Australian manufacturers, shippers, and logistics providers rely on the strength, safety, and standardization that Australian-standard pallets have to offer. No other load-carrying unit is more closely aligned with the country’s wrappable, accountable, and transportable needs; and if your company is engaged in any type of international commerce or distribution, pallets are an unavoidable part of your business.
The fact is: that even if your company works primarily with domestic partners, ensuring that your products are stored and inventoried using Australian-standard load-carry units will still give you an advantage when it comes to transport and warehousing. The benefits in cost and convenience that these standard load units can bring to your business are too substantial to ignore, especially if you’re using an Australian Standard (AS) 4084-compliant racking system; that makes investing in them a strong indicator of your commitment to standardization and optimization, even from the point of acquisition.
Simplified Accountability with Steel Stillages and Pallets
It doesn’t matter if your business is built on production, retail, or simply on order fulfilment, standardized inventory control is a crucial component in everything you do. It’s central to all of your accountable activities, and Australian-standard stillages and pallet cages are key contributors to your business’s ability to optimize those activities. Whether it’s for compatibility with your AS4084 conveyor or racking system, or to maximize outbound truckload quantities, these uniform-sized load containers not only allow you to avoid costly inventory oversights internally but also help ensure that all of your external partners are optimizing their capacities too.
AS4068-1993 prescribes the dimensions for Australian pallet and pallet container dimensions; and with a standard footprint of 1165mm x 1165mm, corrosion resistant, 4-way stillages and cages are manufactured in a range of configurations that include:
- Steel base pallets. These general-purpose steel warehouse cages are sold with collapsible mesh, or full knockdown sides, and are available in full- and half-height, and standard- and double-width arrangements.
- Plastic and poly pallet boxes. Lightweight, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic pallet boxes are the ideal solution for reducing workplace injuries but without sacrificing sturdiness or storage capacity.
- Weatherproof transport boxes. These locking cage storage units vary from 800mm to 2000mm in height, and in addition to their 4-way forklift access points also feature craneable lift tabs.
- Post and pipe stillage pallets. Tough, post and pipe stillage cages are designed to securely accommodate the storage and transport of large numbers of stackable, but over-length materials.
- Drum-securing pallet systems. Heavy-duty drum-holding storage cases and pallet systems allow up to 4 drums to be secured to any type of standard pallet without the risk of them tilting or spilling.
With features like removable front and rear gates, shelves, and even lids available with a large number of these industrial storage cages and stillages, businesses are able to establish a process of simplified accountability that would be impossible with conventional wooden pallets alone. For industries like furniture manufacturing, or food and beverage distribution where the wholesale replacement of wooden pallets isn’t feasible, there are even 3-sided steel pallet cages for sale that are designed to store up to 15 Australian-standard wooden pallets.
Steel Pallets Make Reining in Your Inventory Easier Than Ever
Notwithstanding businesses where specially treated wooden pallets can still be found, sturdy Australian-standard steel pallets and stillages are the most reliable storage solutions available for the widest range of accountable plant inventories, including:
- Bench and consignment stock, and work-in-progress (WIP) items;
- Heavy components, as well as plant equipment and spare parts;
- Pipes, glass, timber, or other over-sized items;
- Consolidation of consumables, storage totes, and retail items; and,
- Bags, drums, and other bulk storage containers.
With their 1000kg capacities and stackable construction, these standard-sized storage cages do more than just give businesses maximum flexibility when it comes to configuring their own warehouses and floor spaces. They also make loading Australian semi-trailers and railcars a fully accountable, predictable, and easily optimised undertaking. Standardized pallet and stillage cage quantities make it possible to maximize your shipping volumes and quantities: an action that both your transporters and business partners will appreciate.
Stillage Cages Give You Maximum Control of Capital Expenses
While the main benefit of a standardization process using metal pallets and cage stillage is accountability, you don’t want to overlook the role they play in a business’s overall procurement and consumables strategy. That’s because the durable, long-life nature of metal pallets and stillage containers gives businesses greater cost visibility when it comes to their capital expenses, particularly their supply chain budgets.
As business-owned assets, the material advantages that metal stillages and pallet cage solutions can provide are unmistakable.
- Durability. Unlike wooden pallets, metal stillages and pallet cages can withstand the harsh climates, moisture, and destructive handling that pallets are routinely exposed to.
- Low maintenance, high sterility. Steel stillages and pallet cages don’t require the maintenance that wooden pallets do, are bacteria and corrosion-resistant, and can be easily decontaminated or sanitized.
- Convenience. Steel and plastic pallets and cages can be quickly erected and collapsed as needed, eliminating the need for extraneous and costly load securing.
- Safety. The positive locking attributes of steel and plastic pallet systems allow them to be safely stacked up to 4 units high without the risk of tipping, or the need for costly warehouse expansions.
- Recyclability. When repairs become unfeasible, steel pallets and stillages are easily recycled, thereby recouping a percentage of their initial purchase price.
The fact is, unlike wooden pallets, steel stillages and pallet cages don’t experience significant depreciation over their lifetime, making them optimal lifecycle costing assets that can add value from the moment of acquisition.
The Final Word
At the end of the day, if your business is struggling with costly oversights and lost inventory accountability, the solution is rarely ever to be found in expensive software. It begins by controlling what’s happening on the shop, or warehouse floor; that means having load-carrying units that you can count on to ensure consistent inventory quantities every time.
Australian-standard stillages and pallet cages can help you implement the accountability procedures that your company needs to regain control over its inventory. They’re a commitment to optimization that no business that works with pallet-sized quantities can afford to ignore.
