Product damage down 50-75%

Learning curve reduce 80%

Case pick loader productivity up 15-20%
Shipment size increased 4-8%

Application, Features, and Benefits

Revised September 2015
  Product damage down 50-75%
 Learning curve reduce 80%
 Case pick loader productivity up 15-20%
 Shipment size increased 4-8%

Reduce logistics costs

APAL (AutoPalletP3 + AutoLoaderT3)
APAL is proven to reduce logistics cost by applying accurate, warehouse workers are often entry level and
optimization to guide order selection and truck loading. many speak different languages.
APAL is a high-volume, industrial-grade multi-user
software that bolts onto a warehouse management APAL was developed for Procter & Gamble in 1992.
system (WMS) to create damage-free, efficient, mixed Covered by a secrecy agreement, APAL could not be
pallets, direct their creation and staging as well as marketed for many years. When P&G finally lifted this
placement on the vehicle. restriction Nestle became its second adopter. APAL
has now spread throughout the world: Europe, Asia,
APAL is made up of two pieces that work together: Australasia and North America.
AutoPalletP3 that handles case picking in conjunction
with AutoLoaderT3 that handles loading pallets and Savings come in areas such as dramatically reduced
loose cases on the truck. worker learning curve, faster pick execution, fewer
damaged cases and bigger (and hence fewer)
Together, AutoPalletP3 + AutoLoaderT3 = APAL: shipments loaded faster.
 Builds pallets to fit in the available truck
space P&G reported APAL saving 13¢ per case.
 Stages them in sequence for efficient
truck loading
 Creates a loading sequence that ensures
legal, damage-free transit

APAL is proven through repeated application. APAL

works in the real world where data is not always

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 Application

APAL cuts warehouse labor and

eliminates damage
In warehouses that pick cases and load trucks APAL helps the most
APAL increases productivity. Procter & Gamble
showed that case-pick productivity increased
20% while damage declined by more than 50%. APAL helps the most when one of the following is
APAL provides the worker with easy-to-follow present:
instructions on how to pick the case to the pallet
and where to put the pallet on the truck. APAL  Case-pick volumes exceed 10,000 per day or
works as a “black-box” looking at thousands of more than 20 trucks are loaded each day
options in the background using multiple
constraints and objectives to come up with the  Shipments suffer from a high-degree of damage
best balance of worker efficiency as well as or pallets are difficult to assemble. See the
pallet and load quality. example to the right that features large
cases/small pallet footprint - a requirement that
With order selectors building pallets to the all high-value cases are visible and open case
correct height and weight, and staging of picking
completed picked pallets according to the APAL
instructions (sent via the WMS) fork-lift-truck  There is seasonality and it is important to quickly
drivers are able to quickly load the truck and be
get workers up to speed
sure that the axles are legal and the load will
arrive damage free.
 Loads are big – using more than 95% of a
truck’s capacity
The benefits don’t stop there
 There are issues with axles being over-weight or
With APAL providing the guidance, every order shipments are to/from difficult-to-ship-to-states
selector and every loader becomes better than
like California
the most experienced person. Loads are
consistent and can be built, for example, within
a few hundred pounds of the truck’s carrying
capacity. Being able to consistently build loads
nearer to equipment capacity –without cuts or
damage – allowed P & G to give “best price”
when customers ordered more than 8% more
product. In total, P & G told the APICS
conference that APAL saved them 13 cents per
case through this combination of increased
customer shipment size and reduced damage
and labor.

The benefit of APAL is not just savings – but

also customer satisfaction. In a world where
shelf presence is critical, eliminating cuts and
damage are extremely important. APAL
facilitates loading –meaning no cuts for over-
weight axles or product not fitting in the trailer.
The quality of the pick and the quality of the load
generate a consistently good product arriving at
the customer’s warehouse door. All this provides
greater assurance that an undamaged case will
arrive at the shelf.
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APAL helps the most
 Case picking with AutoPalletP3
Capabilities

CRUSH

Highly configurable to meet your APAL eliminates workers’ APAL eliminates damage-- an
customers’ needs compensation claims expensive enemy

