Choosing the best pallet wrap supplier

Pallet wrapping can be a minefield. There are so many different companies out there, but how do you establish which is the one for you, offering the best solution for your requirements at the most competitive price?

It’s always a good idea to speak to several suppliers in the first instance to assess the marketplace. Yet when suppliers provide products and quotations based on different parameters, how can you make a direct comparison?

Robert McEwan of MorsaWrap offers an expert insight into making sure you get it right – every time.

“The key is to use the same denominator with each supplier, and there are four areas to address before you can effectively benchmark them.

Nature of the Load
Is your load heavy or light? Is it stable or unstable? Do you use strapping, layer pads or sheets? Are your products uniform or not? Are the products brick stacked or column stacked?

Film Requirements

What exactly do you want the film to do? In the main, film is used to either secure the load for transport, protect the contents, or both. Be clear on your key requirement.

Next you need to ask how well your current solution is meeting these needs? A recent survey of approximately 2500 acceleration revealed that:

• Approximately 70% of the pallets were not rigid.
• 20% were rigid but too expensive
• Only 10% of the pallets were optimised.

Bearing in mind that an estimated 4% of all transported goods in Europe are damaged upon arrival, there is clearly huge room for improvement. Is your current solution really performing as well as it could?

Equipment

There are several important considerations when it comes to the type of equipment used in the wrapping process.

• Do you wrap by hand or machine?
• If you wrap by machine, what type of machine is being used?
• What are the stretch capabilities?
• How much control do you have over the wrap pattern on the machine?
• Can you adjust tension and pre-stretch?

Pallet Destinations

It’s not rocket science that a pallet going Russia needs wrapping very differently to a pallet that is going to your store across the yard.  Methods of transport also affect the expectations made on the film – a pallet transported on its own needs more stability than one transported as part of a full load. Whether its road, sea or air, it’s critical that these factors are considered to ensure that your products are not part of the 4% that are damaged on arrival at your customer.

Benchmarking

Once you have an understanding of exactly what you’re looking for, benchmarking becomes a much simpler exercise in assessing suppliers based on these points at the most commercially viable price per pallet wrapped.

In addition, there are some things to look out for:

• Core weights – we see variations in core weights from 1.0kg to 2.0kg and as you always pay a price for film and core, you could be losing 60kg of film per 1000kg’s to cores at these extremes.
• How well the film answers the questions above – is there accurate proof that the results being offered are actually being achieved (see next month’s blog for more details on this).
• Are all three aspects (your product, your wrapping equipment and your film) married up to optimally wrap your pallet?

Pallet wrapping is a complex business, yet with a bit of know how you can choose the right supplier, every time.