I am Greg LiCalzi, a member of EMBA 32. Two of my high school summers were spent in the beverage industry. One was at beer/soda retail distributor and the other was at a wholesale beverage distributor. I did many of the typical jobs you would expect; stocking shelves, making deliveries, and unloading incoming deliveries.
To unload the deliveries, I would drive a fork lift and pull out a neatly packed stack of cans or bottles. The stack was organized on top of a pallet which was this wood base contraption that allowed room for the two prongs of the forklift to easily transport and stack. The pallet was the centerpiece to all things delivery. All incoming deliveries came in on a pallet. We would use the same pallet to pack up new deliveries to go out. FInally, the pallets would get picked up to start the process all over again.
Fast forward 15 years and I haven’t had one thought about these pallets until I read an amazing article in Cabinet Magazine about the business of pallets. It was surprising how large of a business it is with one of the largest manufacturers based in Australia. It put the global economic environment into perspective. These largely ignored pallets (by us common folk) make up a whole market with competition, lawsuits, and hostility to match any other business in technology, pharma, or healthcare.
Happy reading!
Dear All,
please join me in thanking Greg for getting our blog going, sharing with us this fascinating story that is highly relevant to our course.
I particularly want to draw your attention to the difficulties that this Australian company, the world’s largest, experiences as it enters the US. This is an excellent illustration of the challenges firms confront as they seek to exploit the opportunities of a global world. These are the issues at the heart of our course.
Thank you again Greg! this is great!
Greg,
It’s an intersting piece. I too have worked summers stacking and breaking down pallets. Interestingly enough, the pallet is made of very dry wood which is perfect for the fire place. When I worked summers for my dad in construction I spent a week cutting down pallets so we had free fire wood for the whole winter. Dad called it recycling.
Greg,
Loved this article! I met a young guy about 11 yrs ago who had just started up a pallet rental/recycle business. It was so interesting his enthusiasm for the simple pallet. Somewhat related, there’s a market for tubes. They are used as the core for fabrics and other materials that need to be wrapped, as opposed to folded.
You’ve now motivated me to find that pallet guy, and see how he has done!
Stef