Engineering the right pallet from the start: how ArborTrace uses Best Pallet to design smarter wood packaging
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Not all pallets are created equal — and the wrong pallet design can quietly cost your operation thousands of dollars a year in product damage, failed audits, and inefficient material use. ArborTrace partners with Best Pallet™, the pallet design and analysis service from White & Company, to make sure every pallet we source or recommend is engineered to actually perform.
Who is Best Pallet™ by White & Company?
White & Company is a recognized leader in wood packaging and pallet engineering, and Best Pallet is their dedicated design and analysis service — built specifically to help businesses optimize pallet specifications for their unique load requirements, supply chain conditions, and sustainability goals.
Rather than defaulting to a standard 48×40 GMA spec and hoping it works, Best Pallet applies engineering methodology to the question of pallet design — factoring in load weight, stacking patterns, racking systems, transit modes, and material grade to arrive at a specification that is fit for purpose. The result is a pallet that does exactly what it needs to do, using exactly the material it needs to use — nothing more, nothing less.
What Best Pallet™ brings to an ArborTrace engagement
When ArborTrace is sourcing, building, or recommending a pallet solution for a client, Best Pallet’s design and analysis capabilities sit at the center of that process. Here’s what that looks like:
Custom pallet design
Best Pallet engineers pallet specs tailored to your actual load profile — dimensions, board thickness, fastener patterns, and entry configurations designed for your specific use case.
Compliance & standards review
For clients with retailer compliance requirements, export regulations (ISPM 15), or food-grade standards, Best Pallet ensures every design spec meets the applicable requirements.
Load & stress Analysis
Using structural analysis tools, Best Pallet models how a pallet will perform under dynamic and static loads — catching failure risks before they become field problems.
Material optimization
Overbuilt pallets waste lumber and money. Best Pallet identifies the minimum viable spec that meets performance requirements — reducing wood consumption and unit cost simultaneously.
Why pallet design is more important than most companies realize
Most procurement conversations about pallets start and end at price per unit. That’s the wrong frame. A pallet that fails mid-transit, damages product on the floor, or gets rejected at a retailer’s dock creates costs that dwarf whatever was saved on the upfront spec.
At the same time, many companies are running on over-specified pallets — heavier and more expensive than the job actually requires — because no one has ever stress-tested the assumption. Best Pallet’s analysis consistently finds opportunities to right-size specifications without any loss of performance.
ArborTrace brings this engineering lens to every client engagement. Whether you’re re-evaluating a legacy spec, launching a new product line, or trying to reduce your wood consumption footprint, starting with a proper design analysis is the foundation of getting pallet strategy right.
"A pallet isn't just a platform — it's a structural component in your supply chain."
Best Pallet's engineering methodology means ArborTrace clients aren't guessing at specs — they're working from analysis. That's a meaningful difference when product integrity and cost efficiency are both on the line.
Who benefits most from this approach
The ArborTrace + Best Pallet™ combination is a natural fit for companies in situations like these:
- Launching a new product or SKU that requires a purpose-built pallet spec
- Experiencing repeated pallet failures, product damage claims, or retailer rejections
- Trying to reduce per-unit pallet cost without compromising load integrity
- Operating under ISPM 15, food safety, or retailer compliance requirements
- Looking to reduce wood consumption as part of a broader sustainability program
- Consolidating pallet specs across multiple facilities or product lines
If your team is making pallet decisions based on habit or price alone, a design analysis is likely to surface both savings and performance improvements that weren’t visible before.
Let's talk
Ready to engineer a better pallet?
ArborTrace works with clients to evaluate, design, and source pallet solutions that are built to perform — not just built to ship. Reach out to start a conversation about what a properly engineered pallet program could mean for your operation.
