| name | packing-options |
| description | Enumerate and rank master-carton packing permutations for a product - how many units per carton, arranged which way, giving which carton dimensions - and score each one by units per pallet and units per container. Use when the carton size is not yet fixed, when choosing a case pack, when asked what pack quantity ships best, or when a current carton is suspected of wasting pallet space. |
Packing options
The carton is usually the biggest lever on freight cost and the one people leave
alone. This searches it: every arrangement of every requested pack count, over
every orientation of the unit, filtered by handling limits, then each survivor
priced out to a pallet and a container.
Command
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/freight.py options \
--dims 300x200x150 --weight 1.2 --pallet eur1 --container 20gp
--dims here is one unit, not the carton — the whole point is that the
carton is the output.
| Flag | Default | Meaning |
|---|
--per-carton | 1,2,3,4,6,8,10,12,16,20,24 | Pack counts to try. Narrow it when the buyer has a fixed case pack, widen it when they do not. |
--wall | 5 | Carton wall per side in mm. 5 mm is double-wall corrugate; single-wall is nearer 3 mm. |
--carton-tare | 0.5 | Empty carton weight in kg. |
--max-carton-weight | 20 | Handling limit. 20 kg is a common one-person maximum; 15 kg for repeated lifting, 30 kg where two-person handling is accepted. |
--max-carton-dim | 800 | Longest allowed carton side in mm. |
--pallet / --container | eur1 / 20gp | What the ranking is scored against. |
--max-height | 1800 | Pallet build height. |
--top | 12 | Rows to print. |
Reading the output
Columns are: pack count, the nx x ny x nz arrangement inside the carton, the
resulting external carton, its gross weight, cartons and units per pallet, deck
utilisation, build height, and units per container.
Ranking is by units per container, then deck utilisation, then larger packs.
That is one criterion out of several, so present it as a shortlist rather than an
answer. Before recommending one, weigh:
- Carton cost and count. Ten times as many small cartons at the same load is
worse, not better. A row with 1 unit per carton often ties the top of the table
because it wastes no packaging air — it is the ceiling, not usually the choice.
- What the buyer will accept. Retail case packs, minimum order quantities and
shelf-ready pack rules override geometry.
- What the packer can run. An arrangement that needs an odd insert or a
bespoke box size costs tooling and lead time.
- Handling. Right at the weight limit is a claim and an injury waiting to
happen. Leave headroom.
The module worth knowing
Footprints that are submultiples of 1200 x 800 mm — 600 x 400, 400 x 300,
300 x 200, 200 x 150 — tile a EUR-1 deck at 100% and also tile a 1200 x 1000
deck at 100%. This is ISO 3394, and it is why those numbers turn up everywhere
in European retail packaging. If a shortlisted carton lands near one of those
footprints, nudging it onto the module is usually free and buys the last few
percent of deck.
Once a carton is chosen, run container-load on the carton's external
dimensions to get the shipping figure, and freight-cost to turn it into money.
