Four Pallet Stacking Tips to Increase the Safety of Your Shipment

6 September 2017
 Categories: , Blog

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Getting the right packaging supplies is paramount in ensuring the safety of your shipment. Choosing quality pallets enhances the stability and protection of the cargo throughout the journey. However, also of importance is how the pallets are stacked during transit. Improper stacking can result in damage or loss of the products during transit, particularly if the pallets topple over. Additionally, it can also increase the cost of transportation if the pallets consume more space in the transit vehicle or container. Here are four useful tips that will help stack packaging correctly for maximum safety.

Keep the Top Flat

It is critical to that you avoid overloading a pallet as this will prevent the top from taking on a flat shape. When a pallet is overpacked, it will be difficult to stack others on top of it without damaging the products inside. What's more, the shipping company can decide to stack the items without regarding the overloaded pallet, and this will lead to losses. Always keep the top of the pallet flat to ease stackability and protect the goods from damage.

Stack in Columns

If the contents in your shipping pallets are sturdy enough, you can adopt a brick-laying technique to stack the packaging. This method increases the stability of the boxes and ensures that they occupy little space. If you are utilizing a shared container for shipping, stacking in columns can reduce the overall costs since your items will take up little space in the container.

Invest in Pallet Wrap

Pallet wrap is a thin plastic film that stretches around a pallet. Also known as stretch film or stretch wrap, this wrapping secures goods for transportation by preventing damage. You can choose to cover the goods first then place them in a pallet or pack them in the packaging then wrap them together. When purchasing pallet wrap, ensure that it is specially made for securing goods for storage or transit as not all types of film are suitable for this purpose.

Create Labels for Pallets

Creating custom labels for your packaging can be a great way of ensuring the identification of packaging at any point during transportation of storage. Labeling also makes it easy for the shipping personnel to spot packages that are fragile and which should be handled with care. If you are using a shared container, labeling will simplify the process of sorting out goods once they arrive at the intended location.

Note that these tips apply to products that can be placed in packaging and have a regular shape. Heavy, irregularly-shaped, or large items have different rules when it comes to packaging, shipping, and handling.