Container and Pallet Load Planning
Deciding how many pallets fit in a container, or how to stack a pallet without exceeding weight or height limits, usually comes down to someone's rough estimate or a spreadsheet built for a different SKU mix months ago. Get it wrong and the outcomes are all expensive in different ways: a container ships half-empty because the estimate was conservative, a pallet gets rejected at the dock for exceeding a height restriction, or a load that looked fine on paper turns out to be unstable because weight wasn't distributed correctly across the pallet. Freight is often the largest controllable cost in the outbound supply chain, and most of the waste in it comes from load plans built on approximation rather than the actual dimensions and weights of what's shipping.
STARTING PRICE
From €299
Standard tier · Multi-step workflow with AI extraction/decisioning and 2-3 integrations.
Get a quote →Saves roughly 3-5 hrs/week for a logistics or warehouse team.
How the automation works
We generate load plans from actual SKU dimensions, weight and any stacking or orientation constraints, calculating how many units fit per pallet and how many pallets fit per container or truck against real cube and weight limits, not a rough per-SKU estimate. The plan accounts for weight distribution so a pallet doesn't end up top-heavy or exceed a carrier's per-pallet weight limit, and flags when a shipment's actual mix means a smaller container or an extra truck run is genuinely cheaper than forcing everything into one load. Plans regenerate automatically each time an order is being prepared for shipment, so load planning reflects the specific SKU mix on that shipment instead of a generic rule of thumb applied to every load regardless of what's actually going in it.
Process flow
- 01
Shipment ready to plan trigger
An outbound order or transfer reaches the point of load planning, triggering a load calculation for its specific SKU mix and quantities.
- 02
Pull SKU dimensions and weight integration
Actual dimensions, weight and any stacking or orientation constraints are pulled per SKU from the product master rather than estimated.
- 03
Calculate pallet and container fit ai
Units per pallet and pallets per container or truck are calculated against real cube and weight limits, including weight distribution across the pallet footprint.
- 04
Flag suboptimal loads ai
A load that would ship significantly under capacity, or that needs a different container size or an extra run to fit safely, gets flagged before booking rather than discovered at the dock.
- 05
Publish load plan output
A pallet-build and container-load plan is published for the warehouse team to execute, showing exactly how units stack and load for that specific shipment.
- 06
Log utilization for freight review integration
Actual cube and weight utilization per shipment is logged over time, feeding a freight efficiency report for carrier negotiations and load-planning improvements.
Inputs
- SKU dimensions, weight and stacking constraints
- Order or transfer line items and quantities
- Container, pallet and truck capacity specifications
- Carrier-specific weight and height restrictions
Outputs
- Pallet build plan per shipment
- Container/truck load plan with utilization percentage
- Flag for underutilized or non-standard loads
- Freight utilization trend report by shipment and lane
Works with
Prefer a fully custom build instead of an off-the-shelf integration? We scope both options during your free consultation — most jobs like this one work fine on standard connectors, but higher-volume or non-standard systems sometimes need bespoke API work, reflected in the complex tier.
Where this goes wrong if you get it wrong
- Using product-category averages for dimensions and weight instead of actual per-SKU data produces a load plan that looks fine on paper but doesn't physically fit once real product variance (a slightly larger box, a heavier unit than the category average) hits the dock.
- A load plan optimized purely for cube utilization without checking weight distribution can produce a technically-full pallet that's unstable or unsafe to move, or that exceeds a carrier's per-pallet or axle weight limit even though it fits the space.
- Stacking constraints — fragile items, weight limits per layer, product that can't be inverted — get ignored by a plan optimizing purely for space efficiency, producing a load that's mathematically full but would crush or damage product if actually built that way.
- A load plan that doesn't flag genuinely uneconomical shipments (a mix that will always ship at 60% capacity no matter how it's arranged) leaves the business quietly absorbing that inefficiency shipment after shipment instead of surfacing it as something worth fixing at the order-consolidation level.
Frequently asked questions
Does this account for weight distribution, not just how many units fit?
Yes — the plan checks weight distribution across the pallet footprint and against carrier per-pallet weight limits, not just whether units fit the available cube.
What happens if a shipment genuinely can't reach full container utilization?
It's flagged as underutilized with the reason, so the team can decide whether to hold for consolidation, use a smaller container, or ship as-is knowing the cost tradeoff.
Does it handle products with special stacking rules, like fragile or non-stackable items?
Yes — stacking and orientation constraints per SKU are factored into the plan so it doesn't recommend a physically unsafe or damaging load configuration.
Can this feed into freight cost negotiations with carriers?
Yes — utilization data accumulates by shipment and lane over time, giving logistics a concrete efficiency record to reference in carrier rate discussions.