Pallets for medical supply and devices in the Mid-South

BOX 01A cleaner standard

Medline's Southaven distribution center is 1.2 million square feet and opened at the end of 2021 (Medline newsroom). It shows the scale a medical distributor can reach in the metro.

Medical goods are packed in cartons that go to hospitals, so a pallet is seen near them. A stain or smell matters more than at a hardware dock, and some distributors choose new or very clean pallets.

BOX 02What the choice looks like

BOX 03Request notes

Say whether the pallets will touch sterile or packaged goods, whether you want them heat-treated for export, and whether any are stained. A used Grade A pile is a normal request; a new-pallet request is also normal. See Southaven for the place with the largest building.

BOX 04Where the cleanliness line sits

No pallet is sterile. What a medical distributor means by clean is dry, odor-free, free of visible dirt and free of loose splinters. A pallet that passes that test can sit under cartons of gloves, gowns and syringes without anyone worrying about it.

A pallet that fails is not necessarily unfit for other freight. A damp pallet is a poor choice for medical cartons but acceptable for a plant that stacks metal parts. Saying which test the pile passes puts it with the right buyer.

BOX 05Looking at a pile as a medical buyer would

• Sniff the bottom pallet in a stack; musty means damp.
• Run a hand over the deck for splinters and sap.
• Look for oil drips, tape residue or sticker adhesive that could mark a carton.
• Check that every pallet is the same size, since mixed sizes slow a picker.

These checks take a few minutes and decide whether the pile is a Grade A request. See Grade A.

BOX 06Documentation as a courtesy

A buyer of clean pallets is happier with a pile that has a record: where the pallets came from, how they were stored and when they were last inspected. A short note is enough. It does not have to be formal.

BOX 07Temperature and the pallet

Some medical goods are temperature-controlled, which means cold rooms and condensation. A pallet that spends a day in a cold room comes out damp. Mention it if yours do; a buyer of dry stock needs to know.

FAQStraight answers