Packing Rules

Overview

Packing rules are settings for your integration that determine how products in an order, or a person's cart, should be packaged together prior to quoting shipping for those products.

Consider this scenario: A customer orders five t-shirts from an online store. Without packing rules, the integration might calculate shipping based on five seperate satchels. However, in reality, your warehouse would likely pack all five shirts into a single package. Given that carriers charge based on the weight, dimensions and quantity of the shipped packages, not the products ordered, this difference could lead to overcharging the customer for shipping and potentially losing the sale.

Packing rules bridge this gap by simulating how items would actually be packed by your team, allowing for more accurate shipping quotes and streamlined fulfillment processes.

The goal is NOT to perfectly represent how items will be packed in the warehouse, but to get close enough to generate a reasonable freight quote. This ensures that you don't lose money on freight and customers are not overcharged.

Key takeaways about packing rules:

  1. Carrier pricing is determined by the weight and dimensions of the packages for a given order.
  2. At checkout, we have a list of products and quantities from the customer's cart, but we need to know how these products would be packed into final packages to generate an accurate freight price.
  3. Automated packing rules aim to convert cart items into packages in a way that simulates how your warehouse team would pack the items, ensuring quoted prices are accurate.
  4. These rules can also speed up the pick, pack, and shipping process by auto-applying "estimated" packages when creating consignments.

Understanding Multiple Packing Rules

Rather than applying a single packing method to all products, you can create multiple packing rules that work together to handle different types of products appropriately. Each rule:

  • Targets specific products through filters
  • Applies a chosen packing method
  • Is evaluated in a specified order

For example, you might want to:

  • Pack long items (over 1.2m) individually
  • Group clothing items by weight
  • Use dimensional packing for remaining items

Rule Priority and Filtering

Rules are processed in the order you specify, with each rule only handling products that match its filters. Products that don't match a rule's filters continue to the next rule in sequence. This allows you to:

  1. Handle special cases first (e.g., oversized items)
  2. Apply specific rules to certain product types
  3. Have a general rule for remaining items

You can filter products by:

  • Dimensions (e.g., length > 1.2m)
  • Weight thresholds
  • Product categories
  • Specific SKUs
  • Custom attributes

Example Rule Configuration

Let's look at a detailed example for a store selling sports equipment and apparel:

Rule Set Configuration:

  1. Rule: Long Equipment (Processed First)

    • Filter: Length > 1.2m
    • Method: Pack Items Individually
    • Applies to: Surfboards, skis, etc.

  2. Rule: Heavy Equipment (Processed Second)

    • Filter: Weight > 20kg
    • Method: Pack Items Individually
    • Applies to: Weight sets, exercise machines

  3. Rule: Apparel (Processed Third)

    • Filter: Category = "Clothing"
    • Method: Weight-Based Packing
    • Applies to: T-shirts, shorts, etc.

  4. Rule: Standard Items (Processed Last)

    • Filter: None (catches all remaining items)
    • Method: Dimensional Item Packing
    • Applies to: Any items not caught by previous rules

Example Order Processing:

Order Contents:

1 x Surfboard (Length: 2m, Weight: 3kg)
2 x Dumbbells (Length: 0.3m, Weight: 25kg each)
3 x T-shirts (Length: 0.3m, Weight: 0.2kg each)
2 x Tennis Balls (Length: 0.1m, Weight: 0.1kg each)

Processing Steps:

  1. Rule: Long Equipment

    • Catches: Surfboard (length > 1.2m)
    • Result: Surfboard packed individually
    • Remaining items continue to next rule

  2. Rule: Heavy Equipment

    • Catches: Both dumbbells (weight > 20kg)
    • Result: Each dumbbell packed individually
    • Remaining items continue to next rule

  3. Rule: Apparel

    • Catches: All t-shirts
    • Result: T-shirts grouped into one package using weight-based packing
    • Remaining items continue to next rule

  4. Rule: Standard Items

    • Catches: Tennis balls
    • Result: Tennis balls packed using dimensional packing

Final Output:

Package 1: Surfboard (individual)
Package 2: Dumbbell 1 (individual)
Package 3: Dumbbell 2 (individual)
Package 4: 3 x T-shirts (weight-based)
Package 5: 2 x Tennis Balls (dimensional)

Available Packing Methods

Each rule you create can use one of three packing methods:

Method 1: Pack Each Item Individually

With this method, each item is treated as a separate line on the consignment.

