Building Container Load Planning API for Less-than-truckload (LTL) Carriers

We’re building Load Plan Optimiser (LPO), a module of the end-to-end supply chain management API suite for logistical SMEs in Southeast Asia, especially the third-party logistics (3PL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers.

Hi, it’s Kai Chew here. Currently, I work as the Technical Sales Director of Optimiser.com, where I lead a cross-functional team of seven building an end-to-end supply chain management suite for small businesses in Southeast Asia. I'm deeply passionate about creating loved and trusted products that help small business automating their supply chain planning.

TL;DR

LPO automates loading combinations and sequences to maximise utilised space of multiple containers or vehicles while improving offloading productivity.

1. We’re build API-first Load Planning Optimiser for small LTL Carriers.
2. The Problems faced when Loading Space is not Optimised.
3. LPO can maximise lorry fill rate.
4. LPO is about Operational, not Technology.
5. How can LPO help Less-than-truckload (LTL) Carriers?
6. Streamlining Transport Management System (TMS) with LPO.
7. The Features of LPO Prototype.
8. Limitation and Future Development.

1. We’re build API-first Load Planning Optimiser for small LTL Carriers.

A lot of people ask me why we bothered to build Load Plan Optimiser (LPO). It’s a fair question. There are plenty of options out there for container load planning, but the problem was that none of the options were right for small LTL carriers who we consulted. Their small businesses were using papers or at best spreadsheets to keep up with planning in production, workforce or supply chain. They were struggling.

For as many as 80% of the companies here, planning is still done very manually, on whiteboards, notebooks, at most spreadsheets. Big companies have very good software. Big players like POS Malaysia and DHL have invested millions or more in such automating technologies, but these innovations are then limited to just them. These are what we call building blocks or blueprints. The irony is that small companies need it more, the blueprint of success. Most small and medium-sized enterprises cannot afford to buy the relevant automating software as well because most of what is available in the market today will cost them hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. We’re looking at family-business transporters who have five or 10 lorries, maybe 50 and there’s no way they’re going to spend that kind of money.

Our customers weren’t happy, and neither were we. This was a real acute problem that we saw in the industry and wanted to help solve. So we looked for a better solution. Unfortunately, what we found was that the container load planning software on the market was way more than our clients needed, packed with features that they would never use, most of the system were all cluttered and overwhelming. At the same time functional silos.

Imagine 100% visibility in real time, an integrated view stretching not just across the enterprise, but extending to the wider ecosystem, i.e. suppliers, retailers, manufacturers, outsource partners, customers, … etc, with a cost that is as inexpensive as purchasing a RM 15 coffee per day.

2. The Problems faced when Loading Space is not Optimised.

Loading multiple cargos into lorries seems simple. However, if the loading capacity of the lorry is not maximised, load planners have to order more lorries (transportation cost) or leaving cargos on the dock (warehouse cost). Wasted space is wasted money. Besides that, without the optimised space and arrangement, the problems are more than about costs:

1. the offloading process will consume more energy and time in multiple stops. Transporting time-sensitive freight as well as fresh and frozen food products, introduces additional constraints since these goods must be delivered within a limited time.
2. the unused space around each cargo leaves room for them to move. They may slide into each other, fall if stacked or worse causing damage to the cargos. Dangerous chemicals or other hazardous materials could then leak out, leading to further safety issues in addition to environmental contamination.
3. shipments that are not optimised may violent the shipping requirements, which lead to fines and other penalties, including losing licenses or certifications. Failure to comply with the rules and requirements that are specified in contract will likely result in voiding the contract.
4. when a shipment’s weight isn’t distributed properly, cargos stacked on top of each other may suddenly fall and damage. It’s also possible a lorry could even tip over if the weight is shifted to one side.

3. LPO can maximise lorry fill rate.

The lorry fill rate can be maximised and the number of movements required to offload can be minimised, by analysing a large amount of possible combinations and arrangements of cargos loading into multiple lorries, utilising the powerful optimisation engine and mathematical models or techniques. We want to:

• Expense↓ Profit↑: Loading more cargos with less containers and fuels. Free up premium warehouse storage space. Predicting the transportation costs in advance.
• Save Time: Improve loading / offloading productivity, free up valuable time and faster delivery to customers.
• Less Damages: Protecting fragile cargos from damages with compatibility and limit orientation / placement.
• Easy Loading: Simple visual instructions to guide the loading step-by-step. No experience needed. Everyone can load.

Load Plan Optimiser (LPO) is a web app that automates loading combinations and sequences to maximise the fill rate of multiple containers or vehicles and improve offloading productivity.

4. LPO is about Operational, not Technology.

We believe that whether a new technology is used or not, all starting point of a project should be driven by business needs. We don’t implement a technology because everyone is talking about it, but leveraging technology as a tool to solve our business challenges.

