How BOXOLLO works: the smallest possible box for every order
A report by Technický týdeník from the MSV 2022 engineering fair: Jan Klaška, project manager at Packung, s. r. o., explains how the BOXOLLO application calculates the minimum viable box for individual products and whole orders.
BOXOLLO started from a simple observation in e-commerce warehouses: pickers choose a box by eye, and the difference between the box they grab and the box the order actually needs is paid for again and again — in cardboard, in void fill, in transported air and in courier tariffs.
The application takes the dimensions of each product in an order and computes the smallest possible packaging in real time. It does not just answer "which box", it also answers "how to place the items inside it" — a Tetris-like 3D visualisation shows the operator the exact arrangement, so the recommendation is realistic on the packing table, not only on paper.
BOXOLLO is not a standalone island. It connects to the warehouse or ERP system through an API, so the optimal packaging type for a given order is known the moment the order is placed — including its cost. That turns packaging from an operational guess into a data point you can plan and price with.
Where packing is automated, the algorithm also takes the capabilities and limits of the packaging machine into account: which formats it can produce, which order compositions make sense to run through it, and where a human packer is still faster. The result is a more efficient machine, a more efficient warehouse — and measurably less material.
That is the whole idea behind BOXOLLO: don't ship air. Calculate the minimum box on the fly, give the operator a clear instruction, and let the data drive the next round of optimisation.
