1. Marketing Essentials
2021
Professor Steven Litt
@StrategySteven
Ready to be a Marketing professional?
Case & Pallet Design for FMCG Products
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2. Firm nonnegotiable criteria apply to ….
• the corrugate (aka the ‘case’, or ‘shipper’, or ‘kdf’),
• the pallet fit,
• the truck/trailer height fit,
• the truck/trailer weight fit.
ie a lot of different rigid criteria to work out.
Marketing Tools & Skills
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Logistics levels

3. A common task a marketing/sales
analysts is assigned to, is to work
out how many units a corrugate
shippers should contain, and
possibly also the shipper
dimensions.
This can be tricky; many factors
must be taken into account.
Marketing Tools & Skills
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Case Design Factors

4. This deck uses IMPERIAL measurements.
I won’t defend the Imperial system, nor
apologize for using those measures here.
It’s the North American standard!
It impacts trailer length, pallet fit, container
sizes & more.
Feel free to convert everything to metric, but
Logistics professionals here expect you to be
conversant in Imperial units, especially in
pounds, tons, inches, feet.
https://www.mathsisfun.com/metric-imperial-
conversion-charts.html
Marketing Tools & Skills
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Logistics 101: Imperial units

5. Corrugates (aka cases, shippers, kdf’s) must meet these criteria:
1. All Legal and Regulatory requirements
2. Fits the Pallet (see next page; most North American
pallets are 40” x 48”) without overhang/underhang
3. Crush / damage resistant
4. Conforms to case packer, palletizer constraints
5. Cost efficient
Standards for safe handling set by NIOH and OSHA; typical
max is 23kgs. https://www.osha.gov/
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ergonomics/default.html#lift
CHEP pallet site: https://www.chep.com/ca/en/consumer-
goods/platforms/pallets
Marketing Tools & Skills
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Logistics 101:

6. Logistics Prep: Case Design
Case Design
In pics below, see Burst Strength & type of construction (single wall).
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

7. Logistics Prep: Case Design
Case Design:
spec number helps ensure you order right part →
stamp shows Strength, type of construction (single wall).
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

8. Logistics Prep: Case Design
What influences thickness / strength of the corrugate shipper?
Type of item, item fragility, count/case, weight, load bearing mechanics-
all of these factors impact thickness & strength of corrugate.
eg Bottle of laundry detergent is heavy and has a leakage risk.
Ergo thick corrugate for stacking strength, puncture resistance.
*HOWEVER as it’s wisely designed, this detergent →
has a wide cap to support from weight above,
so a corrugate need not be as strong as in
situations where a corrugate bears 100% of
the weight of cases above it.
In contrast, a Baby Wipes pack is weak,
sensitive to being crushed, doesn’t
support vertical load by itself→
it needs a thick, strong corrugate.
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Wise
Design!
Vertical
load
bearing by
item itself

9. Case Count: Too high!
Downsides:
• product will not ‘move’ (sell-thru
at) >1 case/store/week. May lead
to delisting!!! Naftin****
• Excessive Case cost (cost a customer
pays for a case) “$650 a case? Yikes!”
• Higher value raises risk of theft
(valuable cases tend to… ‘fall off a truck’)
• High case count = High case weight!
(North American jurisdictions have legal/
union rules for maximum weight/ case or it
won’t be loaded/unloaded per eg OSHA!)
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Logistics Prep: How many units/case?
These are critical decisions, not ‘details’ to delegate!
Case Count: Too low
Downsides:
• Raises production costs,
slows packing process
• Raises cost/unit shipped;
you share the corrugate
cost on fewer units
• More case handling
• Increases waste material
• Might result in stores
being under-inventoried,
ongoing out-of-stocks.

