How to properly ship stuff with pallets
Palletising your goods can prevent the risk of damage to your consignment whilst it is in transit. Many businesses use pallets as a safe and secure way of transporting goods across the UK and Europe. This is because pallets can be easily handled using forklift trucks for loading and unloading purposes at origin and destination.
The main size of pallet bases used in the UK are either 120 cms x 100 cms referred to as a “standard” pallet and 120 cms x 80 cms referred to as a “Euro” pallet. Depending on the goods you are transporting will determine the size of pallet you can use and you should also bear in mind that the company you use for your pallet delivery, may charge you a higher amount if you opt for the larger standard pallet, rather than a Euro pallet.
With many pallet delivery networks available in the UK, a customer is spoilt for choice. Whilst all of the pallet delivery networks available offer similar services, either a next day or economy delivery service, some of these networks have now extended their services to include continental Europe also. So as well as being able to obtain cost effective pricing for palletised deliveries in the UK, a customer is now able to receive similar services throughout Europe also. Whilst at this stage the pallet delivery networks have only recently established their respective services, many of the major export routes in Europe used by companies in the UK have pallet delivery services available to them. Countries such as France, Benelux, Germany, Spain and Portugal for example. With daily trailer departures from the UK hubs, delivery times to Europe are very reasonable with average transit times to France and Germany of 2-3 days and Spain & Portugal around 4-5 days.
Some customers struggle when it comes to using a transport company, as they may not have the loading or unloading facilities in place, such as a forklift truck. By choosing to utilise the services of a pallet network means that, if required, a specialist truck can be used to collect or deliver your pallet(s) using an enhanced loading/unloading facility which is called a Tail-Lift. This means that a customer would not need to have a forklift truck to unload or load the vehicle, as the driver can easily handle this himself, using the mechanical device of the tail-lift. Many pallet delivery companies utilise trucks with a tail-lift facility, especially when delivering or collecting within a residential area, to shops or businesses located within a busy high street or as we have discussed, to companies that do not have forklift truck facilities.
As there are so many pallet networks available, I would always strongly recommend that you do a search on the internet and check prices with 3-4 companies. It is important to ensure you are receiving the best possible quotation for your collection or delivery, as well as checking on the estimated door to door transit time as well. By checking with a number of different companies, will allow you to compare prices and service levels offered by the pallet delivery companies.
James RA Selvey
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