From Warehouse Floor to Algorithm: How Pearla Shaped a Smarter Cartonization Engine

Meeting Pearla

When you work on cartonization software, it is tempting to think the smartest solutions come from coding sessions or whiteboard diagrams. The truth is, some of the most valuable breakthroughs come from the warehouse floor.

I met Pearla during a routine site visit to a Medusa Distribution Warehouse. She had been packing orders for 12 years. She did not have a technical background, but she had something far more valuable: an instinct for box selection, staging, and packing that no software could fully replicate at the time.

By the end of my first shift shadowing her, I saw how her methods could directly influence how we designed our cartonization engine at Perseuss.

Pearla packs smarter, not harder. See how her on-the-floor expertise shaped the cartonization rules that power Perseuss.

Lessons from Pearla That Changed the Algorithm

1. Real-time box selection: Pearla could choose the right box size within seconds. She balanced product safety with space efficiency, which ultimately reduced freight costs.

2. Staging to reduce extra touches : She placed orders in a sequence that minimized handling. This saved small increments of time on each order that added up to hours of efficiency gains each week.

3. Practical rule-breaking : Pearla knew when to override certain WMS recommendations. She understood real-world factors like carrier cut-off times, trailer space limits, and labor availability.

Turning Insights into Cartonization Logic

I documented her process in detail, breaking it into clear decision points. Each choice became part of a rule set that our software could follow.

Those rules were integrated into the Perseuss cartonization engine. The result was a smarter algorithm that not only applied weight and dimension data, but also incorporated practical warehouse logic from years of hands-on experience.

Pearla at work, demonstrating how real-world packing expertise shapes the cartonization logic inside Perseuss software.

Why This Matters for Cartonization Software

Pearla proved that cartonization is not only about mathematical fit. It is also about operational reality. By blending human packing strategies with software automation, we created a system that works in harmony with the way warehouses actually function.

This approach has helped our customers reduce packing waste, improve order turnaround, and make better use of space in every shipment.

Recognizing the Real Innovators

Pearla reminded me that innovation often comes from the people on the floor who solve the same problem hundreds of times a day. Their experience can shape the future of cartonization technology when we take the time to listen and translate it into software logic.

About the Author

Tomas David Ye is the Founder and CEO of Perseuss, a supply chain technology company focused on helping warehouses and 3PLs optimize their packing and shipping operations through AI-powered cartonization software. With a background in Amazon’s supply chain systems and years spent on warehouse floors observing real-world operations, Tomas blends technical expertise with practical insight to build solutions that work in the field as well as they do on paper.