What Is IGPS and How Does It Work in Pallet Management?
IGPS stands for iGPS Logistics, a pallet pooling and management service that operates within the broader landscape of pallet distribution and supply chain logistics. If you're sourcing pallets for your business or trying to understand how modern pallet systems work, IGPS represents one model worth understanding—though it's just one approach among several options available today.
Understanding the IGPS Model 📦
IGPS operates as a pallet-as-a-service provider. Rather than purchasing pallets outright, businesses rent pallets on a per-use basis through a subscription or pay-per-use arrangement. The company handles the logistics: delivering pallets to your location, picking them up after you've used them, cleaning and inspecting them, and redistributing them to other customers.
This is fundamentally different from traditional pallet ownership, where a company buys pallets and manages their own fleet, repair, and storage. With IGPS, you're participating in a shared pool of pallets that circulates among many businesses in a network.
The pallets themselves are typically made from recycled plastic rather than wood. This is a defining characteristic of the service—plastic pallets are designed to be durable, cleanable, and trackable through embedded technology.
How the Economics and Logistics Work
The cost structure of pallet pooling operates on a different model than ownership:
You pay for access and use, not capital investment. Charges typically involve:
- A subscription or membership fee
- Per-pallet rental fees (often charged per day or per round trip)
- Potential charges for damaged pallets
- Sometimes surcharges for non-timely returns
The provider handles the heavy lifting. IGPS manages warehousing, cleaning, maintenance, and redistribution of pallets across their network. This means you don't need to:
- Maintain storage space for idle pallets
- Repair or replace damaged pallets
- Track your own fleet
- Manage pallet disposal
The network effect creates efficiency. Because pallets are pooled, IGPS (and similar services) work best when they can move pallets from one customer to another with minimal empty miles. This depends on geographic density and the alignment of supply and demand in their network.
Key Variables That Shape Your Experience
Whether IGPS or a similar pooling service makes sense depends on several factors that differ from business to business:
Your shipping volume and consistency. A business shipping thousands of pallets monthly will have a very different cost-benefit calculation than one shipping 10 pallets per year. Higher volume typically favors pooling services; low volume may favor ownership or pay-per-pallet models.
Your geographic location. Pooling networks work best in dense urban areas and established corridors where pallets can be efficiently cycled. Rural locations or areas with sparse IGPS presence may face longer pickup times, higher per-unit costs, or limited availability.
Your pallet destination and turnaround. If your pallets move to customers who return them quickly, pooling services work well. If pallets end up in storage or with customers who keep them indefinitely, you're paying rental fees on assets you can't reuse, which changes the math.
Your product and cleanliness requirements. Plastic pallets can be sanitized and tracked, which appeals to food, pharmaceutical, and consumer goods companies. If your shipments are dirty (construction debris, soil, etc.), a pooling service may charge damage fees or refuse to service you.
Existing pallet investments. If you already own a fleet, switching to pooling requires either repurposing or liquidating that asset—a sunk cost that affects your decision timeline.
Network availability at your origin and destination. IGPS operates primarily in North America and Europe. If you ship to areas outside their coverage, you'd need a hybrid approach or alternative solution.
IGPS Versus Other Pallet Options
Understanding how pooling services fit into the broader landscape helps clarify what IGPS is and isn't:
| Option | Capital Cost | Per-Use Cost | Your Responsibilities | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pallet ownership | High upfront | Low per unit | Storage, repair, fleet tracking, disposal | High-volume, stable shipping patterns |
| Pallet pooling (IGPS model) | None/low | Moderate rental + fees | Timely returns, condition compliance | Mid-to-high volume, regular routes |
| Pay-per-pallet rental | None | High per unit | Brief coordination, return scheduling | Low volume, irregular shipping |
| Pallet exchange networks | None/minimal | Based on swaps | Finding pallets locally, managing swaps | Smaller businesses, local shipping |
IGPS specifically emphasizes plastic pallets with embedded tracking technology. This means you get visibility into pallet location and condition—a feature that adds value in some industries (CPG, pharmaceuticals, high-value goods) but may be unnecessary overhead in others.
Practical Considerations for Evaluating Pooling Services
If you're considering whether a pallet pooling service like IGPS fits your operation, think through these questions:
Do your pallets move in and out at predictable rates? Pooling services charge for the rental period. If pallets sit at customer locations or in your warehouse between shipments, you're paying for pallets that aren't circulating, which erodes the cost advantage.
Is your operation compatible with standardized pallets? IGPS and similar services use their own standardized pallet designs. If you require custom sizes, weights, or materials, pooling may not work or may require special arrangements.
How critical is pallet tracking and condition monitoring? Pooling services typically include visibility into pallet location and status. If this is essential for your supply chain, that's a built-in benefit. If it's unnecessary, you're paying for a feature you won't use.
Can you meet return windows? Pooling economics depend on fast pallet turnover. If you frequently exceed agreed return periods, you'll face additional charges or service restrictions.
Is your shipping footprint within the provider's network? A pallet pooling service only works where they have infrastructure. Gaps in coverage mean delays, higher costs, or service unavailability.
What IGPS Is Not
It's important to be clear about what a pooling service like IGPS does and doesn't do:
- Not a full logistics provider. IGPS handles pallets and pallet logistics. It doesn't manage freight, shipping, or last-mile delivery—you still need to arrange those separately.
- Not a solution for every business model. Businesses with highly irregular shipping, custom pallet requirements, or locations outside the service area may find pooling impractical.
- Not a fixed-cost solution. While pooling can reduce per-pallet costs at scale, you're still paying per rental, per day, and potentially per damaged unit. Costs vary based on your actual usage.
Making Sense of the Landscape
IGPS represents one approach to solving a real supply chain problem: pallets are essential, but owning and managing a fleet ties up capital and labor. By pooling pallets across many customers, companies like IGPS distribute those costs and reduce idle time.
Whether this model is right for your situation depends entirely on your volume, geography, shipping patterns, and operational constraints—factors only you can assess. What works for a large consumer goods company shipping regionally may be uneconomical for a small manufacturer with irregular shipments, or unnecessary for a business with a stable local customer base that already has pallets.
The key is understanding how the economics work, what variables affect your individual cost, and whether the service's capabilities align with your actual operational needs. That evaluation requires looking at your specific circumstances—not just the service itself.