Dimensional Packing: “Pack According to Box Rules”

Overview

“Pack according to box rules” packing rule uses the Best-Fit algorithm—it looks at the volume of the items in your cart and the size of available boxes (if applicable) to determine the most efficient packing setup. The packing determination depends on the information available 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 to account for all the items in the cart, if applicable.

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

  • ShipperHQ will create a box using the largest product’s dimensions and fill it up with other items until the carrier weight limit has been met. 
    • Ex: a Stool, gloves, and hat are added to the cart. The stool has dimensions and other items do not. The stool is 10x10x8 and weighs 10lbs. A SHQ_Box is created to match the dimensions of the stool and is then “filled” with the other cart items until the carrier’s per-shipment weight limit is met. (Usually 70-150lbs for small package carriers.)
  • If there are other items in the cart that can’t fit (because they max out the per-shipment weight limit), an additional box will be created and filled with the remaining items. (This box will be a duplicate of the first box’s dimensions).

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

  • ShipperHQ will compare the volume of the products in the cart and the volume of available boxes and pack in the most efficient way, usually favoring fewer boxes. (To learn more about how to troubleshoot, refer to this article). 
  • If an item’s dimensions or weight extend beyond the limits of the available predetermined boxes, ShipperHQ will create a custom box to accommodate the item.
    • It will be labeled SHQ_Custom Box and match the dimensions of the item
  • If an item in the cart doesn’t have dimensions (and another item does have dimensions) it will be packed inside the dimensional item’s box as described in the previous scenario.

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 the “select products”, and ensure each of the boxes has “Apply to all products” ticked for No.
    • Set a “Pack according to box rules” packing rule for these select products: create a new rule, name it for the select products (that need to be packed into only certain boxes), and assign the boxes you just created to this rule.
      • You’ll need to then assign this packing rule to relevant products in your ecommerce store’s product configurations.
    • Next, if you don’t already have boxes set up to pack all remaining products, add them (as described in method one) and ensure each box has “Apply to all products” ticked for Yes

Assign a Default Packing Rule with specific boxes

  • Set up:
    • Define Boxes in ShipperHQ and ensure each of the boxes have “Apply to all products” ticked for No.
    • Set a default packing rule: create a new “pack according to box rules” packing rule, name it “All Products” and assign the boxes you just created to this rule.
      • You won’t need to assign any packing rule in your ecommerce platform, ShipperHQ will use these boxes to pack with by default.

Pack with any available box

  • Set up:
    • Define Boxes in ShipperHQ and ensure each of the boxes have “Apply to all products” ticked for Yes
    • You won’t need to assign a packing rule—ShipperHQ will look to boxes available to all pack all products and pack in the most efficient manner.

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