In 2021, Number1, the main Italian logistics operator for the grocery sector, chose Optit to take care of a common but decisive challenge in logistics: load dimension optimisation, or the difference between what is planned and what is actually loaded. The goals were clear: to bridge the gap between the theoretical plan and the physical load, to improve vehicle capacity, to standardise key processes and to make them more measurable and manageable.
Optit rose to the task with an advanced and customisable system for calculating dimensions, divided into three phases:
- cartonisation (Pick & Pack): calculates how many boxes are needed to pack items as efficiently as possible;
- palletisation: allocates boxes to an optimal number of pallets, taking into account variations in size, display requirements or out-of-gauge customisations;
- stacking: calculates how many stacks are required, taking advantage of pallet stacking to optimise space inside the vehicles.
The system exploits synergies between orders to increase load saturation, improve service efficiency and reduce waste.
The algorithm, running in the cloud as an on-demand service, made it possible to:
- increasing the average height of the columns: the new calculation makes it possible to reduce the overall number of columns by more than 2.5% per year, achieving a significant efficiency gain;
- automate the scheduling of dozens of loads per day;
- upgrade manual operations to be repeatable and scalable;
- monitor the logistics process in order to identify and manage anomalies.
