Nested-item packing

Nesting-compatible items were bundled before box selection, then evaluated with the remaining order items in candidate boxes.

Industry: Retail / Household goods
Decision family: Spatial planning
Evaluation scope: Packing experiment

Customer identity and identifying operational details are withheld.

The operating decision

Treating every item as a separate solid can waste the inner space of nestable shapes and force a larger box.

Inputs: Order contents · Item shape and inner dimensions · Nesting compatibility · Candidate box sizes
Decision: Nestable bundles · Placement of bundles and remaining items · Box selected per order
Constraints: Shape-specific nesting feasibility · Entire bundle contained in the box · Compatibility of remaining items

How it is approached

Identify compatible nesting
Check the inner height and shape of items that can nest, then form eligible bundles. Nesting is not assumed for every item.
Pack the changed item geometry
Evaluate each bundle together with the rest of the order, checking that the resulting arrangement fits entirely in the candidate box.
Compare against separate-item packing
Compare box choices, packaging area and calculation effort under matching order assumptions, keeping the illustrative example separate from the experiment.

Packing geometry, shown in the original experiment.

Alternative packing arrangement from the original experiment. — A second original packing arrangement from the experiment.

Packing experiment

Validation & scope

This was an assumption-based packing experiment comparing nesting with no nesting over a defined order set and candidate-box set. The illustration and aggregate comparison have different scopes; the result does not establish realized material or operating savings.