business resources
How to Properly Wrap your Pallet to Reduce Shipping Damages
Many companies prefer palletizing freight for delivery as it’s cheaper and there are fewer chances of load damage. This safety comes about because the pallet is handled by forklift trucks rather than being thrown from one person to another. Understanding what they are and why they're needed can help streamline the logistics process and reduce the risk of costly transportation mishaps.
For your pallet to arrive at your designated destination safely, you must properly wrap it. How do you do it? Here is a guide to follow:
Use the correctly sized pallet.
As a rule of thumb, your pallet should be the right size for your load. As much as you don’t want to squeeze your load, don’t use pallet that is too large for the load, as you run the risk of the stretch wrap tearing when you stretch it over the pallet corners.
The pallet also shouldn’t be too small as the load can get unstable during transport, risking your load falling apart or off the pallet leading to damage..
A good rule of thumb is ensuring that the pallet exactly fits the load you want to ship. The pallet should also be made from a sturdy material that effectively supports the load. Avoid pallets with protruding nail heads or broken boards as they can damage the load.
Properly stack on the pallet.
When loading the pallet for wrapping, you need to be strategic about how you go about it. If your products are in cartons, ensure that the cartons you use are new and strong enough to withstand stacking.
If the items are of different dimensions and sizes, stack the smaller and lighter items on the heavier ones.
For the greatest stacking strength, ensure no spaces between the products. You also should align the boxes in columns from one corner to the next.
To protect the bottom layer and ensure that the weight in the pallet is evenly distributed, place a slip sheet or pallet liner paper under the load and in every third layer.
Use the right stretch-wrapping equipment.
How you wrap your load depends on the volume you are dealing with. If you have just a small volume, you can get away with hand wrapping your pallet, but if you are shipping a large volume, you will need a stretch wrap machine, which can be semi or fully automated.
To know what machines you can use, check out these Lantech stretch wrappers.
When wrapping the pallet, do it from a raised surface to simplify the wrapping process. Start wrapping from the base of the pallet, then work your way up, ensuring that each layer of wrap slightly overlaps the last. This is to ensure no gaps that could allow the products to fall out or weather elements such as dust and rain enter the load.
If you doubt whether the load is properly secured, double-wrap your pallet. It also doesn’t hurt to twist the stretch wrap like rope to give it more strength.
Once you are done, cover the pallet with a dustsheet that will prevent elements from getting in. This keeps the load safe from packing to delivery.
