32 WESTERN PALLET
WPA Webinar to Explore How Automation Is Changing Pallet Quality Requirements
As warehouse automation continues to expand across manufacturing, retail and distribution, pallet quality is taking on new importance. Systems that move products with little or no human intervention often place different and sometimes more demanding requirements for pallets used. While quality issues can be nagging issues in conventional warehouses, they can cause dramatic stoppages in automated facilities.
Those issues will be the focus of an upcoming WPA webinar featuring Chaille Brindley, publisher of Pallet Enterprise. His presentation, "How Concerns Over Pallet Quality Will Shape the Future of the Industry and What You Can Do About It," will take place Wednesday, July 29, at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Register here.
The webinar will examine how changing customer expectations, increased auto- mation and evolving inspection practices are influencing how pallet quality is understood and measured.
One thing to keep in mind is that automation is much more than a blanket term. Different automated systems place different demands on pallets. In some applications, stiffness and deflection may be the critical factors. In others, overall pallet integrity, and dimensional consistency can be far more
important. The appropriate pallet depends on the equipment, product flow and operating environment.
At the same time, some supply chain systems will require pallets to suitable for multiple automated systems, requiring suppliers to understand not only each customer's specific application, but also other supply chain automation installations the pallet must subsequently navigate.
Brindley will discuss why pallet quality is becoming a competitive differentiator, how customer expectations are evolving, and what pallet companies can do to position themselves as solution providers rather than commodity suppliers. The session will also explore practical steps companies can take to improve quality, inspection practices and communication with customers before quality concerns become lost business.
F
Chaille
Brindley