Inventory glossary

What is Pallet quantity?

Pallet quantity is the number of units or cases that fit on one pallet for a given product.

Pallet quantity matters when you order in bulk from a supplier and pay for freight by the pallet. If you know the pallet quantity, you can round your order up or down to avoid paying for a half-empty pallet or leftover units that get shipped separately at a higher cost per unit.

For a small store this usually only matters for your highest volume SKUs, like your best selling candle scent or your most popular coffee bag. For everything else, ordering by case pack is enough and you do not need to think in pallets.

Formula

Pallet quantity = units per case x cases per pallet

Example

A candle supplier packs 12 candles per case and fits 40 cases on a pallet. Pallet quantity is 12 x 40 = 480 candles. If your forecast says you need 520 candles, ordering one full pallet (480) plus 40 extra units as a separate case shipment is usually cheaper than ordering two partial pallets.

Common mistakes

  • Confusing pallet quantity with case pack quantity, they are not the same unit.
  • Ordering a quantity that is just over one pallet and paying extra freight for a tiny overflow shipment.
  • Not checking that pallet quantity changes if the supplier switches case pack size.

Pallet quantity and SteadyShelf

SteadyShelf rounds suggested order quantities to case packs, so for high volume SKUs you can manually scale that up to full pallets before approving the purchase order.

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Related terms

Case pack · Units per case · Minimum order quantity · Freight cost per unit · Order quantity

Full inventory glossary

FAQ

Do I need to track pallet quantity for a small Shopify store?

Only for your highest volume products where you order enough to fill a pallet. For most SKUs, ordering by case pack is enough.

What happens if I order slightly more than one pallet?

The extra units often ship as a separate smaller shipment, which can cost more per unit in freight. It is usually cheaper to round down to the full pallet or up to two full pallets.

Let SteadyShelf do this math for every SKU

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