We’re not building yet another load planning software. LPO is API-first design, a module of an end-to-end supply chain management suite. APIs aren’t only for Developers. LPO API serves as a powerful communication tool between supply chain management platforms and give small businesses the ability to expand their offerings, making their services easier to use for their customers and provide additional revenue streams. Smart business people recognise that these upsides are good for their bottom line and see an API as a solution, rather than as just a three-letter-acronym they don’t fully understand.

Customers will use LPO API because it removes the need and operational costs for them to build, maintain and evolve it themselves. Therefore freeing resource up to focus on their core capabilities. With that in mind, LPO API not only has to be fundamentally better than what they could achieve themselves, but actively create new opportunities for them to add value to their business.

LPO’s modularity and customisability allows logistical SMEs to start small and gradually grow towards their unique requirements over time, while avoiding functional silos. We make it super simple for them to seamless integrate and manage load planning from their applications. It was built with a minimal feature set that anyone can use, and we left out everything else.

Here are why LPO better than the available load planning products in the market:

• Try immediately on the Cloud: No download, no installation and no gatekeepers (sales representatives).
• Online support by supply chain subject matter experts.
• Offline support in Southeast Asia, especially if you’re in pre-digitalisation stage, we will help you getting consistent data.
• We’re focusing more on your business operation, less on modeling aspects.
• LPO is built for small businesses, so very affordable compared to other off-the-shelf packaged solutions.
• No clutter. No complexity. No extra features to confuse and overwhelm.

5. How can LPO help Less-than-truckload (LTL) Carriers?

Carriers are the firms that provides transportation services, typically owning and operating transportation equipment. Examples include: trucking company, railroad, airline, steamship line and parcel/express company.

Less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers move goods from many different customers on one lorry. The primary advantage of using a LTL carrier is cost. The price of sending a shipment using a LTL rather than a Full Truckload (FTL) carrier is significantly lower. The LTL carrier competes with parcel carriers, who generally will not accept shipments of more than 70 to 100 kgs in weight. This competition gives usually results in LTL carriers offering lower rates per pound than parcel carriers.

Load Plan Optimiser (LPO) helps LTL carriers to plan their loading using the most efficient distribution of cargos in the given containers or vehicles, to maximise the fill rate of containers or vehicles and minimise offload efforts. The carriers just need to enter the dimensions and constraints to be loaded and LPO will generate a high quality 3D load plan. The detailed plan and visualisation of the distribution of loads allows carriers to save several hours a week on loading and unloading vehicles. In addition, the number of damaged loads is decreasing, so unplanned expenses can drop to a minimum.

If you’re a 3PL working with LTL carriers, you can generate a print report with details of the loading plan or share the result with your carriers via a link.

6. Streamlining Transport Management System (TMS) with LPO.

Transportation Management System (TMS) provides fleet management and monitoring system under one platform. Many LTL carriers leverage TMS to manage and move their cargos from the manufacturers to the final points of consumption, efficiently and cost effectively. Currently, the traditional TMS subscribers have to guess how to load their cargos into the lorries, which might allow a big safety margin of unoccupied space.

Malaysian economy and competition require optimisation of the logistic chains. Transportation costs constitute a significant part of overall logistics cost. By streamlining the lorry route and load planning, a TMS provider can help their existing and potential customers in saving transportation and operational costs up to 15%.

With the better customer satisfaction and end-to-end transportation planning, the customers are more willing to increase their investment in current and future products. As well as, they will be the advocates of the TMS provider, referring to their close networks, to save more in less efforts.

Without building a lorry loading capacity optimisation system from scratch, TMS providers can leverage the standardised interface of LPO API and perfectly integrate into their TMS software easily. The end users can simply insert cargos from TMS interface or directly calling the orders from any Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, including the numbers and constraints of the lorry’s loading space. The API will automatically delivers a loading space layout, which shows the arrangement of cargos in specific lorries under consideration of all restrictions.

If you’re a TMS or CMS provider who interested to integrate a LPO API into your software solution, feel free to contact us. We can help you to decide which API is best fit for your software or customers. We also provide customisation from scratch, including the 3D Visualisation system.

7. The Features of LPO Prototype.

Here’s a rundown of the list of features in the v1.0.0 release:

Cargos

• Quantity: You can define the number of cargos for a specific type.
• Heterogeneous: You can load the heterogeneous cargos, not limited to only homogeneous cargos. The proper combination of heterogeneous cargos with different orientations to yield maximum container volume utilisation. Different mix of cargos will give different solutions.
• Dimension: You can define the length, width and height (Volume) of each cargo or as a type.
• Weight: You can define the weight of each cargo or as a type.
• Sequence: You can define the offloading priority of the cargos, based on First In, Last Out (FILO).
• Orientation: You can define the orientation or rotation constraints, either y-axes turn only (length-width) or fully rotatable, for each cargo or as a type.
• Stackability: You can define if a cargo can be stacked on top or not stackable. And, upper cargo should have smaller surface area.

Vehicles / Containers

• Quantity: You can define the number of vehicles or containers for a specific type.
• Maximum Volume: You can put a limit to the cube capacity for the total volume of cargos loaded.
• Boundary-crossing: Your cargos will be placed within the vehicle or container space without overlapping each other.
• Maximum Weight: You can put a limit to the weight capacity for the total weight of cargos loaded.

