John Vacarro has big plans to bring Silicon Valley tech to the pallet sector. In October 2022, he launched the online pallet marketplace called PalletTrader (www.pallettrader.com).
This online exchange brings together buyers and sellers to identify new opportunities and make it easy to conduct online transactions for pallets. The entire marketplace has been designed to serve the needs of both pallet professionals and pallet users.
Since the marketplace launched in late October 2022, it has processed more than $9 million worth of transactions so far as of early February 2023, with several hundred users already registered on the website. John Vaccaro, founder and CEO of PalletTrader, declared, “Early response has been great! We’re just starting to build out our marketing campaign to the general public. We have launched 30 digital billboard ads in key cities with high distribution centers and pallet activity.”
Vaccaro is pleased with the initial launch. He commented, “We only launched four months ago, and it’s still just like the first inning of a baseball game.” The site is handling activity across a national network where in the past deals were often a process of “handshakes and phone calls,” noted Vaccaro. Volumes are growing each week, and the system is processing transactions and financial payments flawlessly, according to PalletTrader. Vaccaro’s message to the wait and see crowd, “The technology works and is scaling fine.”
Initial User Feedback – Pallet Suppliers Like the Marketplace
Chad Cutler and his brother Adam are early adopters of PalletTrader.com. They represent the fourth generation of family leadership at Cutler Brothers Box and Lumber Company. The Fairview, NJ-based firm, founded by their great-grandfather, began selling out of a small storefront in 1875. Today, it is one of the largest providers of new and remanufactured pallets in the Northeast United States. Its capabilities and services span the gamut, from repairing, refurbishing and recycling all types of used pallets, to heat treating and building standard 48×40 pallets as well as custom new pallets to spec.
Chad Cutler admitted, “The pallet industry has basically done business the same way since the wooden pallet was invented in World War II. It’s been stuck in the past and traditionally has lagged in innovation and new technology.” That is…until now.
Cutler said, “PalletTrader has the potential to be a game changer; I don’t think there is any doubt about it. This marketplace is the first of its kind and brings us into the modern age of digital business processes.”
As a “Founder’s Circle” member, Cutler Brothers has introduced PalletTrader to its customers. Chad Cutler commented, “There has been a lot of interest” with inquiries increasing weekly from customers and prospects, who want to learn how it works and how it can streamline the pallet procurement and transaction process.
“It’s an easy sell,” he noted. “Every business we touch works with some type of e-commerce site for their industry. When they see PalletTrader, it’s familiar. Instead of a consumer product, it’s pallets. The learning curve is short, the tools are intuitive and easy to learn. The value is obvious.”
It has also established a complementary new sales channel, which is bringing new customers to Cutler Brothers. “Through PalletTrader we’re connecting with a base of new customers which would not necessarily have found us quickly, or at all,” Chad stated. “It’s helping to lower [the] cost of sales; I’m moving product faster; and I’m able to be far more agile and responsive.”
“This could be the engine that drives explosive growth for us,” he suggested. Cutler isn’t the only one who is happy with his experience so far on the platform. As a pallet salesperson, Kyle Hennings of Fricks Pallet Co. in Fort Worth, Texas, knows the challenges of finding good customers.
Hennings and his company were early adopters of PalletTrader. Typically, he’s on the road every week, meeting customers and engaging with them face-to-face, or by phone and email. With PalletTrader, he’s gained a new, efficient platform for expanded outreach to customers and for new clients to find and do business with Fricks. “I can source customers off PalletTrader, it’s awesome,” he noted, adding that several customers have already migrated to the platform and are ordering multiple loads a week.
One big advantage of PalletTrader is being able to use the platform to sell excess inventory. Hennings explained, “I can hop on PalletTrader and quickly promote the inventory to whomever is in the market that might need it, make it available to a wider range of potential buyers, and secure a sale that I otherwise would not have had [access] to.”
Hennings plans on introducing more of his current customers to PalletTrader and leveraging the platform to prospect for new business. “Other industries have adopted ecommerce-like platforms to drive more efficient sales and reduce transaction processing costs,” said Hennings. “The pallet industry is finally getting its due with a transformative platform of its own.”
Conducting business in a way that is convenient for customers is key to high customer satisfaction. George Eroza, Jr. of San Fernando Valley Pallet (SFVP), commented, “Our industry, which is large and fragmented, has struggled for years to move forward and adopt customer-facing technologies.” SFVP specializes in the standard 48×40 wooden pallet, maintaining an inventory of some 100,000 units and providing reliable deliveries with its own trucking fleet. It also does custom pallet and crate manufacturing. Some of its biggest customers are film production companies, which operate on tight schedules and demand dependability.
