Your First Load Plan

This walkthrough takes you from an empty plan to a fully optimized, export-ready load arrangement. Follow along step by step — by the end, you'll understand the core LOP workflow and be ready to use it with your own cargo data.

Before You Begin

You'll need:

• A LOP account (sign up here if you don't have one)
• Some basic cargo information to enter: item names, approximate dimensions, weights, and quantities

Even rough dimensions are fine for your first plan. The goal is to learn the workflow.

Step 1 — Create a New Plan

1. In the left sidebar, click Load Plans.
2. Click + New Plan. LOP creates a plan with an automatic name and opens the 3D editor immediately.
3. In the container bar above the viewport, click + Add and choose the container or truck you will load. New plans start without a container.

On a desktop, an empty plan offers a short tour. Done or Skip tour remembers your choice on your account, including on another browser. If the settings service is unavailable, this browser remembers it locally and tries to save it to your account on a later visit. The tour does not start automatically on phones or plans that already have items.

Empty Load Plans, Item Library, Forwarders and Analytics pages explain the next step, while an empty desktop Items panel offers Add an item.

Step 2 — Add Items

The Items Panel runs along the left side of the editor. This is where you define everything that needs to be loaded.

Adding an Item Manually

1. Click Add an item in the empty Items panel, or use + Add in its header. On a phone, open Plan items first.
2. Fill in the item details:
   • Name — what this item is (e.g., "Cardboard Box — Medium", "Pallet A", "Drum #3")
   • Length, Width, Height — external dimensions in millimeters (mm). For example, a standard European pallet is 1,200 × 800 mm footprint, 144 mm tall.
   • Weight — weight of a single unit in kilograms
   • Quantity — how many units of this item to load
3. Optionally set:
   • Stackable — can other items be placed on top of this one?
   • Fragile — nothing will be stacked on top regardless of the stackable setting
   • This side up — forces the item to remain upright (useful for liquids, electronics)
4. Click Add to save the item

The item appears in the Unplaced list on the left — it hasn't been positioned in the container yet. Repeat this process for each item you need to load.

[Screenshot: add item form with example values filled in]

Importing Items from a Spreadsheet

If you have many items, you don't need to enter them one by one. Click the Import button in the Items Panel to upload an Excel (.xlsx) or CSV file. LOP will map your columns to the item fields and import everything at once.

See the Items documentation for the required column format and import instructions.

Step 3 — Run the Optimizer

Once you have at least one item in the Unplaced list, the planning buttons in the top toolbar become active. Choose the mode that fits your situation:

Quick Plan — Under 2 Seconds

Starts with volume-sorted constructive packing and a pass that retries unplaced items in the remaining gaps. Best for:

• Checking whether all items will fit at all
• Rough planning when time is critical
• Exploring different container types quickly

Smart Plan — Around 10 Seconds (Recommended)

Starts with constructive packing, then uses local search to try improvements: swapping item positions, trying different rotations, and relocating items. Best for:

• Everyday shipment planning
• Most commercial loads
• When you want a good result without waiting long

Max Fill — Up to 60 Seconds

Starts with the same constructive packing and local search as Smart Plan, with a larger time budget for local search. Best for:

• Tight loads where every cubic meter counts
• High-value shipments where optimization time is worth it
• Loads with complex constraints (fragile items, hazmat, mixed weights)

For single-container solves in all three modes, LOP also tries a floor pattern if an eligible loaded pallet is left unplaced, then solves the remaining cargo in Quick Plan mode around that pattern. It keeps the alternative only if it places more units in total, no plan item, fragile class or non-stackable class loses units, and no hard-constraint finding is added or worsened. Optimize All and multi-container solves do not use this extra pass.

Click your chosen button. Smart Plan and Max Fill show live progress; the 3D viewport keeps the previous arrangement until the run finishes, then updates to the result.

[Screenshot: optimizer running with a progress indicator above the previous 3D arrangement]

Step 4 — Review the Results

After the optimizer finishes, take time to review the plan before exporting it.

The 3D Viewport

The main area of the editor shows your container in 3D with all placed items rendered in their assigned positions. Each item has a distinct color for easy identification.

