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Dimensional Packing: Packing Products into Boxes (Best-Fit)

Learn how ShipperHQ’s Best-Fit algorithm chooses the right boxes, improves dimensional weight accuracy, and helps you save on shipping.

Table of Contents

 

Overview

When you ship products, size matters just as much as weight. ShipperHQ’s Best-Fit algorithm figures out how to pack your items into the right boxes to make sure your rates are precise and your boxes aren’t half empty.

This article illustrates how the best-fit packing algorithm works when you have products with dimensions and the boxes configured in the ShipperHQ dashboard.

Scenario: Packing Different Products Into Boxes

Let's say you have 3 SKUs with varying dimensions that need to be packed together into pre-defined boxes:

  • Bike - 30x10x16
  • T-shirt - 4x1x4
  • Book - 8x4x2

These can pack together into one of several boxes:

  • Small - 6x6x4
  • Medium - 12x10x8
  • Large - 35x12x18

Each box has “Can Be Used to Pack All Products” enabled.

Best Fit Scenario

Packing Calculations

#1 Small Box

The small box has a volume of 144 (6x6x4).

  • T-shirt has a volume of 16 (4x1x4) so up to 9 can fit into this box
  • The lengths of the "Book" and "Bike" products are larger than the dimensions of this box, so they cannot pack.

Best Fit Example 1

Result: Only the T-shirt fits in the small box.

#2 Medium Box

The medium box has a volume of 960 (12x10x8).

  • T-shirt has a volume of 16 (4x1x4) so up to 60 can fit into this box
  • Book has a volume of 64 (8x4x2) so up to 15 can fit into this box
  • The length of the "Bike" is larger than the dimensions of this box, so it cannot pack

Best Fit Example 2

Result: The medium box fits books and shirts, but not the bike.

#3 Large Box

The large box has a volume of 7,560 (35x12x18).

  • T-shirt has a volume of 16 (4x1x4) so up to 472 can fit into this box
  • Book has a volume of 64 (8x4x2) so up to 118 can fit into this box
  • Bike has a volume of 4,800 so 1 can fit into this box

Best Fit Example 3

Result: The large box can fit everything, including the bike, books, and shirts, while using space efficiently based on dimensional weight.

Special Considerations

The T-shirt is malleable, so we want to retain the use of volume-based packing for this product. 💡

Although the bike is not malleable, multiple T-shirts could be packed inside the frame and items placed underneath the frame, so volume is preferred here too.

You can fine-tune this setup by:

  • Setting maximum weights or item counts per box.

  • Adjusting product dimensions for soft or irregular items.

  • Testing combinations until your packing feels just right.

These small tweaks make a big difference in rate accuracy and efficiency.

Best Fit Example 4

How Dimensional Weight Shipping Helps

Carriers charge for space, not just dead weight. That’s what dimensional weight means. You pay for the room your products take up in the truck, not only for how heavy they are.

The Best-Fit algorithm helps you make the most of every inch by:

  • Choosing the smallest box that still fits your products safely.

  • Reducing wasted space that increases shipping costs.

  • Improving volumetric weight accuracy so your rates stay consistent and fair.

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