Solve Manufacturer's Pallet Loading Problem (MPLP) with Practical Warehouse Constraints

Abstract

This study presents a two-phase algorithm for solving the Manufacturer's Pallet Loading Problem (MPLP) while considering overhang and stability constraints using a block approach. The MPLP involves determining a loading pattern that can load the most identical rectangular boxes onto a larger rectangular pallet. The proposed model is developed to obtain the maximum number of boxes that could be loaded onto a layer considering and without considering the overhang according to eight predetermined block arrangements (BAs) in the first phase. Then, the obtained overhang solutions are checked against the stability constraint in the second phase. Finally, the maximum number of boxes per layer is determined based on the results from the two phases. The validity and the performance of the proposed algorithm have been tested on available datasets in the literature. The proposed algorithm increased the number of boxes per layer; one to six boxes while considering overhang and stability, improving the pallet area utilization by 2.5% up to 14.3% for the tested datasets.