Truck Load Planning Software: Essentials, Benefits, and Features

In the context of significant technological changes transforming shipping and transportation services, load planning software is becoming an indispensable tool for the logistics industry. Supply chain management is becoming complex, with an increasing number of goods, modes of transportation, and destinations. Effectively coordinating the safe and efficient loading and unloading of goods is critical to support logistics operations. Implementing modern technologies such as load planning software can meet these challenges, ensuring optimal resources utilization and increased efficiency.

As an IT provider with 12+ years of experience in logistics software development, we are here to share our expertise with you and explore how to build load plan software to help logistics and transportation companies enhance the efficiency of their operations.

Before talking about all the benefits and peculiarities of the load planner system, it’s worth starting with the basics, namely, load planning meaning.

Load planning, also called load optimization, implies the process of consolidating shipment to use the power of trucks, railcars, pallets, and any other kinds of containers in the most effective manner. The main goal is to cut down transportation costs by reducing the number of vehicles on the road. Moreover, optimizing loading prevents cargo damage, saves loading and unloading time, and boosts clients' satisfaction resulting in higher customer loyalty.

When deciding to build a load planning software, you should also consider container and trailer types and make it possible to switch between them easily. You might not utilize all kinds of containers to ship your items, so concentrate on the ones that you need.

Containers can be divided depending on the mode of transportation and products types:

• Standard maritime containers (e.g., general-purpose, flat rack containers, open-top containers, etc.)
• Railroad transportation containers (e.g., high cube containers)
• Air freight containers are also called Unit Load Devices
• Shipping containers (e.g., dry van, step deck, flatbed, etc.)

With so many options available, it’s pretty challenging to load the maximum number of orders into a single container. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered, such as a vehicle's specifications (refrigeration, for instance), loading sequence, destinations, type of cargo, and much more.

In addition to that, a manual approach is a tedious task, leading to substantial operational overhead. Plus, your embarkation specialists’ job can be complicated by the number of items increased in the vehicle or container, primarily if they deal with odd-shaped objects. That's why you need load optimization software to take the inefficiency out of the cargo planning.

The load planning system can help your business do more optimal load planning, lowering the transportation cost and reducing the carbon footprint by simply needing fewer truckloads. This technology solution automatically creates a loading plan for your route, evaluates and streamlines each pallet during the pick, pack, and ship processes. Then, after optimizing your routes, the system ensures an effective loading process into your trucks.

Load planning software is a tool that plays a key role in optimizing loading and distribution processes. With its help, companies can efficiently use the space of transport units, minimize costs, and ensure safe delivery of goods. Among the companies that need cargo load planning software are:

Forming optimal cargo is crucial for different logistics industry players, especially those who deal with loading multiple goods. Thus, let’s take a quick look at two main truck load planner approaches.

Full container loads (FCL) or full truckloads (FTL) shipping is cheaper than partial loads shipments (in price per unit or cubic meter comparison) and easier as it requires fewer arbitrators. These types of shipments imply that shippers (manufacturers and retailers) stuff the shipping containers themselves and turn them over to the carrier to deliver to the last destination.

The challenge arises if such freight consists of diversified items. In this case, shippers and carriers that move mixed cargo and/or manage different kinds of packaging have to define how to stack their freight in the trailer in the best possible way. This is where it’s better to consider consolidated shipments using truck and container loading software.

Less-than-truckload (LTL) and less-than-container load (LCL) transportations engage freight consolidation to reduce shipping costs. That implies carriers, 3PL (third-party logistics partners), and freight forwarding organizations that deal with numerous shippers have to combine cargo and arrange it in the truck considering different restrictions like balance, fragility, stackability, etc.

So, if you appeal to a transportation company to move, for example, auto spare parts, it will be LTL shipping, and the carrier will mix your goods with other freight. After that, the consolidator gathers such LCL loads from all shippers and uses a container load planner to group them into FCLs. Then, when the cargo is delivered to the destination port, it is deconsolidated and dispatched by truck right to the end customer's adress.

The problem is that load plan software development is complicated and error-prone if made by hand. So, applying specialized software can enhance the load planning process, save time, and gain the load calculations accuracy. But, the keystone of implementing load planning software in cooperation with a reliable technical company with confirmed expertise in Logistics software development services.

It’s time to consider the functionality needed to build load optimization software. We’ve put together basic (MVP) and advanced features to make this section more useful for you.

The core idea behind the MVP is to create a truck load platform with enough functionality to satisfy basic business needs, considering all the security matters. MVP development service will allow you to get a working product without investing a lot of money in creating a full-fledged software solution. After you ensure product viability, you can add more sophisticated features.

