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Palletization Optimization: The Complete Guide to Esko Cape Pack

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Are you under pressure to save on shipping and transportation costs?

Do your goods sometimes get damaged during transportation?

Today, every little bit counts.

Optimizing palletization is the key to maximizing efficiency and reducing costs in your supply chain operations.

Does this sound like music to your ears? Keep reading.

Why Pallet Organization Matters 

To a non-packaging professional, determining the best way to stack cases onto a pallet may seem like a simple question.

But you know better.

There can be literally hundreds of different solutions. And if you choose the wrong one, you can end up shipping empty space which results in the need for more trucks or containers than necessary.

More trucks and containers negatively impact your carbon footprint.

The inquiries to avoid this are relatively straightforward, but making these decisions early on is crucial:

  • What is the best truck or container to use for shipping your load?
  • How much product will fit on the truck?
  • How many trucks do you need to schedule for shipping?
  • Will the warehouse know how to load the truck in the most efficient way?

This is where technology comes in to save the day.

Welcome to our guide to Cape Pack, Esko’s cloud-based pallet optimization solution.

Before we dive into how it works, let’s address a few technical issues.

It’s necessary to design an ideal case size and arrangement for primary products to fit the most amount of product in a load.

It’s important to determine the optimal stacking pattern on a pallet to maximize logistics while ensuring product protection.

Making slight adjustments in the overall product size will improve the quantity of products that can ship in a load, enhancing efficiency and promoting more sustainable shipping processes.

What is Cape Pack?

Cape Pack is a palletization software that produces efficient pallet solutions.

Within seconds, it provides results that save shipping costs, better protect products, and reduce your carbon footprint.

Here’s how it works.

First, enter the product and load information.

Second, direct Cape Pack to calculate multiple palletization options.

Third, choose the solution that offers a configuration that best meets your needs.

Factors you might consider when determining the optimal stacking pattern for products on a pallet include, but are not limited to:

  • Maximum height of the load
  • Maximum weight of the load
  • Weight supported by the bottom layer
  • Pallet being used and how it will be shipped and/or displayed

To calculate the most effective shipping solution, Cape Pack can change the stacking pattern to increase the number of cases on a load by up to 20%.

This can result in 100% space utilization.

Cape Pack light-weights packaging, finding solutions using less materials but still protecting the product.

By putting more product into a case, more cases onto a pallet, and more pallets into a truck, Cape Pack reduces the number of trucks needed for shipping.

This minimizes fuel consumption, directly contributing to sustainability goals.

In fact, the largest producer of pre-packaged desserts saw a 32% reduction in fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions.

Additionally, a global manufacturer of dog food saw a 20% reduction in trucks in and out of distribution centers which equated to 350 fewer trucks on the road.

For more success stories, click here.

Packing, Loading, and Reporting

Compression strength analysis is essential in palletization.

Using a corrugated board lacking sufficient strength can result in load failure and damaged products, leading to increased costs.

Conversely, overcompensating with excessively strong materials increases costs and impacts sustainability.

Cape Pack’s Compression Strength utility ensures the selection of the appropriate board grade.

Cape Pack’s Truck Analysis utility lets you load single sized products or pallets into trucks and containers.

Finally, Cape Pack allows the creation of comprehensive reports keeping all stakeholders informed of full load details.

Configure, generate, and download PDF reports and images with packing instructions.

Keeping it Simple

Being cloud-based, Cape Pack requires no installation and is extremely user-friendly.

Additionally, Cape Pack integrates seamlessly with the Esko ecosystem, including ArtiosCAD, Share & Approve, WebCenter, and recently released S2.

By leveraging Cape Pack, businesses can optimize their pallet loads, enhance sustainability, and reduce transportation costs, ensuring efficient and cost-effective shipping solutions.

Want to learn more? Book a Discovery Call today!