Pallets for 3PLs: by grade, by client, on a schedule.

A contract warehouse buys pallets for twenty clients at once and recharges most of them. What matters is a reliable grade, a drop that lands inside the receiving window, empties that leave on the same truck, and a count that holds up on the client invoice.

Set up a pallet schedule How many pallets fit on a truck?

Or call Jayden on 0494 820 639, 7am to 5pm weekdays.

Quick answer

How does a 3PL buy pallets?

On a schedule by grade and count, delivered inside the receiving window on a vehicle that fits the dock, with the count split by client on the docket for the recharge and the sorted empties loaded on the same truck. Sixty or more reusable pallets anywhere in Greater Sydney is a free pickup; smaller stacks ride back on the delivery and are credited. Pooled pallets stay in their own accounts.

The 3PL problem

What does a 3PL need from a pallet supplier?

Four things, in this order. A grade that does not drift, because a client who was quoted grade A will notice grade B. A drop that fits the receiving window, because a pallet truck arriving at 10am is in the way of the inbound containers. Empties gone on the same run, because the stack behind door nine is costing floor space every week it sits there. And a count per client, because the pallets are recharged and the recharge has to match the docket.

Pooled pallets are usually in the mix too. CHEP and Loscam stay in their own accounts and go back to the pool; our pallets cover the one way lanes, the inbound from suppliers who do not run pooled equipment, and the storage that does not need a pooled pallet under it. Hire versus buying has the arithmetic.

How it runs

How does a scheduled pallet drop work?

01One scheduleA weekly or fortnightly drop, by grade and count, delivered inside the window you name on a vehicle that fits the dock. The count changes with a call the business day before.
02Split by client on the docketWhere you ask for it, the docket shows the count per client or per door, so the recharge is a copy of the docket and not a reconciliation.
03Empties on the same truckThe driver loads the sorted empties on the way out. Sixty or more reusable pallets anywhere in Greater Sydney is a free pickup; smaller stacks ride back on the delivery and are credited at the written rate.
04One written figure a weekPallets delivered, pallets bought back, cores credited and any clearance, netted on one line. The grades are the ones on every quote: new, A, B, C and R.

Floor space

How much is the empty stack behind the dock costing?

Count the pallets on the floor and divide by the pallets that leave in a day; that is days of stock, and the same sum works for empties. A stack of 200 empties at the back of a 3PL is two or three bays of racking's worth of floor that is not earning a storage fee. When the stack is worth sending it should go, and it should go on a truck that was coming anyway.

Grade held from quote to docket, checked at your dock
Drops inside the receiving window on a vehicle that fits the dock
Empties out on the delivery run once the stack is worth sending
Count per client on the docket for the recharge
Freight for the clients' goods on the same account: shared freight for one to six pallets, a dedicated vehicle for the rest

Getting it set up

Send last month's pallet count and the receiving window.

Pallets in by grade, pallets out, and the window the dock will take. The schedule comes back priced on the volume, with the empties collection written into it, the same business day when you ask before 2pm.

Set up a pallet schedule How many pallets fit on a truck?

Questions from 3PLs

Can you split the delivery docket by client?

Yes. Say which client or door each count belongs to and the docket shows it, so the recharge is a copy of the docket rather than a reconciliation at month end.

Do you collect empties on the delivery run?

Yes, where the stack is sorted and the count is there. Sixty or more reusable pallets anywhere in Greater Sydney is a free pickup; smaller stacks ride back on the delivery and are credited at the written rate.

Can the count change week to week?

Yes. The schedule sets the grade and the usual count; change the count with a call the business day before the run.

What about the CHEP and Loscam pallets in the building?

They stay in their own accounts and go back to the pool. We do not buy, collect or supply pooled pallets; our pallets cover the lanes and storage where a pooled pallet is wasted.

Do you also move our clients' freight?

Yes. Shared freight for one to six pallets on a run already heading the same way, and a dedicated vehicle from a van to a B-double for the rest, priced together so you can see which is cheaper for each job.

What is the minimum order?

Published from-prices on the prices page are for lots of 50 or more delivered across Greater Sydney. Standing orders are priced on the monthly volume rather than the drop size.

Prefer to talk? Call Jayden on 0494 820 639. The published from-prices are on the prices page.

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