech companies that employ over 34,000 people. There’s a lot of attention on improving the supply chain here with Governor JB Pritzker proposing a $1.1 billion investment to modernize regional rail infrastructure.
In logistics, delivery times are everything. If goods are delayed even by a single day, don’t be surprised if you lose clients. There is absolutely no room for mess-ups. This is why every solution needs to be taken advantage of.
In that context, pallets are a genius aid. Why? It’s because one of their best benefits is that they allow the grouping of multiple items into a single unit. This means that rather than workers handling each item individually, items can be moved as a group. As you can imagine, this drastically decreases the number of trips needed to fully load or unload a truck or storage facility.
Likewise, a lot of time is also wasted when handling items in terms of arranging and rearranging. With pallets, that is no longer the case. What’s more, with the help of forklifts and pallet jacks, heavy loads can be moved rapidly. They can also load pallets directly into trucks which is another way that the speed of logistics is maintained.
3. Pallets Keep Pests from Damaging Goods
According to Copesan, specialists in pest solutions, warehouses are often affected by a wide variety of pests. These include birds, rats, cockroaches, and even stored product pests such as beetles, mites, and moths. Did you know that pallets can also help protect products against these issues?
That’s right. Pallets are often treated with a range of chemicals. So for instance, in the past, methyl bromide was often used to fumigate wooden pallets. It acts as an insecticide and a disinfectant although safer chemicals are used these days.
The key point to note here is that damaged goods create opportunities for delays. Even if goods have been partially damaged by pests, it means workers have to separate, discard, or return them. Anti-pest-treated pallets make it so that these incidents become few and far between.
Of course, it’s not a guarantee, and considering that Chicago was ranked the “Rattiest” city in America, other measures will be needed. What’s clear is that pallets offer an added line of protection that businesses are glad to have.
In closing, Chicago is one of the biggest logistics hubs in the country, and when you talk logistics, that means the transport of goods. As we have learned today, pallets are one of the most useful aids in logistics and frankly, don’t get the recognition they deserve.
Life would be so much more inconvenient for the men and women in this field were it not for the convenience of pallets.
Recent Comments