How Warehouses Plan Pallet Stacks for Incoming Shipments

This patent describes an automated warehouse system that plans how to stack incoming items onto pallets to perfectly fit available storage racks, and automatically sorts out incorrect items.

What it covers

This system automates how warehouses handle incoming shipments. It uses an automated conveyance system, which includes a main conveyor, multiple branch conveyors, and a reject conveyor, to move items. An automated scanning system checks items as they move. A control system, acting like the brain, receives information about future shipments, including item types (like an SKU or barcode), quantities, and sizes. Crucially, it also knows the target heights for pallet loads, which are determined by the available warehouse rack storage spaces. Before the shipment even arrives, the control system uses all this information to create a detailed plan for assembling the pallet loads. If the scanning system identifies items that are not part of the expected shipment, the control system directs the conveyance system to move these "rejected items" to a dedicated reject conveyor.

What it doesn't cover

• —Does not cover manual sorting of items onto pallets without automated guidance or pre-planning.
• —Does not cover general warehouse storage optimization beyond planning pallet build heights to fit specific rack spaces.
• —Does not cover systems that only sort items without also pre-planning the assembly of pallet loads based on future rack availability.
• —Does not cover planning for outgoing shipments or order fulfillment processes, focusing specifically on incoming goods.
• —Does not cover systems that determine pallet assembly plans only after the entire shipment has arrived and been physically processed.
• —Does not cover the use of robots or automated guided vehicles for the physical stacking of items onto pallets, only the planning and instruction delivery.

The clever bit

The truly clever part is the system's ability to plan the exact build-height of pallet loads for incoming items *before* they even arrive. This pre-planning uses information about available warehouse rack space, ensuring that every pallet is built to maximize storage density and minimize wasted space, while also automatically rejecting unexpected items.

Why it matters

This technology helps large warehouses, especially those of major retailers, become much more efficient. By planning pallet loads in advance and optimizing their height to perfectly fit storage racks, it maximizes storage space and speeds up the process of receiving goods. This reduces operational costs and ensures products can be quickly moved from delivery trucks to store shelves or customer fulfillment centers.

Real-world examples

• 1.Target distribution centers
• 2.Amazon fulfillment centers
• 3.Walmart warehouses
• 4.Automated logistics hubs
• 5.Large-scale retail supply chain operations