The seven levers
1) Right-grade every lane — stop shipping one-way freight on #1 pallets. 2) Monetize surplus — sell empties back rather than paying disposal. 3) Repair-first — a reboard beats a new-build on cost and carbon. 4) Consolidate sizes — fewer footprints means better pricing and simpler handling.
5) Backhaul — send cores home on the truck that delivered stock. 6) Set retrieval routes — batch pickups so you never store or dump excess. 7) Buy recycled — graded used pallets undercut new on nearly every lane.
Compounding savings
None of these levers is dramatic alone, but they compound. Right-grading trims unit cost, retrieval turns a cost center into revenue, and backhaul erases empty miles — stack all seven and a mature program routinely lands double-digit percentage savings versus a buy-new-and-dump baseline.
The bonus: nearly every cost lever here is also a carbon lever. Spending less and emitting less turn out to be the same project.
Put it to work
Whether you're buying, selling or recycling, we'll help you apply this to your own program.
Get a quote →