The hottest pallet logistics and its development t

Pallet logistics and its development trend

with the intensification of global economic competition, people pay more and more attention to the potential profits in the field of logistics. Logistics strategy has become an integral part of the overall strategy of enterprises. Since entering the 21st century, China's logistics industry has developed rapidly, but it is still in its infancy. Low operation efficiency and high logistics cost have become urgent problems to be solved. As one of the basic tools for integrating the supply chain, pallet plays an important role in modern logistics activities, and the rationalization of pallet application is one of the key links to solve the above problems

1 pallet logistics

China's national standard GB/t "logistics terminology" defines pallet (pal2let) as "a horizontal platform device used for container loading, stacking, handling and transportation to place goods and products as unit loads [1]." Pallet is the most basic carrier in modern logistics operations and the most basic logistics unitized appliance. In a sense, the application level of pallet is one of the important standards to measure the development level of modern logistics. In the circulation process, the pallet and forklift are used together to realize mechanized and professional operations, improve the efficiency of logistics operations, and reduce the damage rate of products and logistics costs. Throughout the whole process of logistics activities, the loading, unloading and handling activities of pallet units are constantly occurring and repeated, and their frequency is much higher than other logistics activities. It is the key to whether various functions of logistics can form an organic connection and close connection. Its operation efficiency and cost are important factors affecting modern logistics activities

2 pallet packaging technology

China's national standard GB/t4122 121996 "Fundamentals of packaging terms" defines pallet packaging as "taking the pallet as the carrier, stacking packages or products on the pallet, and fixing them by binding, wrapping or gluing to form a handling unit for handling with mechanical equipment [2]."

the order of pallet packaging design. First, the designer determines the category, physical state, quality, size, protection requirements, packaging cost, circulation conditions, etc. of transportation packages; Secondly, select the appropriate standard pallet according to the above factors, and determine the stacking mode, stacking height, fixing mode and protective reinforcement accessories, so that the pallet packaging can withstand the reasonable impact in the process of loading and unloading, transportation and the impact of the external environment; Finally, ensure the predetermined stacking state and the firmness of bonding and supporting to bring them to the Chinese market

there are generally four ways to stack pallets, namely, simple overlapping, positive and negative staggered, crisscross and rotating staggered stacking. In application, it is generally required that the utilization rate of pallet bearing surface area should not be less than 80%. The main solid content of pallet packaging shall be less than 0.02%; The methods include binding, gluing and binding, stretch packaging, shrink packaging, etc., which can be used together; To prevent stack collapse, the conditions for each test can be basically the same to the greatest extent. There are also methods to use covers, frames, special fixtures, add anti-skid materials between transportation packages, or pad the surrounding of the flat pallet, and this volume cannot be measured, so that the goods rely on the center [3]

3 development trend of pallets

pallets generally undergo transportation, storage, use, recycling and other states in their life cycle, and these states may be repeated many times, forming a complex social circulation system with many related industries and enterprises. In order to realize the smooth circulation of pallets in all stages of the life cycle, pallets must be used reasonably to become the backbone to promote the healthy, rapid and sustainable development of domestic logistics industry

3. 1. It has always been the common desire of the logistics industry at home and abroad to unify the tray size specification and realize standardization as soon as possible. However, due to the different economic interests of various countries or regions, it has not been unified. In 2003, the international organization for standardization revised ISO6780 "main dimensions and tolerances of intermodal general flat pallets", which was revised from the original 1200 mm × 1000mm、1200 mm × 800mm、1219 mm × 1016mm、1140 mm × 1100 mm is added on the basis of 4 specifications of 1140mm × 1100mm and 1067 mm × Two specifications of 1067mm [4] make six global pallet standard specifications coexist, which restricts the coordinated operation of modern logistics in various countries or regions, and forms technical barriers to trade between international trade

