Optimization of E-Commerce Packaging Options

Developed during an Operations Research internship at Lakeland Limited (UK) as a Master's dissertation at Lancaster University. The system uses a two-stage Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) approach: first, a 3D bin packing model (Padberg formulation) determines which candidate boxes can physically fit each order's products using orthogonal placement and non-intersection constraints. Then, a box selection MIP chooses the optimal subset of box types that maximizes packing efficiency or minimizes total volume across all orders. A stochastic simulation framework using sample-average approximation validates generalizability across 20 trials with in-sample sizes of 500–10,000 orders. The project demonstrated significant potential for reducing packaging waste and shipping costs in e-commerce operations.