At 48forty, we are committed to growing and innovating to do more for our customers. Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Justin Starbird recently sat down with CEO Mike Hachtman to discuss how 48forty’s growth is helping the company navigate today’s supply chain challenges.
For the good of our customers. This sentiment quickly became the overarching theme of a recent conversation Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Justin Starbird had with 48forty CEO Mike Hachtman. In a time where uncertainty tends to outweigh optimism, 48forty is committed to innovating and growing for the good of our customers — even while navigating a labor shortage, supply chain challenges and unique customer demands. Check out some of the key takeaways from their conversation.
Growth Elevates Customer Service
Consolidation is anything but a new concept. In fact, bringing businesses together in the right way often leads to a better customer experience. As the nation’s largest pallet recycler, 48forty delivers more opportunities to our customers, regardless of their place in the supply chain or where they are located.
“Our goal is to make sure every customer has the right pallet in the right place at the right time.”
While pallet recycling is 48forty’s bread and butter, a recent acquisition of Relogistics and Prime360 expands our ability to make Total Pallet Management easier than ever. Relogistics’ and Prime’s custom pallet management services serve a growing range of industries, from the nation’s largest retailers, distributors and e-commerce companies to manufacturers, shippers, growers, and packers of any size. Our role in each of these areas helps ensure pallets are processed and put back into the cycle for reuse, bringing efficiency and greater confidence to customers at both ends of the supply chain.
With 48forty’s expanding network, we are able to respond quickly to requests and create tailored solutions based on specific customers' needs. The majority of the wood we use to repair the pallets that we recycle comes from other pallets that have been damaged beyond repair. This is an important distinction because this means that lumber doesn’t directly affect 48forty – we primarily reuse components to repair pallets that we then re-inject into the supply chain.
"At the end of the day, I believe the growth and the expansion of 48forty allows us to provide more services to more customers, regardless of who they are."
While there is still a need for new wooden pallets to be injected into the market, the 48forty team recognizes this and has the processes in place to either produce or source new pallets when customers need them. As we continue to grow and expand the business, we are always looking at new ways we can continue to solve customer problems with innovative and sustainable solutions.
Strong Company Culture Strengthens Our Work
Every member of the 48forty team is essential to the supply chain industry. Working behind the scenes, they help create and maintain processes that allow us to provide customized pallet management services to our customers. Giving our employees the support and tools they need to feel excited about their work is especially important during a labor shortage. This challenge, combined with our recent growth, has proven how key it is to build and advance a strong internal culture.
Just as we expect employees to dedicate their time and skills to serve our customers, they look to 48forty’s leadership to provide them with the working environment and benefits they need to feel valued at work and comfortable at home. 48forty offers attractive, competitive wages, consistent work schedules, and expanded benefits packages.
“Culture is key. It's important for us to continue to listen to our employees and find out what's important to them, so we can work together to meet the needs of our customers.”
In addition, 48forty developed our Pallet Leaders of Tomorrow (PLT) program to give early career professionals a clear path to advancement. Designed for management development, PLT provides greater insight on the plant-level side of the business while teaching selected employees about areas such as finance, retail operations, recycling and more. This program gives them the tools they need to become better leaders and prepare themselves to reach future career goals.
Industry Expertise to Meet Customer Needs
Addressing supply chain issues has been a foundational focus from 48forty’s very beginnings. Recycled pallets and Total Pallet Management solutions are how we provide the greatest value to the supply chain. Serving as an extension of our customers, we fully understand their needs and can quickly address immediate challenges and prepare for what’s to come.
Even as we grow as a company, we’re committed to continuing to work closely with each of our customers to understand their forecasts and prepare as needed. We also have a dedicated account management team that gathers insight into what's happening across industries at any given time. Having the best information available allows us to determine what we need to put energy toward at any given moment.
Having knowledge and proven processes in a growing number of areas of the supply chain enables us to synthesize services across the entire network. This is how we continue to ensure our customers have the right pallet in the right place at the right time regardless of their size, position in the supply chain or the scope of their need.
“We are our customers ‘pallet people.’ The more we're involved in their supply chain, the better we are able to meet their needs as we work through the holiday season, or any other time.”
As 48forty grows, we are excited to build on our services, solutions, and network to continue to enhance the customer experience.