Eroza Jr. explained, “PalletTrader looks and acts the same as e-commerce platforms familiar to other industries. It’s a major innovation, intuitive and easy to use. We’re able to reach more national customers as well as regional to Southern California.”
It’s Normal to Question Something New
When something new enters an industry, especially new technology in a business with deeply ingrained practices, there’s often suspicion and skepticism. What does this mean for my business? Is it going to be disruptive? Do my customers want it? How will I – or should I – adapt? What will it cost?
Those were all questions that were at the forefront of Gem Vasquez’s mind when he was first introduced to PalletTrader last year.
Gem Vasquez is vice president of sales and operations for Monison Pallets, a Florida-based, family-run, full-service pallet manufacturer, supplier and recycler with four locations statewide. Founded in 1983, the company maintains an inventory of some 800,000 pallets, both new and refurbished.
Yet as he learned more about the platform and its potential, Vasquez shifted his focus to the opportunities. Why? Confidence and trust in PalletTrader’s founder, Bettaway Pallet Systems, with which he had a long history of successful business dealings.
“There was a level of confidence, a trust based on experience, someone we knew who was established,” he noted. “It wasn’t some 25-year-old venture capital guy coming from the tech world, pitching a startup, who’d never been in pallets before.”
Experience counts, Vasquez stressed. “They [PalletTrader] knew the basics of the business, what the market need was, and how a portal could solve for that,” he said. “I immediately thought of it as an Amazon for pallets. It was new and innovative. I was surprised no one had thought of it or tried to build it before.”
PalletTrader provides Monison with a powerful tool to advertise, post and sell inventory to a highly targeted and motivated community – literally hundreds of pallet buyers in the state. He explained, “It’s a new and effective sales channel. When someone searches for Florida pallets, Monison pops up. That’s a win-win. It’s replacing stone age [sales] practices that have been around for years.”
The biggest benefits of using PalletTrader are a quicker sales cycle and faster payment. He shared, “Financial settlement is immediate. Before, you’d have to invoice the customer and it might take 30 days to pay. It’s a more efficient and satisfying transaction for the client and it helps improve the cash flow we need to run the business.”
Promoting Pallets – Why Do That?
More than just a website, PalletTrader is a marketplace that is seeking to change the conversation around pallets. Its management team is launching a new marketing campaign targeted at pallet users and business decision-makers.
Vaccaro proclaimed, “We are going to be the first company to promote pallet transactions nationwide to end users and the general public. Our members can take advantage of that promotion to build their business[es] and expand their network[s].”
PalletTrader is also launching a new fleet of wrapped trailers with its unique branding to serve as mobile billboards in key distribution hubs. These custom trailer wraps are great to attract attention and get people curious about the website.
Marketing on PalletTrader can give pallet suppliers a unique advantage to attract new customers, which is important in a market that is becoming more competitive every day. Vaccaro admitted, “Pallets are a tough business. Customers switch suppliers for 15-20 cents per unit. So, the value proposition for a pallet user is easy to understand. The value proposition for the pallet provider is lower transaction costs, easier access to new customers, [the] ability to sell excess inventories and a convenient set of tools to facilitate better transactions and faster payment.”
The Future of the Marketplace – Greater Collaboration and More Services!
The PalletTrader development and management teams are not resting with the launch of the first website. They are working on improvements and new services. Vaccaro said, “At this point, we have a very good working marketplace site. One of the next things on our agenda is to develop an open Application Program Interface (API) for third parties to interact with our site and network. As we put [the] finishing touches on the existing site, our developers will turn their attention to creating that structure for others to automatically interact and share some information.”
PalletTrader is open to working with Enterprise Resource Planning software, smartphone apps and any freight software to collaborate on projects and interactions.
A major next step for the marketplace is to add freight to its service offerings. Vaccaro recalled, “When I went to the Freightwaves show, it was great how many software, logistics and supply chain people were saying this is an innovative idea. A lot of the trucker apps approached us about collaboration.”
Vaccaro summarized his company’s plans for the next phase. He forecasted, “There are three things on our radar screen. Some customers are asking about being able to establish and buy pallet loads on credit. We are looking into this issue. Second, we are planning to add freight services to the marketplace. This will help pallet companies with backhauls and optimizing routes. There are already many freight payment companies out there, and they all have their own apps and we are in conversations with some of the major players in that space. Third, some big companies have inquired about PalletTrader as a way to manage their regional or national pallet programs, similar to what the sister company Bettaway Logistics does. We are looking into this opportunity as well. And the API is key for a lot of these future plans.”
Interested parties can sign up and begin using the online platform at www.pallettrader.com. Make sure to use the code REIMAGINE to receive a discount.