10. Logistics Prep: case loading
Cases → if floor-loaded
Trucks/vans may be floor-loaded’ ie corrugates hand-packed
floor to ceiling. To facilitate logistics planning, vans are classified
by volume, or ‘cube’.
This is common for deliveries to consumers, small businesses and
inner city deliveries, but NOT how FMCG items are usually
delivered to stores.
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

11. Logistics Prep: case loading
Cases → loaded in layers on pallets
trucks are loaded with pallets of corrugated
cases that are neatly laid on a standard 40” x
48” pallet footprint.
There must be no significant underhangs, no
overhangs, no cavities/gaps, etc
A full pallet is moved via pallet jack or forklift
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

12. MUST DO:
Ensure it’s < 23Kgs including weight of corrugate itself.
Ensure it is a reasonable case cost to Retailer eg < $400 or $500
Ensure it is sufficiently crush resistant to survive delivery without
damage
Ensure a layer is 40” x 48” compliant with no underhang overhang
or cavities.
Ensure dimensions fit your case packing process/ equipment
SHOULD DO:
Ensure it fits readily on shelf given number of facings & shelf depth
(eg if shelf only holds 10 items, a case count of 18 is unwise)
Ensure you can move that number of units/week in that retail outlet
Get a shipper that will have fast order turnaround (JIT); and
Low cost
Marketing Tools & Skills
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Logistics 101: CheckList for a Shipper
Note: Cost per Shipper is often NOT the most crucial criteria!

13. Logistics Prep: pallet fit
This is a 40” x 48” CHEP pallet!
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

14. Logistics Prep: Case/pallet fit
‘details’ you may need to get your hands dirty with:
Case Configurations/ Dimensions: Your Challenge:
Think of several 40x48 conformant case designs for a new item!
Each unit: 4.7” wide x 5.7” deep (let’s worry about height later!)
Calculate several 40x48 conformant case dimension options for the
item.
How many units will fit in these possible cases/corrugates that are
40x48 conformant?
Now: for each option:
If the unit cost is $5.50, how much is the Case Cost to a customer?
If each item weighs 0.5 kg’s, what is the case weight of each option?
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

15. Logistics Prep: case/pallet fit
‘details’ you may need to get your hands dirty with:
Case Configurations/ Dimensions
Each unit is 6.3” wide x 3” deep; several 40 x 48 conformant
cases for this item include…???
Work out some options!
40”
48”
4.7”
5.7”
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

16. Logistics Prep: case/pallet fit
Case Configurations/ Dimensions
Each unit is 6.3” wide x 3” deep;
Could a 3 x 3 case pack conform to 40 x 48”?
Case dimensions will be: (6.3” x 3) + 0.6” corrugate thickness =
18.9” + 0.6” = 19.5” by(3” x 3) + 0.6” = 9” + 0.6” = 9.6”
Does that fit 40 x 48? NO!
Every way you arrange cases, there’s
overhang or underhang on 40x48
→ Try some other case options!
40”
48”
3”
6.3”
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
19.5”
9.6”

17. Logistics Prep: case/pallet fit
Case Configurations/ Dimensions
Could a 3 x 2 case pack conform to 40 x 48”?
Case dimensions will be: (3” x 3) + 0.6” corrugate thickness = 9 +
0.6 = 9.6” By (6.3” x 2) + 0.6 = 12.6” + 0.6” = 13.2”
YES!
This would conform to 40 x 48!
We could pack 5 cases across a pallet (5 x 9.6” = 48”) and 3
deep on a pallet (3 x 13.2” = approx 40”).
Check for yourself! Arrange this
9.6” x 13.2” case in a layer! →
3”
6.3”
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
13.2”
9.6”
9.6”
13.2”

18. Logistics Prep: case/pallet fit
Footprint/ Layer for a 3 x 2 case:
9.6” x 13.2”
5 x 9.6” along 48”
and
3 x 13.2” along 40”.
Check it!
This footprint yields
5 x 3 =
15 cases per layer!
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
13.2”
9.6”
48”
40”
13.2”
13.2”
13.2”
9.6” 9.6” 9.6” 9.6” 9.6”

