Companies all over the world are now using software programs to help them evaluate each step of their product's journey throughout the supply chain, from design concept to retailer. Advances in technology over the last 10 years have provided the packaging industry with a powerful tool with which to assess various factors such as product size, case fit and arrangement and pallet loading efficiency - with some very impressive results.

Optimising product size and design, improving material usage, enhancing primary package arrangement and fit within cases and increasing the amount of cases per pallet can save companies thousands of pounds per year. Getting more product onto a pallet has proven to be the most effective way of reducing storage and shipping costs. In fact, it is estimated that a company can, by putting more product into the same space save up to 25 per cent on storage and distribution.

In the Past
Historically, companies used laborious manual methods to calculate pallet patterns, either creating something by hand or by using pallet pattern and lookup tables to design very basic pattern styles. This method was slow, inaccurate, inconsistent and only yielded a limited amount of alternatives. The solutions were narrow in scope and communicating the results made preplanning difficult. With increasing mass production techniques and the growth of product distribution on a nation-wide basis manual methods were simply inadequate.

Computers in Packaging
The earliest use of computers in packaging dates back to the early 1970's when mainframes, computers the size of rooms, were used to provide simple pallet pattern configurations and a small amount of secondary package design - both without the use of diagrams or graphics.

However, the introduction of the first PC's in the mid 1980's opened up a whole new range of possibilities for the packaging industry. With the advantage of its small size, ease of use and computing power, the PC brought amount many changes in the area of packaging, where an ideal use was the creation of pallet patterns and packaging design.

The Pallet Pattern Process Using the Computer
During the packaging process the pallet base is usually considered to be fixed in size and cannot be easily changed. However, there are many variables relating to the loading of the pallet that can be evaluated to produce the optimum pallet pattern. These parameters include the maximum load height and weight, underhand and overhang requirements, minimum area and cube utilisation, the size of the corrugated case, and the dimension loaded vertical on the pallet. The final compression strength of the corrugated case and the various pattern styles that can be considered for each pattern type are also important factors to be considered.

The Benefits of Packaging Design and Pallet Loading Software
It is virtually impossible for the human mind or a simple lookup chart to consider the combination of all these factors and individual user requirements. This is why today's computers and pallet loading programs are ideally suited to the task.

In a PC based pallet pattern loading program the user simply types in the basic information required for the specific analysis. This information usually consists of the corrugated case size, the dimension vertical for stacking on the pallet, the weight of the filled case, the dimension vertical for stacking on the pallet, the weight of the filled case, the pallet size and type, allowable underhang and overhang, the maximum finished load height and weight, and the pattern types to be considered. This information is then saved in a file format that can be retrieved for later use and from which the various solutions are generated.

From the information provided by the program the user can then determine which pallet pattern arrangement will best meet their needs. Hundreds, even thousands, of potential solutions can be considered in the process. The computer's calculations are consistently accurate and enable the rapid evaluation of all patterns and load plans that fit within the restrictions applied by the user.

Using a software application to calculate pallet patterns and pallet loading efficiency means an increase in speed and consistency of solutions. These programs are typically very easy to use with simple data input screens and Word style pull down menus and toolbar icons. Most impressive is the ability to replicate actual situations on screen or in the form of reports. A large number of alternatives can be considered at any one time and results can be easily reproduced and communicated to other functions and departments.

From the list of available solutions, the user can select one or more options for viewing and printing (both text and graphical reports) showing the exact location of each case and the layout of the cases within a layer on the pallet. After viewing a satisfactory solution the user can then use the software to model the compression strength performance of the corrugated case.

It is now even possible to represent shrink wrapping, create different style trays, show dividers and create bundles of packs in their outer packaging. And it is easy to represent almost any product shape. These programs enable the user to resize an existing primary pack or work with marketing departments to design a completely new product. By starting with a proposed size and specifying the scope for dimensional and/or volumetric changes the program can establish the best possible primary pack size. New pack arrangements and case sizes are created and then palletised.

Using modern computers to design primary and secondary packs and calculate pallet patterns is extremely effective. Studies have shown that a 10% improvement in pallet load utilisation is common. In many cases improvements are much higher than 10%, which is particularly significant as these improvements directly affect the profitability of an organisation. In large organisations these savings can amount to many hundreds of thousands of pounds annually.

In addition to increasing profitability, packaging design and pallet loading programs can deal with very specific packaging requirements, for example, the packaging process involved in the storage and distribution of a sensitive product such as ice cream. One of the critical requirements in Palletizing ice cream products is to ensure that the pallets are not stacked too tightly. Insufficient air flow through the pallet during on pallet hardening (freezing) can adversely affect ice cream quality. An ice cream manufacturer would use the space utilisation software to experiment with various combinations of column stack and interlock stack pallet patterns and evaluates how those patterns perform in terms of compression strength, load stability and air flow.

The Future of Computerised Pallet Patterns
Today's users of computerised pallet pattern loading programs are looking for even more sophistication and reality in their ability to create reports and share this information with others.

Current pallet loading programs are very sophisticated. They are used throughout the world to evaluate different pallet options, the best pallet size to use and which packing medium will do the best job. All of these tasks are now calculated in seconds. Each solution created can be viewed as three dimensional color diagrams. Graphics technology now allows users to select the rotation and stacking of individual pallet layers. Even the layout of individual cases can be edited to meet any special pattern layout requirements. High-quality, very detailed and customised reports can be produced in seconds.

Modern programs can also be used to export Palletizing information directly to other programs. Examples are word processing applications, spreadsheets, specification systems, ERP, Supply Chain Management and Warehousing systems. Information from pallet loading programs can even provide the necessary information to drive robotic and mechanical Palletizing equipment. Such information can then be shared with other departments to create a finished-product specification which can be easily communicated, controlled and monitored for future updates and modifications.

Manufacturing companies are now also beginning to understand the importance of multiple product pallet patterns, for retail store shelf replishment and end of aisle displays for promotional use. Programs to deal with these 'multiproduct loading' situations work with many of the same inputs as standard pallet loading software. The one exception is that many different products are calculated on the same pallet at the same time, adding an extra level of complexity to the final solution.

For many multinational companies, the key to future growth is exporting their products to other countries. This means considering how to palletise their products on at least two different pallet sizes : one for domestic use and one for export. This type of application is also ideally suited to modern computers and pallet loading programs.

Technology is now available that allows pallet loading programs to merge artwork and graphics images (such as company or product logos) onto the surfaces of products, cases and pallets. This brings a new and extremely powerful visual reality to the world of computerised pallet patterns and allows the most comprehensive pallet pattern reports and specifications to be created at the touch of a button.

Thousands of European companies are now required to meet official industry standards on using materials and storage space efficiently, and on controlling transportation costs or face steep fines. Through the utilisation of packaging design and Palletizing software companies are able to design packaged products that are price conscious, fit into inventory-sensitive outer case sizes and can be stored and transported effectively. At the same time efficiently designed packaging gets more product into the same space, reduces the number of trees cut down to make wooden pallets, and decreases the number of trucks required for transport, thereby reducing physical damage to the environment, cutting noise levels and reducing the amount of fossil fuels being burned.

Companies involved in the manufacturing and distribution of products all over the world - from multinational corporations to single installation factories or warehouses - simply cannot afford to ignore the powerful, yet relatively inexpensive technology of packaging design and pallet loading software.