The whole pallet

Since 2018, Palettenheld.com by FIEGE relog GmbH has been on the market, offering modern systems solutions for unit load devices as well as digital services for a plus in planning certainty. And with much success: This system moved around three million pallets in the last two years alone. In the meantime, more than 50 clients from many different industries rely on this innovation. FIEGE relog GmbH’s Palettenheld is the responsibility of Bernd Albers, Head of Operations, Klara Knösels, Head of Business Development, and Felix Hettlage, Managing Director at FIEGE relog as well as Managing Director of the Last Mile business unit. “Palettenheld is a Germany-wide network composed of over 100 depots. It is also available in neighbouring countries. It facilitates a fast return and release of pallets. This means we buy and sell unit load devices and offer a tried and tested exchange and clearing concept which clearly reduces tied capital”, says Klara Knösels.

Yet this service offering provides for much more than management only. Pallets can be provided, upgraded, repaired, or even recycled using this system. All unit load device movements, balances, account balances and exchanges as well as the quality are recorded digitally and merged in the client’s account. Bernd Albers explains: “This gives our clients an instant overview to prevent backlogs, missing quantities and quality differences and ensure the smooth flow within the supply chain.”

Especially when times are challenging, and a scarcity of resources prevails paired with the price of raw materials growing substantially, swift action in planning the wood-based delivery units is the be-all and end-all of the transportation industry. This is compounded by pallet debts that the transport industry can incur. For example, when a shipper cannot exchange pallets and is forced instead to buy these in at a costly rate. The platform provides a solution for this. “We transport unit load devices on demand and to do this, we refer to pallet stock located near the buyer and offset debts through rebooking – or the client collects the pallets from one of our depots. This helps to prevent empty runs, which is good for the environment and reduces the cost of transportation”, says Knösels. Palettenheld also offers good conditions to handle the current challenges as found in the market so that pallets are always where they are needed, at the right quantity and preferred quality category.