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Dimensional Packing: "Pack According to Box Rules"

Optimize packing efficiency by configuring ShipperHQ box rules and settings

Table of Contents

Overview

"Pack according to box rules" utilizes the Best-Fit algorithm. It assesses the volume of items in your cart and the size of available boxes to determine the most efficient packing setup. Packing decisions depend on information at checkout, such as the number of items, item dimensions, item weight, available boxes, box settings, packing rules, and carrier settings.

How ShipperHQ packs for the following scenarios:

No dimensions on your products and no boxes set on the rule

  • A SHQ_Custom box (with 0x0x0 dimensions) will be created and filled using the cart items' weight until it meets the maximum shipping weight set on the carrier. Additional "boxes" will be created as needed to account for all items in the cart.

Yes dimensions on some products and no boxes set on the rule

  • ShipperHQ creates a box using the largest product’s dimensions and fills it with other items until the carrier weight limit is met.
    • Example: A stool, gloves, and hat are added to the cart. The stool has dimensions (10x10x8) and weighs 10 lbs, while the other items do not. A SHQ_Box is created to match the stool's dimensions, and it's filled with the other items until the carrier's weight limit is reached (usually 70-150 lbs for small package carriers).
  • If other items can't fit due to weight limits, an extra box matching the first one’s dimensions will be created for the remaining items.

Yes dimensions on some products and yes some boxes set on the rule

  • ShipperHQ compares the volume of the products with available boxes and packs efficiently, usually reducing the number of boxes. Learn more about troubleshooting.
  • If an item's size or weight exceeds the available boxes, ShipperHQ creates a custom box labeled SHQ_Custom Box to accommodate it.
  • Items without dimensions will be packed in dimensional item’s boxes as per previous scenarios.

Common “Pack according to Box Rules” Packing Rule configurations

Add packing boxes for most items and set specific boxes for some products

  • Set up:
    • Define Boxes in ShipperHQ for select products, ensuring "Apply to all products" is checked as No.
    • Set a "Pack according to box rules" for these products: create a new rule, name it for select products, and assign the boxes created.
    • Assign this packing rule to products in your ecommerce store’s configurations.
    • If boxes are not set for other products, add them and ensure "Apply to all products" is Yes.

Assign a Default Packing Rule with specific boxes

  • Set up:
    • Define Boxes in ShipperHQ and ensure "Apply to all products" is No.
    • Set a default packing rule: create a new "pack according to box rules" rule, name it “All Products,” and assign the boxes.
    • No need to assign in your ecommerce platform; ShipperHQ will use these boxes by default.

Pack with any available box

  • Set up:
    • Define Boxes in ShipperHQ and ensure "Apply to all products" is Yes.
    • No need to assign a packing rule—ShipperHQ uses available boxes to pack all products efficiently.