the formulation of China's current national standard for pallets equivalently adopts the international standard ISO6780 "main dimensions and tolerances of intermodal general flat pallets". In addition, most enterprises produce and use pallet products with different specifications and standards according to the actual situation of enterprises, resulting in more than 30 pallet specifications in domestic circulation, and more pallet specifications used within enterprises, making commodities from production, circulation Consumption, recycling and other links are difficult to form a complete and smooth supply chain, resulting in a great waste of human, time, space and other resources, forcing the logistics cost to remain high for a long time, seriously restricting the development of social economy. Adopting a unified pallet standard is conducive to the consistent operation of pallets, and is the premise of developing modern logistics and establishing a pallet sharing system. Revising China's pallet standard has become a key problem to be solved urgently

3. 2. Strengthen the management of the pallet industry and realize the sharing

at present, the production and use of pallets in the domestic market are growing rapidly. According to incomplete statistics, the preliminary investigation shows that the total amount is about more than 100 million, and the annual growth rate is 20million [5]. However, due to the long-term unmanaged state of the pallet market, under the constraints of various factors, a turnover and circulation mechanism suitable for the current logistics development has not been formed, It is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

1) the specifications of pallets are not unified, and it is difficult to develop the socialized application of pallets due to the influence of logistics factors such as packaging, means of transportation, warehouses, shelves, docks, ports, etc. in the circulation process. Most pallets are only used in the internal circulation of enterprises, and even restricted in different production departments within enterprises

2) due to the imperfect recycling management mechanism, most of the pallets used for product circulation also belong to the buyer with the transfer of product ownership, making this part of the pallets end their service life after one-time use, while the seller has to invest a lot of money in the manufacture, purchase and use of pallets, and the buyer has to bear this part of additional costs, resulting in increased commodity costs and waste of ecological resources

3) it is difficult to guarantee the quality of pallets, and the reuse rate is low. Within the enterprise, in order to improve the competitiveness of enterprises and reduce commodity prices, production enterprises usually have low requirements for the quality of pallets, which can not meet the requirements of repeated recycling, which hinders the pace of the socialization and application of pallets

for the sustained and stable development of China's economy, the modernization of logistics and the reduction of logistics costs, it is necessary to establish China's pallet sharing system as soon as possible. This is an extremely huge system engineering, which can not be realized by several industries and enterprises, and must be realized by the strength of the whole society. In addition, we should also communicate with countries with a high degree of palletization, such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, etc., learn from their experience and lessons in the process of developing pallets, so that China's pallet industry can move towards standardization and specialization as soon as possible, and establish China's pallet sharing system

3. 3. Use a variety of materials to make pallets green

according to the material classification of pallets, pallets can be divided into wooden, steel, plastic, plywood pallets, etc. in China, wooden pallets account for about 90% of the total pallets, plastic pallets account for about 8%, and steel, plastic wood and other materials account for about 2% [4]. In this case, on the one hand, a large number of wooden pallets are used, and most of them are only for one-time use, with low quality and low recycling rate, resulting in a waste of valuable forest resources and a negative impact on China's ecological environment [6]; On the other hand, after joining the WTO, domestic enterprises are facing the test of severe green barriers, which not only requires that the export products themselves meet the environmental protection technical requirements of trade importing countries, but also that their outer packaging must meet various technical requirements. The "longicorn beetle" incident at the end of the last century is a typical example. The above factors urgently require the sustainable use of pallets and the realization of green pallets, such as the development of paper pallets, high-density synthetic board pallets, sawdust board pallets, plastic pallets, plastic wood pallets, etc

4 conclusion

pallet container unit is the most basic operation unit in modern logistics system, and it is also the basis for the rationalization of logistics system. The reasonable application of pallets can reduce the storage and transportation costs of enterprises' products, improve the efficiency of logistics operation and the level of logistics services. At the same time, it is also of great significance to protect China's ecological environment and save natural resources. Therefore, we must start from the basic work, gradually realize the standardization, sharing and greening of pallets, and integrate with international logistics as soon as possible

reprinted from: Packaging Engineering