Requirements

  • Weights, dimensions, and carton types of all products
  • These details can be loaded into MachShip or taken from the platform

Example

Given these product details:

Item SKU Length Width Height Weight Item Type Qty
RED-SHIRT 20 20 3 0.2kg Satchel 1
BARBELL-5KG 20 15 15 5kg Carton 1
ROTARY-PHONE 30 30 30 10kg Carton 1

Example Order

For an order containing:

  • 2 x RED-SHIRT
  • 1 x BARBELL-5KG
  • 1 x ROTARY-PHONE

The output would be:

Item SKU Length Width Height Weight Item Type Qty
RED-SHIRT 20 20 3 0.2kg Satchel 2
BARBELL-5KG 20 15 15 5kg Carton 1
ROTARY-PHONE 30 30 30 10kg Carton 1

Best Suited For

  • Sellers of heavy items - you tend to be priced on the total weight, rather than the volume.
  • 3PLs that don't repackage items - as you would tend to ship them seperately
  • Low quantity sellers - if you only sell 1 to 2 items per order, then typically you will re-package items less.

Method 2: Weight-Based Packing

This method bundles items into the smallest possible container based on total weight.

Example Weight Breaks

Item SKU Length Width Height Weight Limit Item Type Qty
SATCH 20 30 10 1kg Satchel 1
CARTON-SM 30 30 30 5kg Carton 1
CARTON-LG 50 50 50 20kg Carton 1
SKID-A 75 75 75 150kg Skid 1
PALLET-A 100 100 120 375kg Pallet 1

Example Order

For an order containing:

  • 2 x RED-SHIRT (0.2kg each)
  • 1 x BARBELL-5KG (5kg)
  • 1 x ROTARY-PHONE (10kg)

Total weight: 15.4kg

Output:

Item SKU Length Width Height Weight Item Type Qty
CARTON-LG 50 50 50 15.4kg Carton 1

Method 3: Dimensional Item Packing

This method intelligently packs items into boxes by considering their dimensions and volume, similar to how a warehouse worker would efficiently pack items together. Here's how it works:

  1. Box Organisation

    • Available boxes are arranged from smallest to largest
    • This ensures we use the smallest suitable box for each packing task

  2. Smart Item Ordering

    • Items are arranged from largest to smallest (based on their biggest dimension)
    • Multiple quantities of the same item are treated as separate pieces
    • Starting with larger items first makes the packing more efficient, just like you would when packing a box by hand

  3. Packing Process

    • Begin with the largest unpacked item
    • Find the smallest box it will fit in
    • For remaining items:
      • Try to fit them into boxes that already have items, that would fit this new item.
      • Fitting the item is based on ALL dimensions of the new product not exceeding the original box dimensions AND the box having enough remaining volume to fit the new products volume.
      • If the box has a weight limit, this is also factored in.
      • If an item won't fit in any existing box, start a new box
      • If an item is larger than the biggest available box, pack it in its' own box, or in the largest box.
    • Continue until all items are packed

This method is particularly effective because it:

  • Minimizes wasted space by trying to fill existing boxes first
  • Uses appropriately sized boxes by starting with the smallest possible option
  • Handles large items efficiently by packing them first
  • Considers both the dimensions and total volume when determining if items will fit

Available Boxes Example

Box Name Length Width Height Weight Limit
Small Box 30 20 10 5 kg
Medium Box 40 30 20 10 kg
Large Box 50 40 30 20 kg

Example Order

Order Items:

Item Name Length Width Height Weight Quantity
Small Item 10 8 5 0.5 kg 3
Medium Item 25 20 15 2 kg 2
Large Item 35 30 25 5 kg 1

Packing Process:

  1. Start with the Large Item (largest dimension: 35)
    • Fits in Medium Box
  2. Try to fit Medium Items
    • First Medium Item fits in the Medium Box with the large item
    • Second Medium Item doesn't fit, place in a new Medium Box
  3. Try to fit Small Items
    • Two Small Items fit in the first Medium Box
    • One Small Item fits in the second Medium Box

Result:

Box Used Items Packed Total Weight
Medium Box 1 Large Item, 1 Medium Item, 2 Small Items 8 kg
Medium Box 1 Medium Item, 1 Small Item 2.5 kg

Example 2: Oversized Item Handling

Configuration: Pack oversized items individually = true

Available Boxes: Same as Example 1

Order Items:

Item Name Length Width Height Weight Quantity
Oversized Item 60 50 40 15 kg 1
Regular Item 20 15 10 1 kg 5

Packing Process:

  1. Oversized Item is larger than the biggest box
    • Packed individually due to configuration
  2. Pack Regular Items
    • All fit in a Medium Box

Result:

Box Used Items Packed Total Weight
Oversized Item (self-contained) 1 Oversized Item 15 kg
Medium Box 5 Regular Items 5 kg

Additional Options

These options can be applied to any packing rule:

Products Heavier Than Largest Box

Items exceeding the largest box's weight limit are automatically packed individually.