The Skyline algorithm for packing 2D rectangles

The standard heuristic any 2D packing algorithm starts with is left-bottom or bottom-left (the choice is symmetrical). Place a piece as much to the left as possible, and among equal choicse as low as possible (or vice versa, as the choice was in the linked article). From this base heuristic, further meta-heuristics can be developed with choices for the order to pack parts, how to choose among "almost equal" positions, choosing among rotations and symmetries, and so on.

As far as I can tell, the "Skyline algorithm" is bottom-left with the limitation that created holes can not be packed. This doesn't feel like a packing algorithm as much as it feels like a heuristic to speed up position finding.

I created a 3D bin packing at work with similar basic heuristic you described, plus some additional flavor for testing some number of different combinations during each iteration (and choosing the path that had best results up to that point).

The interesting thing I found is that the simple heuristics work pretty well. I actually had to dial back the level of optimization because it took too long for the human packers to duplicate the packing correctly to be able to close the carton.

I had to set it to a level that retained enough wasted space that allowed them quickly find their own solution, but knowing that for sure all of this stuff will fit into carton size X, because saving an extra few dollars in shipping didn't offset the labor dollars to pack it that way.