Camera controls:

• Orbit — left-click and drag to rotate around the container
• Pan — right-click and drag to move the camera laterally
• Zoom — scroll wheel to zoom in or out
• Camera presets — buttons in the top toolbar let you jump to standard views: 3D perspective, top-down, front, side, and door-facing

After solving, a badge at the top-center of the viewport shows two metrics for the active container in the format 82.3% space | 62.3% payload:

• Space Utilization — how much of the container's usable volume is occupied (pallet-aware: each pallet counts its full bounding prism; loose items count strict volume).
• Payload % — (totalWeight / container.maxPayload) × 100. Green at or below 85%, yellow at or below 95%, red above 95%. The badge hides entirely when the active container has zero placements.

The Center of Gravity minimap in the bottom-right corner shows how well-balanced the load is.

Click any item in the viewport to select it and see its details (position, rotation, weight, constraint status) in the right panel.

[Screenshot: 3D viewport with items placed, camera at 3D perspective angle]

The Score Panel

The panel at the bottom of the screen shows how good the plan is across five dimensions:

Scores below 60 usually indicate that some items couldn't be placed, or that there are significant weight balance or stability issues worth addressing.

Check the Door Opening

Validate reports a hard door_passage violation for each placed item, pallet or rack whose placed width or height exceeds the container’s door width or height. A pallet or rack is checked as one composite body; STEP items use their placed bounding box. Equality passes: this is a nominal aperture check with no clearance margin, rotation search or transit simulation. The solver does not refuse the placement on this basis, and the check does not block manual placement.

Open-top, open-side and curtain-sided containers/trucks, and containers without a door, are not checked. Custom containers are checked against the door dimensions entered.

Unplaced Items

If any items couldn't fit, they appear in the Unplaced section of the Items Panel. Common reasons:

• The total cargo volume exceeds the container's available space
• An item is too large to fit within the container's usable interior
• Hazmat separation requirements prevent certain items from being placed together

If you have unplaced items, consider: adding a second container, removing lower-priority items, or switching to a larger container type.

AI Analysis

Click Analyze Plan in the right panel for a plain-language explanation of the loading strategy. The AI will describe:

• Why items are arranged the way they are
• Which constraints had the biggest impact on the layout
• Specific suggestions for improving utilization, balance, or stability
• Any physical risks identified (e.g., heavy items near fragile ones, poor weight distribution)

[Screenshot: right panel showing AI analysis text]

Step 5 — Export Your Results

When you're happy with the plan, use the toolbar to export:

PDF Report

Click Export PDF to generate a professional load plan document. The PDF includes:

• A cover page with plan summary and key metrics
• 3D views of the loaded container (perspective, top, front, side)
• A complete item-by-item packing list with positions
• A loading sequence (back to front, bottom to top) for the warehouse team
• Compliance notes: weight balance status and warnings, and a securing plan per container (fills, wall loads, the lashing alternative)

Excel Report

Click Export Excel to get a multi-sheet workbook with the summary, full packing list, compliance data, and loading sequence in separate tabs. This is useful for integration with other systems or for creating your own customized reports.

CSV

Click Export CSV for a flat packing list you can import into a WMS, TMS, or any other system that accepts CSV.

[Screenshot: export dropdown in toolbar]

What's Next

You've created, solved, and exported your first load plan. Here are some things to explore next:

• Items — learn about item constraints (stackable, fragile, orientation locks, hazmat tags) and how to import items in bulk
• Item Library — save your frequently used items so you don't have to re-enter them
• Load Planning — go deeper on the optimizer, manual editing, and multi-container planning
• Templates — save your container setup and item list as a template for repeat shipments
• Export & Reports — customize your PDF and Excel reports

Tips for Better Results

• Enter accurate dimensions. The optimizer can only work with the data you give it. Rough dimensions lead to rough plans.
• Mark fragile items correctly. LOP will ensure nothing heavy is stacked on top of items marked fragile.
• Set stackability honestly. If a box will collapse under weight, mark it as not stackable. The plan will be less dense but far safer.
• Use Smart Plan for everyday shipments. Quick Plan is useful for exploration, but Smart Plan is where you'll spend most of your time.
• Save your items to the library. The first time you add an item, save it to the Item Library. The next plan with the same item takes seconds to set up.
• Check the score panel before you export. A low weight balance score (below 50) is a warning sign that needs attention before the shipment leaves.