The Future of CoLoCa: What's on the Roadmap
CoLoCa supports shippers, logisticians and exporters today in the precise calculation of freight volume and container utilization. In this post we give a structured outlook on the roadmap: which features are planned, how user feedback flows into product development and which long-term goals — such as AI optimization and a 3D viewer — are on the agenda.
Brief Retrospective: What CoLoCa Delivers Today
CoLoCa offers an interactive container loading calculator that supports both dimension-based calculations and direct volume inputs. Users can create any number of items, switch between metric and imperial units and receive a real-time utilization display for six standard container types (20ft/40ft/45ft, each Standard and High Cube).
Important for practice are the precise interior dimensions of the containers, the color-coded utilization display (Green: 0–70 %, Yellow: 70–90 %, Red: 90–100 %, Black: >100 %) as well as the ability to share calculations via share link. The app is multilingual (German/English), mobile-optimized and temporarily saves calculations so that shared sessions can be restored at any time.
Planned Features and Extensions (Roadmap)
- Improved packing recommendations
- Automatic suggestions for the optimal distribution of cargo across multiple containers.
- Weight-aware placement recommendations for better balance and safety.
- Detailed 3D viewer
- Interactive visualization of the cargo space to see how pallets and pieces of goods are arranged in the container.
- Rotation and stacking suggestions for better space utilization.
- Extended utilization and cost scenarios
- Comparison of multiple container sizes in terms of volume, cost and optimal utilization.
- Scenario calculator for multiple loads and cost optimization.
- Intelligent templates and settings
- Industry- and customer-specific templates (e.g. for pharma, mechanical engineering, e-commerce).
- Quick entries for standard pallet sizes and common piece goods.
- APIs for enterprise workflows (accessible via enterprise offerings)
- Integration into existing operational processes to transfer calculations seamlessly.
Incorporating User Feedback and Feature Planning
CoLoCa relies on close collaboration with the community. Feedback is systematically incorporated into product development: feature requests are prioritized by frequency, benefit to the target group and feasibility. Practical examples of this:
- If multiple users request better packing recommendations, this topic moves up in the feature planning.
- Suggestions for the export function (PDF/report) are collected and compared with real use cases: what information do freight forwarders need in an offer, which details do buyers demand?
Tip: When giving feedback, provide concrete examples from your daily work (e.g. typical packed items, desired reports, or problems with over- or under-utilization). This makes product development more targeted.
Long-term Goals: AI Optimization and 3D Viewer
Two central long-term goals on the roadmap are the integration of AI-supported functions and a full-fledged 3D viewer:
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AI optimization (AI optimization): The goal is to provide automatic packing suggestions that take both volume and weight distribution into account. The AI should learn to recognize typical freight combinations and recommend loading plans that save time and reduce transport costs.
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3D viewer: A visual representation of the interior load helps avoid packing errors and improves communication with loading teams. The viewer will display detailed information about position, rotation and stacking height of individual load units.
Practical benefit: With these functions you can decide faster whether a 40ft High Cube or two 20ft containers are the better solution — taking into account costs, handling and safety.
Practical Tips for Everyday Use (with Examples)
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Use the utilization indicators actively: the goal is a utilization between 70–90 % (yellow) to optimize costs without overloading the cargo.
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Example calculation: a load of 57.93 m³ fits into a 40ft Standard (67.69 m³) with a utilization of 85.6 % — ideal for cost-efficient shipping.
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Consider heights: for tall goods a High Cube is often more economical because additional cargo space is created without changing the length.
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Combine direct volume entries with dimension-based items: this helps quickly check intermediate states (e.g. bulky goods in m³ plus pallet positions).
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Share your calculation via link with colleagues or customers to avoid misunderstandings and make decisions faster.
Invitation to Co-Create: How You Can Help
Your experiences are crucial for the further development of CoLoCa. You can contribute like this:
- Provide concrete feedback via the feedback form or the community channels.
- Share typical use cases: which container sizes do you use frequently? Which problems occur during loading?
- Vote on feature requests and prioritize functions that help you the most.
The more precise your feedback, the faster and more targeted the feature planning can be implemented.
Conclusion
The roadmap of CoLoCa focuses on practical further development: better packing recommendations, a 3D viewer and AI-supported optimizations are high on the list. Central to this is the community: your feedback drives product development. For logistics professionals, freight forwarders and exporters this means concretely: faster decisions, fewer misloads and better cost control.
If you have ideas or concrete feedback, get involved — together we will make CoLoCa the most efficient tool for container utilization and freight planning.