European pallet network Palletways has enhanced and simplified its pan-European delivery service for small consignments of palletised freight for retailers.

The firm has launched an ‘On Line Scheduler’ that provides the customer with lead-time information before their consignment is dispatched.

Palletways has around 250 depots across the UK and mainland Europe, and handles some 20,000 pallets a day via nine hub facilities.

The company has also introduced a simple-to-use door-to-door pallet rate-card. In a four-stage process, customers can find which pallet size is applicable to their consignment; check to see where their pick-up postcode is in which country; decide on their destination postcode and its corresponding zone; and refer to the tariff tables to find their price.

Terry Morris, European product manager at Palletways Europe, said: “As the only dedicated pan-European pallet network provider, we’re experiencing ever-increasing demand for our express delivery services on a much wider scale than ever before.

“Through the introduction of customer-friendly initiatives and continuous enhancement of our offering, we aim to significantly grow the volumes of small consignments of palletised freight that we handle across all the countries we serve in Europe.”

In addition, customers will be able to benefit from daily collections up to 5pm, and same-day departures across the UK and mainland Europe.

Morris adds: “A customer in Birmingham with consignments bound for the UK, Germany, France, Benelux or Denmark can now use our pioneering online scheduler to see when Palletways can deliver the goods, and use the new simplified tariff rate to find out the cost straightaway. The goods can then be collected together and despatched to their respective destinations, whilst being tracked throughout their journey. Italy, Spain and Portugal will become part of the Palletways European network in the summer of 2008.”