Unit load

A unit load can be packed tightly into a warehouse rack, intermodal container, truck or boxcars, yet can be easily broken apart at a distribution point, usually a distribution center, wholesaler, or retail store for sale to consumers or for use.

A systems-based approach to unit load design uses software tools and lab testing to create a package that uses just the right amount of material to protect the product, make for safe handling and transportation and minimize the use of non-recyclable materials.

[4] Companies must now consider sustainability when determining how their packaging products will be reused or recycled at the end of their journey.

[4] Unit loads move via an unpredictable combination of many types of vehicles and storage areas, and the exact set is difficult to predict.

Therefore, unit loads must be designed to travel by any such vehicles, and be stored in a wide variety of places.

Factors considered in unit load systems-based design include: Often a few inexpensive additions to the packaging can stabilize or stiffen a critical part and give good unit-load performance at a low cost.

Standards provide institutional memory of the many conditions in real logistic trains, and collect the best practices for design and testing unit loads.

The standard describes major parts of the logistic path, including storage, ship, air, truck, forklift and sling (i.e. ship-to-ship and parachute).

However, similar marking standards, safety, stability, volumetric efficiency, weight limits and impact resistance are routinely needed in commercial logistics.