APAL is highly configurable black box with APAL can eliminate workers needing to APAL knows that damaging a case to save
more than 300+ parameters controlling make high lifts by breaking each picked a few seconds of labor is a bad trade-off.
everything from pallet height to the pallet/floor spot into two separate, easy- APAL works hard to ensure that cases are
preferred loading pattern in the truck. And to-build parts. For Europe, APAL can always appropriately placed. Using
these configurations can be unique for any insert pallets or slip-sheets into loads technology that calculates the strength
combination of origin, customer whenever a new item is picked to create (crush resistance) of each case, APAL
(destination) or even order. This enables sandwich pallets. How a pallet is ensures that the pressure exerted by the
APAL to replace books of customer-specific constructed is also dependent on how it cases above it won’t cause damage.
requirements and allows order selectors will be loaded in the container or trailer. Similarly, APAL works to eliminate:
and loaders to focus on productive work – So, while a user may set over-all pallet  Placing cases of different heights in
APAL takes care of making sure the height or to minimize floor positions, such a way that another case would
need to straddle the edges of the case
shipment will meet customer specifications. APAL will do its best to honor user-set
and cause damage to the taller case
desires but, ultimately, to avoid damage
APAL handles various sizes of pallets and  Having cases or layers overhanging the
or in the interest of making everything fit
demarcations from Euro and GMA to pallet or the layer below it
in the shipment, may override this.
beverage. APAL even handles when there  Putting products that might leak on top
of any pallet
are a mix of product pallet combinations
Importantly, APAL recognizes that no data
with some being on one demarcation –and
is perfect. It checks each data element and
other products being on different pallets.
fixes those it identifies as wrong.
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 Doing things the way you want them done
Not only does APAL do things the way your customers want them done, but APAL works to minimize travel and meet
the many rules that your best workers know instinctively. When P & G tested the first version of APAL it pitted man
against software. Gary Cool from P & G Iowa City conceded that APAL did things better than he could

Picking eaches to the right case and managing inner-packs

While APAL is generally used to pick product in full cases, it can handle picking eaches
or inner-packs. APAL recognizes the inherent issues with choosing the right size box
and ensuring that items are correctly placed. Similarly, inner packs are managed to
appropriately fit in the total scheme of the pallet and the load.

Various picking approaches

In addition to traditional pick methods like building complete layers, APAL allows for
multiple rules for creating sandwich pallets, for example one SKU per piece of wood, and
picking in columns

APAL manages and optimizes a zoned warehouse

APAL recognizes that a warehouse’s zones can range from an ASRS through man-up
each picking and treats the pallets built in each zone appropriately. APAL also works to
maximize the utilization of such technologies as high-productivity layer pickers without
creating low-cube pallets. APAL can pass pallets for topping off- from one zone to
another while, for example preventing a hand-off in certain directions.

Keep things together that need to be kept together and apart those things that
need to be kept apart

To make unloading easier, APAL tries to keep items in the same family together.
On top Similarly APAL understands that shipping unit loads together that are stored two high
eliminates effort.
Below

At the same time APAL knows, from a user-set cross-compatibility table that, for
example, bleach should never ship on top of powdered cleansers and liquids in
general should always be on the bottom of the pile

To avoid unnecessary travel, APAL utilizes its own warehouse map

In near-real time, APAL acquires information about where every item is located in a
warehouse. But knowing where everything is - is just part of the battle… APAL knows
how to get from one activity to the next and it knows when walls, racks, and one-way
aisles are in the way. APAL works to minimize travel for both the order selector and
the loader – balancing the travel around the warehouse with other objectives.

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 Case picking to support loading
Advanced capabilities

Customer Order
Requirements

Build Pallets
!

Pallet
Profiles
Optimization

Request Pallet
Recalculation

Build Truck Loads !

Case-pick pallets are built with Super sizing pallets–to cut freight Create pallets that avoid situations
loading in mind costs that cause damage and react to
changes on the fly
Building pallets, without considering how To maximize the use of cube or weight
they will be loaded, sometimes requires capacity of a trailer it is sometimes APAL focuses on eliminating situations that
loaders to re-pile product to get picked necessary to split a full unit load across cause damage. In the photo above there
pallets to fit into the spot in the trailer or multiple other unit loads. APAL: are two avoidable problems:
container. In addition to costing
 Determines when this is 1. Stacking a pallet high in the air
valuable time, this process may create without any left/right support
absolutely necessary
damage or worse still; create a “cut” and
2. Leaving large gaps that allow
short-ship the customer.  Establishes the best item to movement of product
split
APAL uses an iterative optimization APAL can create new solutions on the
process to optimally match what the  Follows user-set rules to define fly…so as things change, APAL, working
loader needs with what is most effective which items need pallets or with the WMS can assess, given what has
for the case selector. been picked and loaded, what is the best
slipsheets to create separation
way to continue. So when something is
added or a cut is needed, APAL is ready to
recover.

