Walmart, and by extension Sam’s Club, prefers grade-A flush, non-reversible, 4-way, 40-by-48-inch Consumer Brands Association (CBA) pallets or 20-by-48-inch half pallets. The pallets should be made of wood that is free of knots, in sound condition, and clean sawn. Additional pallet criteria can be found below but vendors are still encouraged to confirm this information directly with Sam’ Club to ensure the most up to date information.

• Have a minimum of 7 top boards.
• Have a minimum of 5 bottom boards
• Have a minimum of 3 stringers.
• No greater than 4 inches of spacing between deck boards.

Each pallet must also meet the following pallet requirements for Sam’s Club:

1. A pallet must be free of missing or broken boards from its top or bottom deck.
2. Stringers must be free of patches. Metal plates or additional boards on stringers are unacceptable.
3. Stringers must not be broken, or excessively cracked. Cracks that are longer than a single inch and visible from three sides are unacceptable. Cracks from aging that do not go through the board and are not visible from three sides can be accepted.
4. Pallets should be clean, free of stains, and without odors.
5. Cracked top or bottom boards with cracks wider than ⅛-inch and 15 inches or longer in length are unacceptable.
6. A pallet must not have splinters that are longer than three inches.
7. No tapered breaks deeper than an inch along a ten-inch or longer run.
8. All nails must be flush with the surface of the board or countersunk.
9. Partial footings where ¼-inch of a stringer board’s width or length directly connecting a bottom board is missing, or nail shanks are exposed are unacceptable.
10. Stapling or gluing PDQ displays to the pallets is expressly not allowed.

These Sam’s Club pallet requirements are specific to single-use wood stringer pallets. Sam’s Club parent company Walmart also allows the use of wood block pallets or pallets made of alternative materials like plastic with previous approval. If Sam’s Club suppliers do not wish to provide their own pallets they may rent acceptable pallets from approved pallet pooling companies iGPS, CHEP, or PECO.

Pallet pooling programs take responsibility for procuring and maintaining a supply of pallets for vendors of any size. The pallets provided by pallet pooling companies tend to be sturdier than stringer pallets, helping to prevent product damage as well as equipment damage and employee injury. One particular alternative pallet material stands above the rest when it comes to maximizing these advantages.