What is Dunnage?
Dunnage is an inexpensive packaging material to secure open spaces in a cargo or a container to reduce product damage. These materials secure the loose areas within a shipment to ensure minimum cargo movement during transport. A dunnage can be a soft padding, bubble wrap, or other similar material.
Significance of Dunnage in an E-commerce Shipping and Delivery
The primary application of dunnage is to provide cushioning to a shipment product to reduce the risks of damaging a product during its transit.
- Reduce damage risks: Dunnage is often packed with a product or used as cushioning on container walls. There are instances where a handler might drop a package, or a stack of shipments get tipped off during delivery. A dunnage is used to secure products and packages in such cases. With a safety cushion, the chances of product damage due to the mentioned reasons get nullified.
- Protection from environmental forces: Dunnage protects sensitive products from moisture and contamination from similar factors.
Prerequisites of Dunnage and How It Works
Dunnage does not have a prerequisite as it solves a common risk in shipping. The seller or the service provider can use these products in the following ways.
- Packaging by a seller: When packing a product, a seller can add dunnage to seal off the open space in the packed box.
- Dunnage by shipping companies: A shipping company can secure a container by adding soft padding. Furthermore, the stacks in a warehouse can also be softened using the mentioned padding for more security.
Use Case with Dunnage
Usually, companies use dunnage for fragile items to provide protection. For example, a company sells mugs. To create a shipment packet, they add bubble wrap as dunnage in the box and place the mug.