Frozen at the front, chilled in the middle, and a late order that fits nowhere
Tonight's route has eleven drops: some frozen only, some chilled only, some both. The trailer has two movable bulkheads and a fridge unit that can run two or three compartments at different set points. The shift manager sketches the plan on the back of a picking list: frozen pallets up front, chilled behind, bulkhead here.
Then a late order adds four chilled pallets for the second drop. The chilled compartment is full, the bulkhead is moved, the frozen compartment is now tighter than planned, and the loader puts the last pallets where they fit, not where they should go. At drop two the driver has to unload frozen pallets to reach the chilled ones.
Why compartment planning is hard
Multi-temperature loading is a three-way puzzle: temperature regime, drop order and space, with bulkheads that can move but not infinitely.
- Orders arrive in the warehouse system without compartment planning.
- Bulkhead positions and set points are decided on the dock.
- Drop order and temperature regime pull pallets in opposite directions.
- Late orders break a plan that was built by hand.
- Drivers get no record of what was loaded where.
What a poor load plan costs
Doors opened longer and more often at drops, with frozen goods exposed while the driver digs through. Pallets unloaded and reloaded on the customer's bay. Missed delivery slots because each drop takes longer. And occasionally product loaded in the wrong compartment, at the wrong temperature, which is the problem nobody wants.
How we plan compartments from the orders
- Orders for each route come from your warehouse or transport system with pallet counts, temperature regime and drop sequence.
- Each trailer type is set up with its length, bulkhead options and compartment configurations your fleet supports.
- The planner allocates pallets to compartments by regime, then orders them within each compartment by drop, so the first drop is nearest the door it will leave through.
- It proposes bulkhead positions and the set point for each compartment, based on the regimes your customers specify.
- Late orders are fitted into the existing plan where possible, with a warning if they force a change of bulkhead or break drop order.
- Loaders see the plan on a screen or printout by pallet position, and the driver gets it on the app, with set points to confirm before departure.
| Input | Used to decide |
|---|---|
| Temperature regime per order | Compartment |
| Drop sequence | Position within compartment |
| Pallet count and height | Space and bulkhead position |
| Customer set points | Compartment set point |
Set points and regimes come from your customers' specifications and your quality team. The planner applies them; it does not choose them.
What the dock and the driver see after
A load plan per trailer that loaders follow without guesswork, with late orders placed deliberately. Drivers know what is where and which compartment serves which drop. Door-open time at drops falls because the next drop's pallets are where they should be.
Plans are kept, too. When a customer queries why their pallets travelled in a particular compartment or at a particular set point, the planner can pull up the load plan for that night and show exactly what was decided and why.
Is your multi-temp loading guesswork?
- Compartment plans are sketched by hand on the dock.
- Drivers unload pallets to reach later drops.
- Late orders break the plan and get squeezed in.
- Bulkhead positions and set points are decided without a record.
- Pallets have ended up in the wrong compartment.