It happens in business time after time. The phone rings and a pallet supplier gives you a price that seems too good to be true. You set up a meeting and carefully go over the specs you require. Wood choice. Moisture content. Nail count and spacing. Stacking requirements. Size and weight specs. All you see are nodding heads. So you decide to give them a try. The first order comes in and everything looks fine, then the next one and maybe even the one after that.
And then it happens.
The high-quality pallet you thought you were buying and all those vital specs can’t quite live up to the low ball price. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. It’s business-as-usual for some pallet suppliers.
Somewhere in your pallet stack, usually in the middle so they’re harder to spot, those showcase pallets start to show a reduction in quality. The pallets now have a board or two missing. Where two nails were required, only one appears. And the moisture content has mysteriously gone up beyond what you require.
The reasons are simple. When a price is drastically cut, that money shortfall has to come from someplace. And it’s usually from your pallet. If the price can’t sustain the pallet, either the price has to go up or the quality has to go down.
Why does this happen in the first place? The answer is as old as the business itself. Lure in a customer with a low and often unsustainable price, then tap dance around the promises made to get that customer. If the quality, reliability and deliverability of your pallets and your pallet supplier are the key ingredients in your selection choice then you have to make a wise choice.
Ask yourself if you really believe that initial price was achievable and deliverable before you make the switch. To use a much overused cliché, “If it’s too good to be true, it’s usually not true.” And the cost to you can be greater than you think.
Think about this. You spec a pallet for many important reasons. The integrity of the product you are putting on it is the most obvious. But there are other issues that might not come to mind at first.
What are the IT costs of integrating a new supplier into your accounting systems? What are the costs of taking them out when they and their pallets fail to deliver on their promises? Consider the safety of your warehouse staff, and equally as important, your customer’s staff. What would happen if that bargain pallet is compromised and causes injury on either end? What about equipment — yours and theirs? A broken board or a loose hanging nail can cause damage whose cost will far exceed the pennies saved on bargain pallets. There probably isn’t a company anywhere that hasn’t had an “Uh oh” moment, or worse, from equipment damage and failure.
Then, of course, there’s the issue of accurate counts at pick-up and delivery. More often than any of us would like to remember, there can be a long count in delivery and a short count for collections. Remember, that money has to come from someplace. Working with a company that can guarantee accurate information is the key.
I believe the best pallet suppliers are invisible. They fill your order, pick-up and deliver without you having to think about it. That’s achieved by consistently doing what you promise. By delivering what you say you will when you say you will — with accurate counting and accountability and by delivering integrity and honesty with every pick-up and delivery. Sure slip-ups can happen. Those that are an accident can be excused, but the ones that are planned are inexcusable.
