Logistics
Mixed Pallet, Full Pallet or Container: Choosing an Order Format
When a mixed pallet, a full pallet or a full container makes commercial sense — and how freight efficiency changes between them.
4 min read
Three formats, three purposes
Order format is not a matter of preference — it follows from how much you are buying and how varied the assortment is. Choosing the wrong one usually shows up as freight cost per carton.
| Format | What it is | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed pallet | Several different products consolidated onto one pallet | First orders, trials, topping up a range |
| Full pallet | One product filling a complete pallet | Proven sellers with predictable turnover |
| Full container | A complete 20ft, 40ft or 40HC load | Established programmes and best freight economics |
Mixed pallets
A mixed pallet is the usual starting point. It lets you take a workable quantity of several lines without committing to a full pallet of anything, which matters when you are testing which products move in your market.
The trade-off is handling. Consolidating several SKUs onto one pallet takes picking work that a full-pallet order does not, and freight per carton is higher than a container. For a trial assortment that is usually the right trade to make.
Full pallets
Once a line sells reliably, a full pallet is more efficient. There is no consolidation work, the pallet is handled as a single unit throughout, and the quantity is large enough to be worth a keener price.
How many cartons make up a full pallet varies by product — a pallet of tissue and a pallet of canned goods hold very different carton counts and very different weights.
Full container loads
A container is the cheapest way to move goods per carton, and the step up in order size is significant. It can be a single product, or — more commonly for assortment buyers — a planned mix across brands and categories.
The practical question is whether you can absorb container quantities within your selling cycle. Freight savings do not help if stock sits.
How freight efficiency changes
Moving from pallets to a container lowers freight per carton, but the saving is not linear and it depends on the route, the density of the goods and the season. The reliable general statement is the direction: larger, better-planned loads carry less freight cost per carton. Specific figures belong in a quotation for a specific shipment, not in a guide.
Pallet standards and why they matter
Two pallet footprints dominate European trade, and the choice affects how efficiently a container fills. The EUR/EPAL pallet measures 1200 x 800 mm; the standard or "industrial" pallet measures 1200 x 1000 mm. Neither is better in the abstract — what matters is how each divides into the container floor and whether your receiving operation is set up for one of them.
A container floor is a fixed rectangle, so pallet footprint decides how many fit without leaving unusable strips of floor. Cartons that suit one footprint may stack awkwardly on the other, leaving overhang or wasted layer space. If your warehouse requires a particular pallet type, say so with the enquiry — changing it later changes how much fits.
Knowing when to move up a format
The signal to change format is not a volume threshold. It is a pattern in your own ordering.
- You reorder the same lines often enough that consolidation work is being repeated needlessly — move those lines to full pallets
- Your mixed-pallet orders are approaching a container in total volume — the freight saving is already being left on the table
- You are splitting an order across shipments for cash flow rather than demand — a container with a longer selling window may cost less overall
- Freight is a visible share of your landed cost — that share falls fastest with better load planning, not with harder price negotiation
The counter-signal matters just as much. If a container would take longer to sell through than the shortest shelf life in the assortment, the format is wrong however good the freight rate looks.
Shelf life against order size
FMCG differs from most goods here. A larger order lowers freight per carton but lengthens the time stock sits, and food and personal-care lines carry dated shelf life. Retail customers typically expect a minimum remaining shelf life on delivery, so stock that arrives with most of its life spent in transit and storage can be commercially unusable even though it is perfectly good.
This is a real argument against always maximising load size: shorter-life lines in smaller, more frequent quantities, long-life lines in bulk, and the two combined in one consolidated shipment.
Work out the right order format
Tell us what you want to buy and where it is going. We will confirm which format makes sense and what it costs.
