Sunday, 18 June 2017

Dimensional Weight in Shipping boxes

This is known as the volumetric weight, which is a type of pricing that’s used by companies to ship stuff. It factors in the size of your package as it’s being shipped, not just the weight itself. 

It was put in place because there are large and lightweight types of packages taking up a lot more space on a vehicle for shipping, and cost far less because of the weight that’s low. 

When you charge on the dimensional weight, you’ll have shipping companies nice and happy, as they’ll feel they’re being compensated for the space that packages do occupy within the vehicle. 

It’s an approach that will encourage your shippers to use smaller types of packages whenever possible, which leads to more effective use in the shipping mediums. 

Why it Matters 

This is a focal part in determining the costs for shipping. For instance, if you have a package with a huge size, but a low weight, the dimensional weight will be far higher. 

In these instances, a shipping company will charge based on the numbers for the dimensional weight, so the shipping will be higher. 

Understanding what you’re going to be charged and optimizing this dimensional weight creates massive cost savings when shipping items. It also leads to better, more effective packaging practices, and also contributes to better sustainability and reduces the waste. 

Calculating your Dimensional Weight 

The dimensional weight is further calculated through the multiplication of the width, length, and the package height, whether it’s in centimeters or inches, and then dividing by specific divisors. This can vary based on the company itself, and the measurement units used. 

For example, if shipping companies use a divisor for over 5000 measurements in centimeters, and a package is being measured 50 cm by 30 cm by 20 cm, then the dimensional weight would be those numbers divide it by 500, which is about 6 kg.   if the weight of the package is less than 6 kg, then the company will charge that 6 kg, because that is the dimensional weight. 



Divisors for dimensional weight. 

This is a calculation that’s set through the shipping companies individually. It’s based on the density average of a package that they handle. Lower divisors do result in higher dimensional weights, and higher shipping costs. 

It’s vital for an ecommerce business to actually know the divisors for chosen shipping, as it will impact the shipping costs. Comparing the divisors between the different companies is a cost-effective type of solution for shipping.

Implications of dimensional weight for the Ecommerce Packaging 

Dimensional weight is a he implication for your business, as it does affect the costs that you have for shipping and is overall a huge expense for retailers online. Through understanding and the optimization of dimensional weight, a business may be able to reduce the costs for shipping, and in turn boost your profitability.

The dimensional weight also encourages a business to use better packaging, as they will be able to utilize the smaller packaging when they can to help reduce the shipping costs, waste, and bolster sustainability.



The costs of Dimensional Weight 

The costs are a huge thing that lots of companies will learn, especially if they ship on the regular lightweight, and large packages. They’ll discover the shipping costs to be far higher due to the charges of dimensional weight. This does eat into the margins and makes it far difficult for the business to compete. 

Understanding this allows for smarter decisions to be made, to consolidate items into fewer packages, or to use smaller packages when you can.


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