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Intro to Dimensional Packing

Optimize shipping cost accuracy with dimensional packing settings in ShipperHQ

Overview

Dimensional Packing offers more accurate shipping rates, especially with Live Rate Carriers like UPS and FedEx or when using USPS Flat Rate boxes. This guide covers what Dimensional Packing is, how it works in ShipperHQ, and how to enable these settings. While achieving 100% accuracy isn't always possible, ShipperHQ enables extremely high levels of precision with careful setup. 😊

Table of Contents

How Dimensional Rating Works

Carriers like UPS, FedEx, and DHL rate packages based on several factors. Besides distance, weight is crucial. They use the greater of Actual Weight (Dead Weight) and Dimensional Weight (Volumetric Weight).

Dimensional Weight is determined by taking the package's volume and dividing it by a dimensional divisor, usually 139. The result is compared with the Actual Weight, and the higher is used for the shipping rate. For example, an 11in x 8in x 9in package with an Actual Weight of 4 lbs is rated on its Dimensional Weight of 6 lbs ((11 x 8 x 9)/139 = 5.7 rounded up = 6). 💡

Many eCommerce platforms don't support accurate Dimensional Rating as they rely only on Actual Weight or use dimensions that don't reflect actual packages. The ShipperHQ Dimensional Packing Feature not only determines expected packages based on available sizes and item dimensions but also allows setting specific packing options based on product attributes and cart combinations.

How Dimensional Packing Works in ShipperHQ

  1. Products are added to the cart.
  2. ShipperHQ’s dimensional algorithm examines the product dimensions set on the eCommerce platform.
  3. ShipperHQ reviews the packages or boxes you've configured in ShipperHQ.
  4. It determines the best box(es) for the products in the cart.
  5. ShipperHQ sends the packing information to the carrier for accurate rating.
    • If using custom rating, ShipperHQ determines the rate based on the packing details.

Explore various scenarios in our knowledge base articles to see the possibilities of Dimensional Packing. On platforms like Magento or Zoey, synchronize any new boxes or dimensional rule groups you create.

As many live rate carriers refer to the largest dimension as the length, ShipperHQ rotates dimensions so the length is the largest. This doesn’t affect rating since the volumetric weight is based on box volume. ⚠️