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aluminum, what’s really involved with reuse is the system approach with which you operate the use of that pallet.”
A key benefit of a reuse system is product protection and efficiency throughout the transportation process.
“When you’re looking at fruits and vegeta- bles, you’ve got a level of perishability involved, and pallets are providing the protection of the [shipment], being able to safeguard it as it moves through a very rigorous supply chain, and can withstand temperatures and a lot of warehouse distribution moves,” says Debus. “They really provide high performance for those touch points within fresh produce.”
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
Factors beyond material that produce retailers should consider when investing in pallets include new technology that identifies products and monitors conditions through the shopping process.
“You can capture the temperature that the pallet is being moved throughout the whole journey,” says Debus. “You can put in a device that measures the shock and vibration so that you determine if the product was handled effectively throughout, or whether there was an incident that involved a rough handling of the goods.”
There also have been advances in tracking technology.
“RFID [radio-frequency identification], as applied to pallets, has been around, but now you’re seeing investigation of how you can connect a pallet to the internet and have that pallet send you a signal, identifying through GPS, exactly where it’s located and map it out on an almost real-time basis,” says Debus. “When you have innovation, not only in the design and size, clearly there’s great innovation in terms of technology in terms of monitoring conditions and providing the real-time loca- tion of the particular product.
A VARIETY OF SIZES
The business world is undergoing great changes, and produce is no exception. More people are doing their grocery shopping at home, placing orders through apps on their phone and waiting for their goods to be deliv- ered.
“As the supply chain environment evolves to meet customer needs, you’re also looking at different changes in how fruits and vege- tables are being delivered to the customers,” says Debus.
He notes ecommerce and digital ordering with direct delivery to homes is resulting
in more varieties of transport packaging, including pallet size.
“We’re seeing great, tremendous growth, not just in fruits and vegetables at the retail store, but in drop-offs and pickups at the store as a physical location, and in online ordering in which the store, perhaps, serves as a distribution center for households,” he says. “So you’re not going to use a full 48-by-40 pallet in those types of home deliveries. Half pallets provide a different footprint that could allow for the retailer to be able to expand how they’re delivering their products to their customer.”
He adds that more innovations regarding pallets will be introduced in order to fulfill the needs of the changing retailer delivery struc- ture.
“It’s a good time in the pallet marketplace, because we’re seeing technology and inno- vation, not just in the material type but also in the technology that can be applied to that product,” says Debus.
To gain more insight, we talked with these two experts about wood and plastic pallets, and other innovations:
48 / APRIL 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
Ferri
Debus
Produce Business: Why are wooden pallets necessary when there are other options available?
Ferri: Wooden pallets are an environ- mental, economic, trade and efficiency success story. They have many benefits, and that is why they make up the largest share of pallets. Companies try alternative materials all the time — but wood continues to win as, more than any other suggested alternative, wooden pallets are: recyclable, renewable, cost-efficient, durable, safe for workers using them and envi- ronmentally sustainable.
Produce Business: What are the benefits of using wooden pallets?
Ferri: In addition to being environmen- tally friendly, wooden pallets have economic benefits. The industry contributes $31 billion and more than 173,000 jobs to the U.S. economy. Wood packaging also enables healthy forests and markets.
Produce Business: What leads to a supermarket produce executive deciding to use plastic, wood or aluminum pallets?
deBus: Ultimately, the retail supply chain