19. Logistics Prep: TRUCKLOAD fit
Now add Height & Weight limits to your analysis!
Case Configurations/ Dimensions:
You have determined a pallet footprint of 15 cases/ layer.
If the pallet itself is 5.6” high, how many layers high?
Total pallet height must be <96”
If item height =10.7” and case height is 11.4” then 7 layers high + 5.6”
for pallet’s height = 79.8” + 5.6” = 85.4” (Can you fit 1 more layer?
Height would be 85.4” + 11.4”= 96.8” so the answer is No!)
You have 7 layers x 15 cases/ layer = 105 cases per pallet.
If you can load 26 pallets (floorspace of a 53’ trailer) that will be 26 x
105 = 2,730 cases per truckload.
Can you feasibly load 26 pallets per truck?
You don’t know until you check if it’s within weights limits (44,000
lbs/ TL). If each item weighs 4 lbs, will you mass out (hit the weight
max)? Use basic math to inform yourself? Does ‘26 pallets’ work?
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

20. Logistics Prep: TRUCKLOAD fit
How much per TL? What did the Math say?
In previous exercise you should have found you ‘mass out’ on a FTL
Each pallet weighs 15 cases/layer x 7 layers high = 105 cases per pallet
Each case will weigh 6/case x 4 lbs/unit = 24 bs + 1 lb corrugate =25 lbs
A loaded pallet will weigh 105 cases/pallet x 25 lbs/cs = 2,625 lbs
The Pallet itself weighs 60 lbs
Now add the weight of the cases to the weight of the pallet & you find
that a loaded pallet will weigh 2,685 lbs.
26 pallets would weigh an astounding (and illegal) 69,810 bs!
Ergo the maximum is 16 pallets /TL ie 16 x 2,685 = 42,960 lbs/ TL
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

21. Logistics Prep: TRUCKLOAD fit
Now add Freight cost to your analysis!
Case Configurations/ Dimensions:
In previous exercise you found you can only ship 16 pallets/TL and
each pallet holds 105 cases.
You will be shipping a maximum of 16 x 105 = 1,680 cases/TL
Now add Freight Cost
eg if a competitive quote = $3,000 from Toronto to Destination.
At 1,680 cases/TL, what is cost/case to deliver item to the customer
warehouse location?
It’s ($3,000/TL) / (1,680 cases/ TL) = $1.79/case ( $0.30/unit).
Is the opportunity still truly profitable if you must cover freight cost?
Is this still an appealing customer opportunity?
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

22. A 53’ trailer holds maximum 26 pallets; a 48’ a max of 24,
due to floorspace limits.
Is weight (eg max 44,000 lbs) often a limiting factor?
Weight is often the key constraint if item shipped has high density (eg
aggregates such as softener salt, cat litter, etc) or is a liquid (laundry or dish
detergent, milk, soda, shampoo,…).
Such items tend to ‘weigh out’ or ‘mass out’ in a trailer’ ie be
limited by the 44,000 lb maximum, not by trailer volume…
HOWEVER, items packed with more air (boxed soap,
bath tissue, flowers, crackers, fabric softener sheets,…)
tend to be limited by the volume capacity of a trailer,
not its weight-carrying limits.
We say these ‘bulk out’, ‘volume out’ or ‘cube out’
Marketing Tools & Skills
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Logistics 101: How much on a truck?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46g8zDcziL0

23. How do FMCG companies avoid wasteful freight limiters such
as a mass out situation? By diversifying their loads!
Many FMCG companies that market high density items (eg liquid laundry detergent)
wisely add low density items to the portfolio for freight efficiency via ‘mixed loads’.
Eg P&G markets TideTM (heavy/dense) and BounceTM (light)
Marketing Tools & Skills
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Logistics 101: How much on a truck?
Mostly
liquid
(heavy!)
Mostly
fabric and
air (light!)

24. Case & Pallet Load related terms
• Nonconformant- case or case pattern that fails to be 40” x 48”
(has underhang, overhang, or cavities)
• Skid: pallet
• Shipper, KDF, Knock Down Flat- all refer to corrugate shippers
• ‘Mass Out’ or ‘Weight Out’- to reach the effective payload limit
on a Trailer via the route’s (jurisdiction-specific) weight max
• ‘Volume Out’ or ‘Bulk Out’- to reach the effective payload limit
on a Trailer via the trailer’s volume-carrying (space) constraint
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

25. SOURCES
• Cover photo courtesy of Mandy S Photography
• Pack photos via Steven Litt, 2021
● The noun project accessed May 21, 2021 author cited in text
● Steven Litt, StrategySteven.com accessed May 11, 2021 strategysteven.com
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.