30 WESTERN PALLET
PalletTrader Surpasses One Million Pallets Transacted, Announces PalletTrader+
- Online collaboration platform reaches milestone of one million pallets
transacted in less than eight months of operation.
- Launches PalletTrader+ as new “managed service” offering to complement,
expand capabilities of original “do it yourself” ecommerce site for sourcing,
buying and selling pallets.
- Addresses demand from large corporate enterprises for a third-party option
with dedicated resources and expertise to manage, execute pallet procurement
and supply needs.
PalletTrader, which launched last October as a new online platform designed and built exclusively for the sourcing, buying and selling of pallets, has expanded its product offering with the launch of PalletTrader+. The launch coincides with the platform this month, surpassing one million pallets transacted in its first eight months of operation.
PalletTrader+ is a “managed service” offering, combining an industry-standard online collaboration platform and digital transaction processing with dedicated resources and expertise to manage pallet sourcing, acquisition and supply on behalf of a business.
The offering responds to demand from enterprise customers who typically are operating more complex supply chains with multiple manufacturing and distribution sites needing consistent pallet supply, and want a more comprehensive “outsourced” solution, noted John Vaccaro, president of Bettaway Supply Chain Services, which built and operates PalletTrader as an independent, neutral ecommerce site.
“This is the natural evolution of a marketplace,” explained Vaccaro. “PalletTrader+ is for those large enterprises who want to take advantage of dynamic market procurement opportunities but don’t want to staff or manage it,” he explained. “They want a hybrid model where they have control but engage with a dedicated expert specialist to operate and execute the function for them at arm’s length.”
Vaccaro noted that PalletTrader+ is following a familiar logistics outsourcing playbook. “It’s the same concept as a business hiring a third-party logistics provider to source and manage their freight trucking needs or operate a warehouse on their behalf.” Typically, a managed services client would provide a
to manage and address changing needs.
Vaccaro noted that the platform was initially built and launched as a comprehensive self-service tool, enabling the hundreds of mom-and-pop pallet depot operators, typically sellers of pallets, to digitally engage with a wide range of buyers and gain access to new buyers. This market segment had little to no access to ecommerce technology to streamline the buying and selling of pallets. At the same time, he anticipated that as the platform gained traction, a market would emerge among larger customers for a next-level service.
“Reaching the one million pallets transacted milestone in less than eight months, and successfully onboarding hundreds of pallet buyers and sellers during that time, far exceeded our expectations,” Vaccaro said. “As we got more feedback from users, it was clear that larger businesses were interested in a more robust offering, providing a planning and execution component that they could launch quickly, and leverage value from both enabling technology, and skilled personnel with deep market expertise. That’s what we’re providing with PalletTrader+.”
The other key “ask” that Vaccaro and his team received from corporate users, was for larger enterprises to have a credit option. In the current “do it yourself” model, buyers and sellers post, bid, negotiate, settle a sale and execute payment immediately as a single transaction.
With PalletTrader+, qualified corporate users gain access to a line of credit. Under this program, the platform captures and consolidates all pallet transaction activity. The system then sends a consolidated invoice capturing all activity during the designated period.
“This offering is good for any company that operates or is responsible for pallets at multiple locations and is especially ideal for those businesses that operate in both a company owned and outsourced warehouse co-pack network,” Vaccaro concluded.
Bettaway funded, built and is operating PalletTrader as an independent, neutral online business platform, enabling and streamlining the digital trading and sale of pallets in a collaborative, secure eCommerce environment, providing its user community with workflows and tools to drive new efficiencies into pallet supply and management.