Others

• Rest API: Integrating Load Plan Optimiser into your CMS or TMS system to streamline the order, load and route processes.
• 3D Visualisation: A 3D planogram of the non-intersected position of the cargos in the containers or vehicles.
• Sequence List: Simple visual instructions to guide the loading step-by-step. No experience needed. Everyone can load.
• Color and Label: For easy recognition of cargos.
• Sharing / Export: Share the load plan and visualisation with another person with the right to view.
• User friendly: It is web based, no installation is needed and it is super easy to use, don’t require any training. Get started at once.

8. Limitation and Future Development

The quality of the solution and computational execution time for different container capacity and different dimensions of cargos. The cargos are not including other types, which are the unit load, crate, pallet, cylinder, … etc, even though it can be applied without issues most of the time. Some other less prioritised real-life constraints are not included that will be developed in the future:

• Maximum Distributed Weight / Axle loading: Distributing weight evenly from side to side, ensures that trailers are more stable and cargos don’t get displaced in transit. And looking back to front: pallets and/or loose items should be placed such that the axle weight limitations are honoured. This ensures that there is not too much weight on a single axle. It improves safety and avoid a penalty for axle overload. Point of Gravity (POG): Real point & Ideal point - Center of Gravity indication. (Front & Rear)
• Cargos Spacing: A small space provided between the packed bins for smooth loading and unloading, which some of the traditional algorithms had failed to take into account (corner casting, airflow space).
• Shape of Cargos: Cube, Rectangular prism, Cylinder (square or intersect), Sphere + unit load, crate, carton/box, pallet. Crates are usually of uniform size while boxes may stack in many more combinations.
• Shape of Vehicles: rectangular, 1 or 2 slope top, 1 or 2 slope bottom - slope length & height.
• Filling: The stability of the packed bins inside the container while travelling through air / sea / roadways. Stability of the cargos plays a major role in transporting them to various locations. Instability is mainly due to packing of heterogeneous shaped cargos, arbitrary sized cargos and placing cargos over other cargos with different surface profiles, lead to empty space. Instability will lead to cargo collision and internal cargo damage. Cargo collision can be avoided by placing airbags or spacers between the cargos. Such filling will automatically increase the freight rate and in turn the product cost.
• Use of Wooden Pallets or Packing first: Wooden pallets have to be provided under the cargos for easy loading and unloading. The wooden pallets will occupy space and less cargos can be loaded. Need to consider pallet weight too.
• Stackability (advanced): Heavier cargos have to be placed towards driver cabin side on the vehicle and cannot be placed on top of lighter cargos. Floor (bottom) only or non-floor (middle, top) only? Maximum number of stacks. Stacking tolarance levels.
• Tiltability
• Compatibility / Crushing / Fragility: Don’t put soda on top of potato chips / don’t mix fragrant items with foods.
• Ease of material handling
• Proximity of goods
• Delivery due date / Shipment Priority
• Transportation cost
• Profit
• GDPR compliant: At all times, you can see what data is saved through your account, and also delete it whenever you want. Please look at our Privacy Policy to read more.
• Import data through Excel:
• Out of Cage cargos: Loading of oversized goods for open trailers. With our Open tops, Flatracks, Platforms and MAFI’s for the ocean containers, Flatbeds and Lowbeds for the road, it works as smoothly as with normal cargo. And if you can not find the particular container you are looking for - it’s easy to create a customised one!
• Container Advisor: suggest the optimal container size or optimal mix of container sizes for your shipment based on shipping cost rather than just space.
• Flat loading: If the truck or container is only partially full, one click will rearrange the load to use more of the floor space, generally improving weight distribution and stability.
• Others: temperature control, hazardous.
• Faster Computational Time: The time taken for digital machines to generate a desired packing pattern. The evolution time of most of the methods increases with increase in the search space, based on the nature and number of parameters involved.
• Export as PDF: The PDF file contains a visualisation from the top, left, right view. There are also information about loading space, weight and free LDM.
• Packing list documents: A packing list document must be created for any export shipment travelling by sea freight (FCL, LCL or Breakbulk) or airfreight.
• Big library of containers: The most common sea containers, trailers, ULDs, ocean containers, road trailers, air containers, pallets and breakbulk are already there. Saving frequently used load spaces.

I’m proud to say that LPO is the product that I wish existed back when I was looking for the perfect load planning API into supply chain management. And I’m also proud that our customers agree. Whether you’re ready to move on from paper, or you’re fed up with complicated spreadsheet, I’m confident that you’ll love it. And if, for any reason, you don’t think that LPO is the best way for your small business to handle load planning— if it doesn’t make your team more productive and your customers happier — then you won’t pay a ringgit.

If you’re interested with our progress, remember to follow us and subscribe our mailing list. Email me at kaichew(at)optimiser(dot)com to let me know what you think.

#loadplanning #transportation #supplychain