Stephen Bartalini of PalletTrader Talks Pallets on The Warehouse Underground Podcast

Stephen Bartalini, national sales director for PalletTrader, recently appeared on The Warehouse Underground podcast. This podcast, hosted by Ben Hopkins, provides real-world, insightful content for folks working in the warehousing and distribution center industries across the nation and globe. 

Check out this sneak peek of the podcast conversation below.

Pallets: The Backbone of the Supply Chain  

To kick off the conversation, Ben asked Stephen about his background in supply chain and logistics. Stephen shared that before joining PalletTrader, he worked in freight brokerage, sales, and operations for many years. 

“My experience in sales and operations led me to an opportunity with PalletTrader,” Stephen said. “I was looking for something that was more tech-focused and sustainable for the industry. Obviously, pallets historically have been the backbone of the supply chain. John Vacarro at PalletTrader really had a vision for some of the problems that needed to be solved in the industry and that was something that I was interested in.”

According to Stephen, John’s initial goal with creating PalletTrader was to digitize the pallet industry, which had previously not been done. When it was launched in 2022 during COVID, PalletTrader created the first digital marketplace for pallets, providing the industry with the first online place to buy and sell pallets. From there, Stephen explained, PalletTrader has since evolved its service offerings and now offers an entire suite of pallet managed services for businesses big and small.

“Pallets are invisible when they work but catastrophic when they don’t,” Stephen explained. “Pallets tend to be the lowest on the totem pole in terms of priorities but when you run out you’re going to have a real problem. Traditionally, the approach has been this: don’t run out. More recently, companies are becoming more interested in finding ways to cut costs around pallets or recapture revenue by selling off excess pallets.”  

We Worry About Pallets So You Don’t Have To

Much of the discussion focused on how changes to pallet markets and pricing have driven many companies to partner with service providers like PalletTrader. According to Stephen, most companies partner with PalletTrader to reduce their overall pallet expenses, simplify their operations, and recapture revenue when pallets reach the end of their life cycle. 

“The goal is to remove anxiety from pallets,” Stephen said. “We have a saying: we worry about pallets so you don’t have to. We lead with being transparent around pricing and clear accountability in how we operate. Our goal when we start working with a new client is to find out what their goals and requirements are. Cost is really important but knowing where the cost comes from determines what the total cost of ownership is going to be. “

For more from the conversation and to find out how PalletTrader can help you reduce your pallet spend, listen to the podcast now. 

To learn more about PalletTrader’s pallet marketplace and managed services, contact our team.