Rotated cartons with their end strips over gaps

Overlay done, two ends cross gaps and one of those gaps is the one the fingers need, so closing it isn't the easy answer I hoped for

Could a different order leave an open side for the last placement? Cheap thing to draw before anybody buys narrower fingers.

Try the full order, not only a different first case. Another enclosed final position may remain. Include the tool retreat after release as well as the fingers opening.

Would a lower-count pattern give enough support and access? I would include it in the comparison even if dispatch prefers the original quantity, with its costs shown rather than dismissed as inefficient.

Dispatch says fewer cartons means more pallets and handling, which is true, but they haven't priced that against another tool concept yet

That's the comparison I'd want. Less efficient by box count can still be cheaper than the device needed to preserve the box count.

Actual pallet type is identified, but the transport restraint wasn't in the review pack; I've asked dispatch to add their intended arrangement before packaging responds

Include partial pallets too, if you ship them. The lower-count option might affect how often those occur, and a complete-stack assessment cannot automatically cover every unfinished arrangement.

And use current filled cartons for the assessment. The internal packing determines where those end strips are useful; an empty carton with the same printing is not the same sample.

Packaging has rejected the original gap pattern for the current packed carton and proposed a lower-count candidate; tool supplier is checking its placement order, including partial pallets

Did dispatch price that candidate yet? Or are they still mourning the missing row?

They're pricing it, fairly enough; no one has agreed that the extra handling is negligible, and another tool concept is still in the comparison

Keep the rejection tied to the original pattern revision. That should prevent it reappearing as an already approved option when the cost sheet circulates.

Who will own the final combined arrangement? With packaging, tooling and dispatch contributing changes, somebody needs to make sure the costed candidate is the one all three actually reviewed.