Traditionally, manufacturing companies have viewed transportation as a “necessary evil.” As Gartner notes, it’s the function organizations “often target for budget cuts.”

Today, European logistics is defined by high fuel prices, stricter EU sustainability regulations, driver shortages, and fluctuating freight rates. An approach focused only on cutting costs is no longer effective. Instead, companies are adopting new technologies to improve efficiency, agility, and compliance.

Load optimization is one of the most effective strategies to address these challenges. It helps maximize resource utilization, reduce cost per shipped SKU, and ensure high-demand products move quickly across complex EU supply chains.

Road freight rates in Europe remain above pre-2020 levels, according to industry benchmarks. Cross-border trucking is further impacted by driver shortages and compliance with the EU Mobility Package, which regulates working hours, rest periods, and wages. Rising energy costs add another layer of complexity.

When transport capacity was abundant and inexpensive, companies often shipped full truckloads or containers with a single product. In today’s volatile European market, this strategy is no longer cost-efficient.

With limited transportation capacity and high freight rates, manufacturers must prioritize shipments for products that are truly in demand. They also need to make maximum use of every truck and container.

In practice, this means mixing products with different dimensions, stacking rules, and demand priorities into optimized loads—whether shipping within Germany, across Benelux, or from Central to Southern Europe.

Manual planning takes too long and lacks flexibility. Most ERP, WMS, and TMS tools only consider weight and volume, without accounting for real-world European requirements such as axle weight limits, pallet variations, or cross-border restrictions.

Advanced load optimization software solves this problem. ORTEC’s 3D load building solution combines mathematical optimization, industry expertise, and cloud technology into an easy-to-use tool for European manufacturers and logistics providers.

Gartner highlights 3D load building as a critical capability for modern transportation management. The technology uses advanced algorithms to propose optimal load configurations, taking into account:

• Actual package dimensions
• Physical, legal, and business-specific rules
• EU road safety regulations and weight restrictions

This ensures companies not only maximize capacity but also remain compliant across European markets.

With ORTEC’s SaaS-based load optimization, business rules and logistics data are stored securely in the cloud. This makes it easy to set up new operations or onboard logistics partners anywhere in Europe—without lengthy IT projects.

Companies can apply consistent quality standards across all partners, ensuring everyone works with the same master data, packing and loading rules, and optimization functionality.

If you’re looking to improve efficiency in European logistics and make the best use of your transport capacity, feel free to reach out. We’ll be happy to schedule a demo of our solution.