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Efficient packaging – A Profitable Approach To Reducing Weight Disputes

May 23, 2019

7 min read

Are you worried about eCommerce shipping blowing a hole in your pocket? 

Do you feel some guidance on decreasing the number of weight disputes with courier companies can help you utilize your time in a more useful manner?

Packaging to avoid weight disputes

You have come to the right place. We have the answer to the most baffling question for any eCommerce seller. A smart way to avoid any weight-related disputes and at the same time, maintain the integrity and safety of your package. Furthermore, reducing any additional costs

Read on to discover further! 

Weight disputes – the Fear of Every Seller

Before beginning, let’s discuss what we mean by weight disputes. Weight dispute refers to a conflict between you and the courier company over the weight of the package you are shipping. When you prepare to ship your order, you’re supposed to provide the courier partner with a volumetric weight. Based on this weight, shipping costs are calculated for the shipment. 

Many times it happens that the weight you provide doesn’t match the weight measured by the courier company. Therefore, it leads to an increase in shipping charges. These extra charges have to be incurred by you, which dig a hole in your pocket unnecessarily.. 

Causes of Weight Disputes 

There are many reasons as to why this difference in measurement can occur. A few of them are as follows: 

Improper Calibration 

There is a chance that you mismeasure the dimensions of your package and estimate your shipping costs based on that. If your company is small and not many checks and balances are ensured, this human error is quite possible. 

Volumetric Weight Negligence 

Some times, there is a chance you do not take into account the dimensions of the product and estimate the cost based on the actual weight of the product. If that’s the case, your final shipping cost will be higher as courier companies charge based on volumetric/dimensional weight

Error from the Courier Company

There is no guarantee that the courier company is always correct. Therefore, if you feel their claim may be incorrect, you can still contest it. 

Appropriate Packaging – A Sure Shot Technique to Avoid Weight Disputes

When it comes to dimensional weight, product packaging plays a significant role in determining the final weight. Therefore, you need to be extra careful about how you pack your products. The packaging must be done in a way that does not hamper the safety of the product being shipped while also saving up on costs. 

Here are a few tips that you can utilize for proper packaging:

Follow the Guidelines Set by Courier Partners

All courier partners have their own set of packaging guidelines that give you a fair idea about how you can pack your goods efficiently. 

Know the Types of Packaging

Different kinds of packaging material can be used for different products. While documents can be packed in flyers, heavier items or boxed items can be packed in corrugated boxes.Here are a few different kinds of packaging to get you started:

i) Flyers – These types of packages are suitable for materials up to 5 kg. 

ii) Corrugated boxes – They are suitable for packages up to 10 kg as they provide a thick layer of safety to the package. You won’t need a secondary packaging over these. 

iii) Double or triple walled boxes – These boxes are suitable for larger shipments that weigh around 10-20kg or more. They are thick and are made of several layers to provide your package with the maximum protection. Usually, these are used as tertiary packaging for products. 

Make sure you do not pack a small-sized product in a large box. This will lead to an increase in volumetric weight and eventually increase your shipping costs. Become aware of different kinds of packaging and use the most suitable one for each shipment.

Use Good Quality Material 

If you do not use good quality packaging, you will need to overpack to avoid any losses. But, overpacking will cause an increase in shipping costs. So all in all, you won’t reduce any of your expenses. Therefore, invest in good quality packaging material that provides you with all features. 

Don’t Layer the Package

If you have chosen the right kind of packaging, you will not need to layer it for safety. But, most sellers tend to overpack their product thinking it will provide protection. Avoid doing that. Instead, use fillers to offer safety. 

Use an Ample Amount of Fillers 

Like we mentioned in the last point,  fillers can help you cut down additional weight. These include bubble wraps, foam wraps, foam peanuts, airbags, crumpled paper, and corrugated inserts. Place them smartly to provide the product with a cushion. This adds to the safety and doesn’t increase the weight of the package unnecessarily. 

Align Your Packaging & Product Inventory

Another common reason why weight disputes arise is that your product SKUs are not synced with the packaging material. This means that you tend to use different packaging materials for the same product and I have to manually record the dimensions for each order. 

This can often lead to confusion and you might miss out on recording dimensions for packages. But, if you specify the packaging material associated with each product SKU, you can standardize the process to a large extent. 

This can help you automate inventory & reduce weight discrepancy issues by a large margin. 

Moreover, if you purchase packaging material from one trusted source, you can maintain synchronization between your products and packages. 

Shiprocket has recently launched its packaging initiative that goes by the name Shiprocket Packaging. You can purchase the finest quality packaging material like courier bags and corrugated boxes at the lowest rates from Shiprocket and synchronize your packaging and product inventory on our dashboard. Reduce weight disputes with one single click and ship hassle-free! 

What if your Courier Partner is at Fault?

In that case, you need an effective platform like Shiprocket

Most of these cases can be solved with the help of an active communication channel between both parties involved. With a courier aggregator and shipping platform like Shiprocket, you get that channel for free! 

Confused how? Here is a brief about how you deal with weight disputes on Shiprocket. 

  1. Carrier partner charges you extra for your shipment based on their estimation
  2. It reflects on your panel in the ‘weight reconciliation’ tab
  3. You can directly raise a discrepancy within 7 working days of this charged weight
  4. Meanwhile, the conflicted amount is kept on hold from your shipping wallet
  5. To support your claim, upload images that display the weight and dimensions of your package 
  6. Shiprocket’s weight dispute team clarifies the issue based on the evidence sent by you
  7. If your claim is correct, the money is removed from hold. 

You can resolve your weight disputes through a single communication channel and save yourself the time to focus on other essential aspects of your business! 

Conclusion

If not curbed at the beginning, weight disputes can take up a lot of time in your daily operations. Take care of your packaging to avoid these disputes in the first place. If the issue persists, sort it out through an advanced platform like Shiprocket. 

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