Packing & loading
Fit more. Move smarter
4colors fits more into every truck, container and hold. Its algorithms decide what travels, how it is arranged and when it must arrive.
Finalist in the Renault truck-loading challenge. We lead an aircraft cargo-loading project with Airbus.
Volume isn't the whole problem
Two loads with the same total volume can behave very differently. One may fit only if a heavy item sits above fragile cargo.
Another may meet every packing rule but require an extra vehicle because the items cannot be arranged in a usable order.
Real loading is a three-dimensional decision problem, with geometry, physical requirements and logistics connected.
Nine boxes, in the order they arrive. Gaps cost a second container.
Containers used2
Fill rate50%
Illustrative example, not customer data.
Geometry meets operational rules
Placement and orientation
Choose where each item goes and which orientations are allowed. Dimensions, nesting, usable space and access requirements can rule out arrangements that look adequate by volume alone.
Weight, stability and compatibility
Respect stacking limits, distribution of weight and rules about which items may be placed together. Each placement changes the space and support available to the next item.
The wider transport plan
Choose vehicles, group items, meet delivery times and manage inventory or holding costs. A tightly packed truck is of little value if its contents arrive at the wrong time.
How 4colors approaches loading challenges
From the solver engine to ready-made planning apps, pick the level that suits your team.
4colors Optimizer
The solver engine behind every 4colors product. A portfolio of search methods for hard planning decisions in routing, loading, scheduling and allocation, from Python or the API.
Optimizer for Scheduling
Advanced scheduling algorithms for the software you build to manage jobs, machines, people and resources. Due dates, setups and shared resources sit in one model.
Planning Applications
Takt, Roster and Stride bring optimization to production, shift and project planning. When a rush order lands or someone calls in sick, each re-plans within your rules.
Custom Optimization
Original models and algorithms built around your own resources, rules and objectives. We work with your team from the first prototype to a planner that runs in your systems.
Our algorithms at work
| Finalist
Renault truck-loading challenge
Our algorithms tackled complex three-dimensional loading, placement and the logistics decisions around them.
Airbus · ORCA Computing
Aircraft loading on quantum hardware
Hybrid aircraft-loading algorithms tested on gate-based and photonic hardware.
The Renault challenge story shows why optimizing packing geometry alone can miss much of the value. Explore Truck Loading for the underlying problem.
The geometry and decisions behind loading
Explore more use cases- Use case
Everything Fits on Paper. Will It Fit in the Truck?
A loading plan is easy to judge badly. Add up the volume of the items, compare it with the volume of the vehicle and declare that there is enough room.
Explore the use case - Guide
Hard and Soft Constraints: Where a Schedule Can Bend
The distinction between a rule and a preference tells an optimizer what kind of compromise is possible.
Read the guide - Use case
The Shortest Route Is Not Always the Best Route
The map tells us how to get somewhere. The delivery plan has to decide how the whole day will work.
Explore the use case - Insight
The Hidden Value of Defining Constraints
Before solving a planning problem, a team can discover that it has never agreed on the meaning of its own rules.
Read the insight