Pallet configurator.

Estimate carton count, display height, weight, and club-store compliance while previewing the stack as a practical 3D display layout.

Inputs.

Shoppable Sides

How many sides will the display shop from?

Shopping from the front and both ends; the back is closed.

Display Mode

Pallet

Length in Width in Height in Load cap lb

Carton

Length in Width in Height in Weight lb

Stacking

Layers Max display height

Include pallet skirt Reduces usable footprint and renders a display wrap.

Skirt thickness in Skirt height in

Sam's Club mode is set to fail pallet skirt use. Confirm the current buyer packet before designing around a skirt.

Cartons / Layer0

Total Cartons0

Total Height0"

Total Weight0 lb

Shoppable Cartons0

Filler Cartons0

3D Display Preview.

Top View.

Filler cartons are positions no shopper can reach from an open side. Spec them as dead corrugate cube, riser structure, or backstock instead of sellable product, and the display costs less to fill while looking just as full.

Compliance Check.

General Use

Costco.

48 x 40 block pallets only (CHEP, PECO, or iGPS), no overhang, product shoppable from three sides with a 48 in main facing.

Recommended product footprint: 47.5 x 39.5 in (min 44 x 37)
Max 58 in total height including the 5.5 in pallet
52 in or less to double-stack in transit
Max total load: 2,500 lb

Sam's Club.

48 x 40 full 9-block pallets with true four-way entry. Quarter and half pallet programs also run under the same block-pallet rules.

Up to 60 in display height in club, 52 in for transit double-stack
Lower planning cap than Costco: 2,100 lb
Pallet skirts not allowed
48 in side is the primary facing

BJ's Wholesale.

BJ's is the exception: shoppers approach from the 40 in end, not the 48 in side like the other clubs, so the display's primary facing flips.

48 x 40 four-way pallet baseline
40 in side is the primary facing
Conservative 2,100 lb planning cap
Confirm tray and buyer packet requirements before release

Method: The calculator tests both carton orientations and uses the better count: max(floor(L / cartonL) × floor(W / cartonW), floor(L / cartonW) × floor(W / cartonL)). When a skirt is enabled, usable footprint becomes (palletL - 2t) × (palletW - 2t). The CHEP 48 x 40 block pallet itself is 5.5 in tall and rated for 2,800 lb uniformly distributed, so the retailer load caps below always govern first.

Constraints reflect publicly available club store vendor and structural packaging guidance, checked against retailer-published specs during the rebuild. Treat this as a design estimator, not a substitute for a current buyer/vendor packet. Spot an error? Write me at donna@donnakadell.design.

Disclaimer: These tools were built at my desk to keep the answers I need in one place. I’m sharing them in the hope that they make your design process a little easier too. The math is checked against published standards and real-world experience, but specs change and materials vary. If you spot anything that seems off, please email me at donna@donnakadell.design and I’ll take a look.

Enjoy.