Founded in 2007, RM2 is a vertically-integrated innovator in pallet development, manufacture, supply and management. Recognising that there are significant costs and drawbacks associated with traditional pallets, RM2 has established a disruptive presence in global pallet supply and aims to improve the supply chain of manufacturing and distribution businesses through the effective and efficient use and management of composite pallets.

RM2 has designed and manufactured the BLOCKPal™ pallet, a multi-trip, heavy duty composite pallet that is suitable for use in both automated and manual areas of the supply chain where there are high levels of movements. The composite material and the associated manufacturing process is designed to bring qualities of strength, durability, flexibility and scale of production as well as other benefits. The BLOCKPal™ pallet has been independently tested by leading institutions and has been shown regularly to outperform comparable products and industry standards.

RM2 aims to change the way its customers look at pallets from a consumable to an asset that can generate significant accretive profit margin. To do this, we align ourselves with potential customers – typically large manufacturing, distribution and retail businesses – to provide an integrated solution to their pallet and pallet movement needs, whilst interacting with other logistics partners, as necessary. RM2’s products have been developed in consultation with these customers and are designed to provide receivers of goods with greater visibility over costs and the ability to reduce the direct and indirect costs associated with inbound goods movements.

RM2 can supply its pallets and the associated services on a rental basis to closed loops or by outright sale and its production method is versatile enough to easily supply standard or bespoke pallets.


http://www.rm2.com/main.php

cynic ,i have a wealth of experience in international road transport ,companies sending one pallet or a full load by a transport contractor usually have their goods tracked ,, my question is why would clients have any objections to tracking ???

jimmy b, when a company rents pallets are they paying for the pallets only for the time in use or does the rent cover unlimited use. Just read on a German site about tracking in plastic pallets, that it can save large costs for when the pallets are not in use. Perhaps there are different forms of lease/rent ?

when the lessee has control of the equipment, he pays 365/365 ...... it is very rare for there to be any variance to that
if you think about it, if X has control, then it cannot be utilised by anyone else
what may happen, is that X will sub-let it to Y, though X will still be responsible to the lessor for all ongoing rental and other costs

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jimmy - you are right that the goods are almost certainly tracked - it's a one-way movement - but the pallet is a separate entity from those goods
if the pallets are permanently being tracked from job to job to job, then there is a potential leak of confidential information as to clients and traffic etc, especially if being used internationally

Thanks cynic.

DC in the old days you would have a contract with Chep (the blue pallets) ,say Heinz for instance ,their factory would use only those for their goods ,the company who receives their goods signs for the goods and for say 24 pallets or returns the same amount .So just as an example a company may be renting 5000 pallets.


cynic ,you have a point , i dont suppose RM2 are tracking for themselves as to where their pallets are ,i do remember Chep blue's were used in yards all over the place and were not being paid for ,large numbers as well ..

jimmy - but it is RM2 who actually have control (administer) of the tracking system, though their client will have restricted access to his own bits

A lot of Trust involved, by the sounds of it ?

you're right that in many ways that it's a perceived rather than an actual confidentiality/security risk, but businesses often grow by picking up a bit of info here, a bit there and a bit somewhere else, from which a complete jigsaw can sometimes be built

With major industry (and that's who will be using these) such as large food producers is it any secret as to where their goods are going ??

Cynic, I have still not got hold of this security issue. eg henry smith has 100 pallets of goods ( Take it its only the pallet tracked and not the items) delivered. So RM2 will have recorded for the sender and of course the renter of the pallets that Henry smith has a 100 of RM2's pallets rented by the sender. Am I missing something, where is a security risk ?

You will always have the man on the gate as a security issue, perhaps more than the tracking.

it's confidentiality risk about which companies are very concerned ..... competitors have a great interest in knowing who your clients are, who the consignees are, where the goods are loaded etc etc

i'm talking about international trade, not a pallet or two of bricks or whatever being delivered to the local builders yard

if X actually owns his pallets or whatever, then he will also be in sole control of the tracking system
not so if he is renting

i'm not guessing .... i'm telling you the way it is

I'm not saying you are guessing, as you can understand just trying to get hold of the concept. Good to talk to you and jimmy who understand the business.

So at the end of the day the choice lays with the company if they want to hire tracked or untracked pallets from RM2.

no idea
if these tracking devices are somehow and normally built into the corner blocks - but how would the signal then be picked up? - it would be difficult to build without the device and/or to identify which pallets did or did not have the device - different colour corner blocks perhaps?

Cynic those pallets will not be rented for a couple of pallets of bricks i can assure you ,they have tracking on them so that folk like that can't start using them as i said Chep pallets ended up all over the place.. Plus companies have tracking on the goods not pallets ,those pallets are not returned .

whatever you say
and as i have said before, i very much like the concept of these composite pallets, and merely raise some almost peripheral questions

i can only tell the score from the perspective of our own international industry that moves liquid chemicals and gases in much more expensive kit - about £15,000 per standard to about £70,000 for some of our more specialised kit

Still to early for me to invest. Like you said in an earlier post cynic, may take a year or two to develop. Very interesting.

Same for me DC ...

Thanks for both of your inputs. :-))