3 Decision for Best Shipping | Pallet Delivery Europe

As an entrepreneur you face a great number of options for how best to run your new business and steer it successfully through the first year. Your budget needs to cover everything from staff resources to materials and supply costs. What a successful budget will also account for is shipping and handling, and if you make the best choices that allow you flexibility and that give you room for growth, you can be sure to stay ahead of the curve. If you aren’t used to shipping goods on a regular basis, the best choices might not be obvious. Here are three key decisions you need to make in order to be sure you’ve incorporated the best shipping practices.

Know your transport systems

Will you be primarily shipping by air, or is ground shipping a better option for your business?

If your primary revenue comes from selling goods, you’ll want to get those items delivered to clients as soon as possible and deliver on those online quotes. Air freight is definitely the fastest way to your goods from A to B, but if you’re dealing with many orders at a time, you’d better be prepared to set aside a large portion of your budget.

If you are well set up with a trusted courier, ground shipping will get goods out to clients fast, even if they are in Europe. Advertise realistic delivery dates, and be sure to keep your customers informed on the status of their order to avoid any dissatisfaction.

Know your pallet type

There are three types of pallets: your standard wooden variety, plastic pallets and metal pallets. The last of those is only used for very heavy equipment and is very uncommon among most small businesses unless you ship large volumes overseas.

Plastic pallets carry less weight, 750kg, but are themselves lighter and can be easily kept clean. If you mainly ship produce, these pallets are perfect as they don’t suffer from wood rot, and won’t harbour any microbes that could harm your produce.

Standard wooden pallets are the ones you’ll see most frequently used. They’re cheap to produce, easy to repair, easy to recycle, and they can hold up to 1000KG. These pallets are easy to maneuverer with a pallet pump, and are perfect for shipping items like engines spares or motorcycles. Just be sure you’ve drained any excess oils. If you don’t have any pallets the first time you ship, National Pallets can provide one with the driver for a nominal fee of £12.50.

Know how to secure your items

To ensure your items arrive unscuffed, you’ll need to make sure your goods have been safely secured to the pallet. There are two ways to do this: using special packing shrink wrap plastic film, or sturdy jack straps.

For goods like fresh produce, you’ll want to use shrink wrap plastic film to secure your boxes to the pallet. This kind of wrapping will prevent any sliding, and it will also work to keep in cold air, and keep out any unwanted contaminants.

For bulkier items like motorcycles, jack straps will not only support more weight, but the strap can easily wrap around any odd shapes to ensure every angle is well tied.

Making smart choices can help you save on costs while providing your customers with the best possible service, reliable delivery times and items in tip-top shape. Choose the mode of transport that will achieve the best results in the long run, choose the pallet that best suits your product, and secure your items to ensure peace of mind.

National Pallets can give you an instant quote on pallet collection and delivery services anywhere within Europe. Look here for more information on our Europe pallet delivery services.