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Truck loading with AutoLoaderT3
Capabilities

Safe, legal, and damage free APAL understands the limitations Managing multi-stop loads and
of the equipment special material handling
APAL creates loads that are safe and legal requirements
APAL knows that if the inside of a trailer
and arrive damage-free. Each state and
is only 96 inches it can’t turn pallets that APAL keeps stops segregated and in the
country has its own set of laws that APAL
are 49 in wide and put them side by right order. APAL also can make loads so
takes into consideration – knowing, for
side. These are just some of the “real- the can be unloaded with pallet jacks.
example, that in California the rear most axle
world” constraints that APAL uses to
can be no more than 40ft from the kingpin, it APAL can also manage:
configure loads.
configures the load so that no axle exceeds  Double -deck trailers where there
the legal limit. APAL also understands that various are load limits on the upper level As
axle settings, fifth-wheel locations and well as over-all. These limits and
APAL also understands that during transit
tandem-axle settings can greatly impact total load configuration are set for
there are many lateral forces that can cause
load weight distribution. APAL can each trailer or family of trailers.
toppling and fast braking may cause
accurately calculate all these to best
unsupported product to slide forward. To  Floor loading or a combination of
execute the shipment.
avoid unsafe and damage-prone loads, palletized and floor loads
APAL works to support each pallet from Managing double-deck trailers  Keeping certain products together
each and every side. to speed loading/unloading
There are load limits that a double-deck
trailer’s upper level may not exceed.
These limits and total load configuration
are set for each trailer or family of
trailers.

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 Productivity…the key to profits
APAL focuses on improving total supply-chain productivity: Faster loading, quicker picking with less damage,
bigger loads, less re-loads and, ultimately, lower cost

48 Selecting the loading pattern that best suits the load

40
48
40 The user has a high degree of control over the creation of loading patterns.
48 APAL will do its best to honor the loading pattern but, if it jeopardizes the
load being “damage free” or fitting in the trailers, APAL will select the one
40 that is best suited to the load. APAL also allows a definition of where single
Narrow pallets are placed in the load: Center, front, back, turned, or consecutive.
Chimney Wide
Narrow
Block Wide
APAL also can tell loaders where to place airbags for load securement

Everything is set for loader productivity

APAL speeds loading by:

 Ensuring pallets are staged in the correct order

 Minimizing travel in and out of storage

 Minimize the amount of pallet turning that is required

Metrics to ensure quality and productivity

APAL measures everything and drives solution improvements across a wide

range of metrics… from pallet overhang all the way through how closely
matched is the weight on each axle. Each pallet and load receives a score
based on user-set weightings.

APAL provides advanced analytics

APAL measures everything from travel to a bunch of different measures of

quality . This data can be used for example, to determine when it's time to
re-slot.

Advanced 3D diagrams and diagnosis allow key users to quickly understand

constraints that may cause a load not to fit in a trailer

APAL communicates clearly to order selectors and loaders

APAL recognizes that to quickly get new hires productive the instructions it
provides needs to be easy to follow and in the format that they are used to:
 Voice
 RF terminals
 Paper

 3D diagrams

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 APAL – advanced yet simple
The software does the hard work
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When industrial engineers closely measure CPG APAL can be quickly implemented into the latest
warehouse activities, they identify “thinking and Warehouse Management Systems such as eWM, JDA

L
information handling” as being around 28% of an order or your own proprietary system.
selector’s time. APAL converts most of this time to
productive work, increasing cases/hour and loads/shift by
a factor of 15-20%. APAL guides the picking of over two
million cases and thousands of trucks every day.

APAL uses an advanced solution engine that works in

seconds. Since 1992 it has been refined to provide
functionality needed is a wide range of situations on four
continents. APAL uses a pragmatic approach. For
example, while systems groups stress having one
system of record for item master data, experience shows
that the system of record may take weeks to update.
APAL allows for overrides that stay in place until it
receives accurate data.

APAL is a web-enabled system meaning that it can be

hosted by Transportation | Warehouse Optimization and
provided as a service or installed within a company’s
firewall. Each instance can support many warehouses.

APAL’s advanced architecture forms the foundation of

other Transportation | Warehouse Optimization products
such as AutoO2 – Automatic Order Optimization. AutoO2
determines the fewest number of trucks needed to ship a
set amount of requirements.
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 Logistics
savings

Transportation | Warehouse Optimization

4650 Everal Lane
Franklin, TN 37064
615-791-8000

www.WarehouseOptimization.com

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