In brief
There is no dependable universal consumption figure for a warehouse. Pallet count, load mix, hand or machine application, wrap pattern, roll format, rework and waste all change the result.
Build a baseline in kilograms and per representative load family, then investigate the gap between film purchased and film intentionally applied.
Choose the question you need the data to answer
Procurement may need monthly demand for ordering. Operations may need film per pallet or per load family. Finance may need cost per dispatched pallet. Sustainability reporting may need evidence of material placed into use. These measures are related, but they are not interchangeable.
Build a purchasing baseline
Start with complete purchasing and stock-movement records for a defined period. Convert rolls or cases into net film mass using verified packaging data. Separate hand film, machine film and any other formats rather than combining unlike applications.
Adjust for opening and closing stock where the data is reliable. A delivery in the final week of the month may support next month's wrapping, so purchase date alone can distort consumption.
Measure representative pallets
For a practical applied-film measure, weigh the roll before and after wrapping a defined set of representative pallets using the normal approved process. The difference, divided by the number of pallets, gives an applied mass for that test—not a permanent universal figure.
Segment stable repeat loads, mixed loads and difficult exceptions. An overall average can hide a high-use family or make a controlled process look inefficient because rework is mixed into the denominator.
Explain the gap
Film may be lost through breaks, damaged rolls, loose tails, abandoned partial rolls, rewraps, setup trials or unrecorded use outside the main wrapping point. The gap is useful evidence: it tells the team where observation is more valuable than another spreadsheet average.
Operational estimator
Estimate monthly film length
Replace the illustrative starting values with your operation. Set height, rotations and overlap in the visual section below.Illustrative estimate
The calculation uses the same illustrative helical path shown below. It does not account for applied stretch, neck-down, tails, setup waste, breaks or rewraps.
Free working file
Keep the measurement inputs with the result
| Measure | Calculation | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Purchased mass | Net film mass received in period | Ordering and high-level trend |
| Applied mass per pallet | Test mass used ÷ pallets wrapped | Process comparison by load family |
| Film per dispatched pallet | Period film used ÷ pallets dispatched | Directional operating indicator |
| Rewrap rate | Rewrapped pallets ÷ pallets wrapped | Identify avoidable repeat work |
Practical checklist
- Define the period and business question
- Separate hand and machine film
- Use net film mass rather than roll count where possible
- Segment representative load families
- Record rewraps, breaks and damaged stock
- Repeat the baseline after an approved process change