The slip-sheet, a real alternative to pallets.
Palletless handling, an efficient, economical and environmentally friendly solution for transporting your goods internationally.
In industry, everything starts with the supply chain. It’s a process that begins with the arrival of raw materials, dedicated to the production of a good, and ends with the delivery of the finished product to consumers.Although there is an impetus towards relocation, this chain remains resolutely international today.
There are a large number of factors to be taken into account in this process. These include the international flow of goods from outside Europe, such as handling equipment, packaging materials, wooden pallets and so on.
Throughout this commercial operation and its internationalisation process, the various players need to be aware of the constraints and risks associated with international trade, so as to be better prepared for setbacks and be more efficient.
Complications can arise as early as the packing and palletising phase. For example, the dimensions of a container are not the same as those of a lorry! The same goes for pallet size standards, which differ from one continent to another… All these factors are potential risks that can turn an operation into a real money pit.
To avoid this, it’s important to make the right choices, particularly upstream of production, packaging and dispatch. And we’re here to help.
Did you know that in recent years, pallets, which are widely used for export, have revealed a number of disadvantages? They’re fairly expensive, require a lot of storage space and the weight of the pallet adds to the overall weight of the load. Let’s take a closer look at why you should switch to a slip-sheet.
1 – THE DISADVANTAGES OF A PALLET FROM AN ERGONOMIC AND ECONOMIC POINT OF VIEW
The basic equipment for handling goods using a pallet is a forklift truck, either diesel or electric.Handling is simple. The goods are loaded onto the pallet and then wrapped in stretch film or strapped down. The forks of the forklift truck are placed between the pallet feet. The forklift picks up the pallet and moves it to the warehouse or onto a truck.So far, you might think this is efficient for handling, but pallets, such as they are, also have a few drawbacks:
The weight of the pallet
As we mentioned earlier, you should be aware that when you use pallets, you’re adding extra weight to your overall load. Their initial weight varies between around 17 and 25 kg (depending on their construction characteristics).What’s more, for wooden pallets, they are very difficult to clean, and if they get wet, there are risks to the safety of the product (risks of fungus and bacteria growth and deformation…).
The price of a pallet
The price of a unit pallet has tripled in recent years, particularly for wooden pallets which have become much more expensive, but also much rarer as some pallet manufacturing workshops have been stopped or slowed down.In addition, maintenance costs are frequent given that wood is an organic material and can be easily destroyed or deformed.
CGP Coating Innovation has an efficient solution to these problems: the recyclable Kraft liner slip-sheet ECOLOGISTIK®.
A Push-Pull or RollerForks accessory is required to grip and handle the slip-sheet. The advantage of these accessories is that you don’t need to change your current forklift truck. The Push-Pull clamp and RollerForks are easy to fit, as they are simply added to standard forklift trucks in a matter of minutes.
Handling is therefore simple and can be learned in just a few hours.
PUSH-PULL ACCESSORY
Goods are placed on slip-sheets (which are themselves positioned on a pallet). They are then wrapped in stretch film and stored normally in your warehouse.
It is only when the goods leave the warehouse that the trolley fitted with the Push-Pull accessory grabs the tongue of the slip-sheet and pulls it onto the accessory’s loading tray. The trolley moves the chain
2 – THE VARIOUS ADVANTAGES OF A SLIP-SHEET
The weight of slip-sheets
A single slip-sheet weighs between 450 and 800g, whereas a pallet weighs between 17kg and 25kg. This big difference means you can load more goods into the lorry or container. Did you know that you can load between 360 kg and 720 kg of wood into a lorry or container? But thanks to palletless handling, you can load just as much.
SLIP-SHEET ECOLOGISTIK®
The volume of slip-sheet
The pallet sheet is less than 1 mm thick, unlike a pallet, which is around 150 mm high. This means you can load more goods into the container. You gain almost 300 mm of extra volume for your goods!
The cost of slip sheets
The most important advantage of slip-sheets is the significant reduction in purchasing costs, on average 80%.
You also reduce your indirect costs by freeing up the space needed to store your pallets. You can store 1,000 units on the equivalent of one standard pallet, so you can reallocate the space you gain to storing your finished products or raw materials.
Pallet slip-sheet is therefore an excellent alternative to wooden pallets.
3 – SLIP-SHEET FROM AN ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL POINT OF VIEW
Slip-sheets are becoming increasingly popular as companies begin to realise their great potential. They offer a number of advantages, particularly in terms of productivity compared with pallets.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money on them, and they don’t need to be serviced or repaired. They can even be reused. However, if you do have to throw them away after each use, don’t feel guilty – their life cycle is environmentally friendly, as they are made from 100% recyclable paper and will be turned back into paper again and again.
As we explained earlier, slip-sheet is also much lighter than a wooden pallet and less bulky. As a result, you can load more goods into your lorries or containers, maximising the use of space and minimising shipping costs and the fuel spent shipping your products. The slip-sheet therefore has a favourable impact on your carbon footprint.
Like all companies, you’re looking to improve the efficiency and profitability of your supply chain through solutions that have a positive impact on your CSR.
The CGP Coating Innovation group is working to meet this need with a range of innovative solutions that improve processes, significantly reduce costs and are more environmentally friendly.
So if you want to reduce your impact on our environment and if you want a competitive advantage with high added value for your company, we are here to guide you in choosing the Slip-sheet pallet sheet that meets your needs.