Choosing a Shipping Box

Choosing an appropriate shipping box is a key part of any order fulfillment and shipping process.

The main aims being to both suitably protect the contents of the order while keeping shipping costs to a minimum.

Shipping box size

More and more shipping companies are incorporating package dimensions into their pricing, rather than basing quotes solely on weight. So box sizes now have a more direct impact on costs than ever before.

It’s therefore important to stock your packing station with a variety of box sizes so orders can be shipped with as little space being wasted as possible.

Further reading: How Do You Package Items for Shipping?

How many box sizes should you have?

Speed is still a vital part of packing. And having too many different box size options is a great way to overwhelm packers and severely slow down the entire operation. So there’s a balance that needs to be struck between speed and efficiency here.

The perfect number depends on your individual business needs. If you know every order has the same physical dimensions then having a single box size makes sense.

But a typical retailer will usually do best with around 3-5 size options. This keeps things manageable for packers while still allowing room to minimise courier costs.