Solving the Pallet Loading Problem More Efficiently

Abstract

This paper looks at the packing problem called the’pallet loading problem’ (PLP for short) — that of finding an optimal layout for identical rectangular boxes on a rectangular pallet (a problem of type (3, B, O, C) according to the typology of Dyckhoff). Practical considerations usually require that the boxes must be placed orthogonally (i.e. with the box edges parallel to the pallet edges), and in layers in which the vertical orientation of the boxes is fixed. These restrictions mean that the problem is reduced to the two-dimensional problem of packing a large containing rectangle, orthogonally, with identical copies of a small ‘contained’ rectangle (type (2, B, O, C)). This problem is commonly referred to as pallet loading problem as well.