{"id":64932,"date":"2020-12-28T15:46:25","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T20:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lantechweb.wpengine.com\/blog\/what-are-the-alternatives-to-stretch-wrap\/"},"modified":"2020-12-28T15:46:25","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T20:46:25","slug":"what-are-the-alternatives-to-stretch-wrap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lantech.com\/r2\/blog\/what-are-the-alternatives-to-stretch-wrap\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the alternatives to stretch wrap?"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Arriving at the destination in “as made” condition<\/h2>\n

That’s the goal of companies that put product on pallets (or slip sheets, or floor loaded) for shipment.<\/p>\n

Pretty simple, right? Except it’s not.<\/p>\n

Loads are subject to a lot of stresses and forces during shipment. Temperature extremes; vibration over hundreds or thousands of miles of rail and truck movement; loading, unloading and shuttling around at depots and distribution centers; and the product itself which can be very heavy, quite light, slippery (not easy to keep stacked) or even sharp or odd shaped.<\/p>\n

Delivering product in the same condition that it’s made\u00a0is often just assumed as it is wheeled off the loading dock – but that’s not a safe assumption. In fact, as sustainability scorecards challenge companies to reduce packaging materials, in some cases there’s a negative impact as more product is damage \/ unsalable\u00a0and destined for landfill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So what options do companies have? Actually a number.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To unitize or not?<\/h2>\n

Looking at the challenge realistically the first question is whether unitizing loads is even feasible \/ desirable. Small parcel shipment volumes are growing as distribution is accomplished with direct shipments to consumers. In those cases there’s no need for load unitization as one or a couple product units are packed in a case for home or office delivery. (The great Cerasis blog has some good information on small package shipping audits<\/a> and 13 best practices<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

In other cases it’s advantageous to direct load product. For instance some ocean containers may be floor loaded for maximum density and minimum product shipment. Restaurant food distribution is another example. Product in reefers is often delivered as a “case of this and case of that” wheeled by hand-truck onto lift-gates and into restaurants which aren’t equipped to receive pallet loads.<\/p>\n

Don’t just assume that product is most efficiently stacked on pallets or slip sheets.<\/p>\n

But if unitization is appropriate…<\/h2>\n

Stretch wrapping is the dominant “go to”\u00a0solution for pallet wrapping. Stretch wrap film is readily available and inexpensive. Proven solutions exist for stretch wrapping by hand, for machine wrapping in low-medium volume environments as well as high speed pallet wrapping for operations which produce >80 loads\/shift. (See an entire range of machine solutions laid out in one place here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

While most everyone knows about stretch wrapping equipment, and potential labor and film cost savings, sometimes people ask “What alternatives do I have to stretch wrapping?”<\/p>\n

It’s a reasonable question – and there are several.<\/p>\n

The most common alternatives are:<\/p>\n