Packaging Design & Tips

Reduce Shipping Costs by Choosing the Correct Box Size

Reduce Shipping Costs by Choosing the Correct Box Size - PackQueen

In this edition of our business-to-business blog, we shed light on a cost-saving strategy that can significantly impact your bottom line: choosing the correct box size for shipping. Join us as we explore the importance of right-sizing your packaging and discuss the benefits it brings, from reducing shipping costs to improving customer satisfaction. Discover how understanding dimensional weight and optimizing packaging sizes can help you streamline your operations and increase profitability. Get ready to save money and enhance the efficiency of your shipping processes.

As online retailers and any business that sends products out to customers will know, shipping costs can be significant. So, keeping those costs to a minimum can reduce your overall operating expenses and help improve your company's profitability.

Reducing shipping costs involves much more than trying to find a cheaper carrier, which can be detrimental in terms of reliability. Instead, you should focus on optimising your packaging so that unit costs are reduced while standards are maintained.

Know how Shipping Costs are charged

Before you can save on packaging and shipping costs, you need to be aware of how those costs are calculated. Many carriers are increasingly using dimensional weight charging, which means that heavy goods will be charged depending on their weight while those that are large but light will be charged on package size.

It is crucial to know how these charges are worked out because they will differ widely between, for example, those shipping foam pillows and companies that sell steam irons. The former are relatively lightweight compared to their size while the latter are much heavier but a smaller size and the carrier needs to ship both profitably.

Most carriers will charge different rates depending on the priority of the parcel so that those delivered quickest attract a higher rate. They also tend to set size limits so that a higher rate is charged when a package moves up to the next size band. A small reduction in size, therefore, can mean a package is within a lower size band and will be cheaper to send.

The general principle is that packages should be as small and as light as possible in order to attract the lowest consignment charges. Although this is governed to a large degree by the size and weight of the product, you should ensure that it fits securely within the packaging with no excess space around it. For awkwardly shaped items, internal stiffening or packing will be necessary to stop them from moving around but these should be as lightweight as possible.

When sending multiple items to a customer, it almost always pays to ship them together. One large package will invariably be cheaper than several small ones due to the reduced handling necessary.

Don't Compromise on Quality

Although the savings from optimising each package can soon amount to a large sum and significantly improve your profitability, there are other considerations to make. The prime aim of packaging is to keep items secure during transit and you can't compromise on this. Corrugated card is, however, lightweight and extremely strong while bubble wrap is very effective for internal protection.

The packaging in which you send out your products is a very persuasive marketing tool so it's important you don't miss the opportunity to incorporate a company and product branding that customers will see and remember. Also, be aware of the customer's unboxing experience and provide packaging that is easy to open, is re-usable, and recyclable so that you don't create unnecessary waste. If the product is damaged or the package is difficult to open or hard to get rid of, the experience will be a bad one and any shipping savings you make will be wasted.

At PackQueen, we have a wide range of packaging of various sizes and types. That means you can have different shapes and sizes of boxes to fit your products exactly, have various types of inserts and packing to keep everything safe, and customisation options so you can create exactly the packaging you need. As a result, you can despatch products safely, with effective marketing, and at the least possible cost every time.

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