Part 1 of this series asserted that pallets are assets deserving of detailed specifications. Part 2 of the series asserted the importance of choosing pallet vendors that can consistently deliver against those specifications. Here, Part 3 asserts the importance of storing pallets under conditions that enable them to provide efficiencies and cost-effectiveness throughout supply chains. This column, however, is about the storage of empty pallets, as opposed to the storage of pallet loads. The latter has particulars that qualify for a separate article.
An initial decision is the designation of a storage location. The ideal choice is inside the facility, however the choice is more involved than choosing an area that happens to be available. Thought should be given to the distance between the storage location and where pallets are loaded, i.e., end-of-line operations. That distance should be as short as feasible to minimize material handling mishaps. Establishing that advantageous distance might require that items presently occupying the target area be reassigned to a different area.