Axle weight balancing

This feature automatically adjusts load plans to balance weight distributed to each axle according to the chosen tractor-trailer configuration.

Side-to-side balancing

Like axle balancing capabilities, this feature allows logistics staff members to ensure that the trailer is not getting out of balance from a side-to-side basis by more than certain utmost.

Container capacities and assignments

Each cargo has its own place and is assigned to a specific container. There may be numerous containers in each position as well as different classes of containers (e.g., pallets, undersized pallets, coolers, totes). And each container varies depending on its own capacity. This feature allows logistics managers to assign the products to different kinds of containers based on their characteristics.

Sequence picking

Commonly, containers are designed to be positioned in a way that minimizes the length of the pick path (such as by utilizing the number of aisles to be covered and the distance between those aisles). This functionality makes it possible to determine the proper pick sequence to reduce selection time.

Capacity override by door and position

Certain positions within a trailer may be appointed as limited capacity due to being close to a door, or there may be restraints in the ceiling such as cooling units or roll-doors. This functionality makes it possible to place the cargo considering these limitations.

Stackability

This feature allows managers to control product assignment to particular containers to avoid damaging other items when goods are stacked onto each other.

Bulk products

Load software can automatically detect the goods in each load that should be bulk-loaded (e.g., full pallets of an item) to remove crate picking in the warehouse and boost employees’ productivity.

Double-stacking

Double-stacking of pallets within a trailer refers to a specific loading strategy and the in-built algorithm automatically identifies which positions are single-stacked and which are double-stacked relying on load volume and axle loading assessments.

Quick-max capacity

Generally, loads are built using fixed standard capacity. This feature is valuable if you deal with large-volume loads, allowing managers to quickly choose a maximum capacity so that the items are loaded as tightly as possible. In addition, all the products are automatically displayed on the diagram, preventing excessive manual intervention.

Unlimited trailer types

This feature is required for multi-modal shipping. In this case, logistics experts need to consider various kinds of trailers to model equipment available for loading. The trailer types can differ depending on multiple characteristics such as number of positions, capacities, pinwheel configurations, compartments, door positions, etc.

Flexible unload sequencing

The diagramming algorithm mainly employs a stop sequence to allocate goods so that they're seamlessly unloaded at each stop. There are also options, allowing loaders to upload needed products before others at the given stop.

Customers’ overrides

Most load planning options may be adjusted based on customer-specific delivery requirements. For instance, to boost the efficiency of dock deliveries, some clients demand that pallet contents not be mixed with other goods for next stops.

Split item control

With flexible batching of different product types, controls may be realized that either eliminate or reduce an item for one delivery destination being divided into more than one pallet.

Load planning software development and implementation can be performed in many directions. We’ll describe the standard approach for logistics product creation, but the number of stages can differ depending on your business needs and requirements.

Firstly, you need to define your product’s requirements and business goals: what business challenges our client wants to solve. For example, you want to increase payload capacity to avoid factors such as wasted fuel and the “empty space problem.” Or you may need an automated solution to reduce overhead due to load and route planning optimization and better control of vehicles. Your business requirements and goals will help a technical vendor create the detailed project’s specification and select the right tech stack fitting your unique business needs.

Before integrating truck loading software, you should also think of the cargo placement in the transit vehicle. And here are some questions to consider:

• Should freight be located on the floor?
• Should load be positioned per order or stop off?
• Should goods be placed in a de­fined ratio?
• Should there be a maximum allowed layer or supporting weight?
• Should freight be floor loaded or in unit loads?
• Should freight have a certain standard when located in unit loads?
• Should loose freights be positioned on a mixed pallet?
• Should freight be stacked on another for stability and to reduce damage?

Answering these questions is essential, mainly if you deal with large-size or fragile cargo.

The load optimization software development will be better performed with a professional IT partner with deep expertise in the logistics domain. But how to find a reliable vendor? We’ll give you some hints of what to pay attention to while choosing logistics software development partner.

• Analyze tech expertise in logistics. Look for software vendor with industry experience who specialize in developing logistics solutions.
• Examine customer reviews. Check reviews on platforms like Clutch or GoodFirms to gauge satisfaction and service quality.
• Familiarize yourself with vendor’s portfolio. Review portfolios to see the technical vendor's ability to solve logistics challenges.
• Assess technical skills. Verify the IT company's competence in software development technologies and their application to logistics.
• Check the communication policies. Ensure the software vendor's team is willing to discuss project details openly and answer your questions regularly.

