Pall-Ex is celebrating 10 years of its European operation thanks to Pall-Ex Italia, which has achieved record annual turnover, and strong double-digit growth, year-on-year since 2012.
The logistics giant has been instrumental in establishing the pallet distribution model within Italy, after selecting the country as its first location for European expansion a decade ago.
It has also played a key role in supporting Pall-Ex’s European growth, as the company now operates networks across eight countries in mainland Europe.
Pall-Ex Italia now moves around nearly 2 million pallets annually, with thousands of pallets passing through its eight hubs every night – a huge increase from the 160 pallets it handled on its first night of operation.
Hub locations include major cities such as Milan, Bologna, Florence, Ancona and Naples, and cover a total of 25,000 square metres.
As a pallet network, Pall-Ex Italia relies on its members - established local hauliers - to deliver freight and now has four times the number of members it launched with.
Anand Assi, International Development Director, comments: “Pall-Ex Italia became our first network in mainland Europe in 2009 and has been pivotal in establishing Pall-Ex internationally; we now have over 450 members across Europe who work with us to improve efficiency across the continent.
“We have also introduced a new distribution model to Italy, which has become the preferred distribution of choice for customers wanting the best value, highest quality and most reliable delivery.
“The network volume growth Pall-Ex Italia has seen over the last 10 years demonstrates the local need for hub-and-spoke distribution. The benefits to the local market have been huge, increasing flexibility and visibility for the customer, while reducing the number of vehicles on the road.”
Giovanni Pallastrelli, International Director for Pall-Ex Italia, comments: “From the very beginning we wanted to create a new business model in Italy, which incorporated members working together to share objectives and operate as a single entity.
“Pall-Ex Italia has made a major contribution to changing the old industry model: hundreds of small couriers, who used to fight for custom with a limited range of action, are now part of a bigger and centralised system. This system has been created by the couriers themselves and they have had the vision and capability to transform themselves into a new entity.
“I would say that the pallet model is well established now in Italy, in fact, 10 years ago customers expected to receive a price based on the weight of the shipment, now it is natural for them to request a per pallet price.
“However, the biggest success has been establishing the great reputation of the network. We are now considered one of the top players on the market for quality, high performance, reliability and safety of goods. The increase we have seen in both pallet volumes and the number of members is testament to this.”