If your company is considering the purchase of a palletizing system, congratulations! You have done enough research to understand the phenomenal ways that the right palletizing system can make your warehouse operations more efficient. As part of your continuing research, look for a company that will provide a comprehensive palletizer demo, and prepare a list of expectations. Knowing what functions to focus on will help you get the most out of your demo. Here are six important things to look for:
- What are the options for loading products? Maybe you already know if you prefer a low-feed or high-feed system, but you will still want to pay attention to loading options in order to consider what works best for your operation. Will you be using manual loading or are you searching for a highly automated, robotic loading component? Being flexible and discussing the best way to load product will help inform the kind of demo you want to see.
- What kind of product are you loading? Standard boxed product that ships with uniform sizes on a pallet are handled differently than mixed product pallets. Likewise, bagged products or fragile items will require more flexibility in the loading and layering process. If you need to see that demonstrated, just ask.
- What do your ideal palleting operations look like? This can be difficult because installing an efficient palletizer will offer benefits that you may have not yet considered. Sit down with your executive team and employees who currently handle palleting. Discuss what areas slow down your operations or are costly, inefficient, or need safety improvements. Coming to a palletizer demo with a wish list is a good way to get exactly what you need now and for the future.
- What questions need answering? Come prepared with a list of questions and remember that there are no bad questions. As the demo is taking place, check off any questions that get answered. That way you’ll be left with questions at the end to ask the demo team.
- How can the system be customized? Knowing your current and future needs will also allow you to ask questions about upgrades and additional modules that can be added now or later. You want to work with a company that understands how to build a flexible system that is adaptable as your company’s needs change.
- What safety systems are built-in? It is easy to become mesmerized by the smooth and easy operations of a palletizer, but don’t let that stop you from asking questions about safety and training on your new palletizing system.