Solution Design phase includes identifying and analysis of your business requirements and challenges to draft a high-level feature list and solution architecture for future load plan software solution. Considering your goals and constraints, the software vendor estimates project costs and proposes tailored solutions within about two weeks.

The Discovery Phase services offered by the software vendor streamline project requirements into a comprehensive plan, expediting load plan software development. Your logistics software excperts develop a detailed feature list, analyze business processes, and facilitate a quality attributes workshop. They create a design concept and UX map, provide cost estimates, conduct competitor analysis, and assemble a dedicated team to build your logistics solution. Upon agreement, they proceed to sign a development contract, ensuring transparent collaboration.

You can choose between the two options of load planning and scheduling software development:

• Standalone solution development: Creating a unique load planning software product that fully meets your needs and objectives.
• Integration with existing systems (TMS): Align the new load plan solution with your current traffic management systems (TMS), ensuring they are interoperable and complementary.

Like any other IT solution, truck load planning software is typically developed during sprints, which are two-week intervals for certain functionality fulfillment and integration of various tools, e.g. trucking APIs. Each sprint starts with a planning session and ends with delivering a working product or feature. All teams are directed by PMI-certified project managers who can clearly communicate the requirements and coordinate workflow and communication between stakeholders and the team.

If there is an established business process with other systems, we set up an integration algorithm to implement a new solution into existing processes. Here are some load planner integration options:

Integration with routing tools. Loading sequence is critical for consolidated cargo that encompasses multiple stops for either reloading, pick up, or drop off. Since routing software generates the delivery routes and schedules, sharing this data with a load planner would make it possible to create of loads with the most optimal loading sequence.

Integration with business management systems. It’s also valuable to establish a two-side integration with your business management system, including:

• Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
• Transportation management system development
• Warehouse and inventory management system
• Customer relationship systems (CRM)

Combining different pieces of software into a single system will allow you to centralize and interconnect all your supply chain features and tools. This will improve workflow efficiency and prevent any disruption in the supply chain management system, ultimately reducing the freight cost of shipping.

Integration with business intelligence (BI) and analytics tools. Monitoring performance is critical for effective decision-making. For example, knowing how much cargo you move, how loaded your trailers are, how load planning affects delivery time, etc., can help you get valuable insights and make further modifications to streamline your supply chain and digital transformation performance.

Cargo planning software solutions are complex interconnected systems that may require multi-tier technical support options and maintenance services. This work may include support for the deployed software, version upgrades, adding new functionality, code optimization, etc.

In this section, we’ll briefly discuss some leading SaaS-based load optimization software, allowing shippers and carriers to digitize manual operation throughout the load planning processes. The majority of such solutions are universal and can be applied in different industries, but there are also suppliers that offer industry-specific ones.

General-purpose load planner software tools cover loading pallets, truck trailers, standard shipping containers, rarely air, sea, rail, and land transportation. The example of such a solution is EasyCargo.

EasyCargo is a user-friendly truck planning tool with rich functionality and open API documentation for allowing integration with the business ecosystem. You can enter your items, and the software calculates the loading plan for you. The load-plan results are shown in an interactive 3D model and also can be adjusted manually, if you wish to.

Omnimodal load planning software solutions focus on several kinds of transportation, thus requiring software that supports a large number of containers/trucks as well as complies with safety standards and other constraints. The most prominent example of multimode solutions is MercuryGate.

MercuryGate is a freight management system that allows for managing cargo across any mode of delivery and submitting a load planner as one of its modules. The system enables carriers to procure, plan, optimize, execute, and settle their cargo movements with full rein toward visibility.

Weight and balance are critical for air transportation. So, when planning loads, the weight of crew and passengers has to be taken into account. Also, freight has to be allocated so that the center of gravity is sustained throughout the flight. Automatic aircraft cargo load planning can significantly simplify loading process for aviation. CHAMP's Weight & Balance is a leading player in the industry.

CHAMP's solution is a powerful tool specifically designed and optimized for freighter aircraft to make the load planning more effective, cut costs, and increase space utilization. Besides, the load optimization software also generates required legal documents and is essential to the safety of operating an aircraft, all while integrating smoothly into your existing business systems.

Along with trucks and aircraft, ships carry an incredible amount of mixed freight, making robust load planning software crucial to ensure efficient space utilization and safe transportation.

AMT Marine Software is one of the most striking representatives of this type. The service offers a variety of ship planning products depending on the set of cargo shipped: RoRo cargo, general cargo, oversized and overweight cargo, etc. Moreover, the company provides consultancy services to experts in the marine transportation industry.

Even though there are a lot of ready-made solutions to choose from, not all are managed to cover your unique business needs. Moreover, off-the-shelf solutions are harder (in some cases, impossible) to integrate with the existing systems, while managing logistics solutions separately isn’t efficient. So it’s better to focus on custom app development to get a scalable solution meeting your load planning logic. Making a personalized product means getting load planning software highly adaptable to your enterprise's business logic, its processes, and units.

Let’s discuss how exactly software solutions can help you enhance loading performance.

It is essential to reduce operational and delivery costs to maintain profit margins and keep customers satisfied using the truck load planner software. Improved loading and routing operations lead to decreased mileage, driver costs, and greater delivery capacity, resulting in enhanced profit margins. Competitive pricing can help you acquire new business without impacting your profitability.

Managers are often insecure about whether a given load matches the vehicle's size without automated load plan software. Because of this, they typically hold off on rising trailer capacities and push back on high-volume loads. Applying advanced algorithms, truck loading software allows you to optimize the cargo space, resulting in better trailer utilization. Logistics personnel can determine the maximum load the truck can carry based on cargo volume, weight, and dimension.

Manual load planning involves human errors resulting in delays, improper time and resource management, and low productivity. This, in turn, leads to high operational costs. With truck load planner solutions, there is no need for manual number processing for determining the most optimal delivery route or selecting the right truck and driver for a load. As a result, you'll be able to reduce labor costs and quickly adapt to last-minute orders and directions from clients.

Customers demand accurate and quick delivery services. Using automated diagrams built under your business guidelines and clients’ requirements, you'll be able to plan loads correctly each time. This also means that creating load diagrams isn’t dependent on the individual employee, which needs to keep rules remembered, and you aren’t concerned when that person wants to take a leave.

Efficient load planning software ensures that cargo is properly secured and distributed within the vehicle, minimizing the risk of accidents during transportation. By adhering to safety regulations and guidelines, businesses can reduce the likelihood of damage to goods and mitigate potential issues.

Container load planning software streamlines workflow processes by automating repetitive tasks and eliminating manual errors. With features such as real-time data updates and automated notifications, logistics personnel can manage load assignments more efficiently, leading to smoother operations and improved overall workflow productivity.

Cleveroad is a logistics software development company from Estonia helping businesses create any-scale software solutions, including WMS, TMS, Load Planning Software Freight Rate Management System, etc. With over 12+ years in software development, we have built up expertise in multiple domains, among which Logistics takes a leading position.

Our team has proven expertise in developing logistics solutions such as TMS, WMS, SCM, ERP, and other custom solutions that help transportation companies reduce operational costs, optimize inventory usage, decrease delivery time, and improve business efficiency. We start cooperation with in-depth business analysis to guarantee you concrete business values and high-quality outcomes.

By collaborating with us, you’ll receive a row of benefits such as:

• Practical experience in logistics software development: load planning software, warehouse management systems, transportation management systems, electronic resource planning, etc.
• Consultation on your development and integration of your solution with our logistics subject matter experts
• Full-cycle logistics software development services, including custom load planning system development, Discovery Phase, UI/UX design,
• On-demand IT services: cloud logistics solutions development, legacy software modernization services, IT consulting, managed IT services, etc.
• Signing of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) upon your request at the first contact.
• Flexible cooperation models based on your needs: Staff Augmentation, Dedicated Development Team, Time & Material, Fixed Workscope

Recently, we’ve delivered one of the logistics management solutions, namely, transportation management system (TMS). The platform has a built-in automated route planning module to cut costs on planning, optimize fuel management, and create an organic and coordinated logistics ecosystem.

We’ve successfully delivered end-to-end TMS, including the following modules (but is not limited to them):

A Fleet management module helps the company track and manage fleets. For example, fleet managers can create a group of vehicles utilized in transportation flow and modify it due to changing business processes.

Delivery points management module allows TMS users to determine everyday work location and track data changes in real-time.

An Access system for company staff enables access level management according to the employees’ role RBAC approach.

We have also added a “Jobs for delivery” module that allowed integration with existing WMS and CRM systems for smooth data transmission.

Logistics is a complex industry requiring a severe approach to implementing industry-specific software. Our team is prepared to help you architect a top-notch custom software solution for load planning and other parts of the supply chain. We’ll also take care of the entire software development life cycle: from the Discovery phase to maintenance for the long term. Let's cooperate and develop a powerful logistics solution in tune with your time, budget, and expectations.