What is Box?
A box is a form of packaging enclosed by flaps at the top and the bottom, allowing a shipping company to seal them with tape. A shipping box is usually made up of corrugated fiber or with specific paper, and they are available in a variety of sizes.
Significance of Box in an E-commerce Shipping and Delivery
Boxes play an instrumental role in helping companies palletize irregularly sized products while allowing them to lower costs and leverage the total storage capacity of a shipping container.
- Flexible palletization: Products in e-commerce come in various sizes and shapes. While leveraging the available spaces in a container allows a shipping company to lower the shipping cost, the irregularity of the products makes it challenging to accomplish. It further escalates to the point that deters such companies from achieving optimal palletization. Boxes of specific sizes allow shipping companies to deal with the mentioned issue. Therefore, optimal palletization becomes achievable, leading to lower shipping charges and improved management.
Prerequisites of Box and How It Works
When a seller places a shipping order for a product, they are required to pack the shipment in a box of a pre-determined shape. In some cases, shipping companies are responsible for packing.
- Box packing by the seller: A seller can pack their product in a box of a determined shape. A merchant can order these boxes from a partner shipping company or any other source.
- Box packing by shipping company: The shipping company procures the product and then packs and seals them in a shipping box.
Use Case with Box
Some use cases with a box have been given below.
- A seller orders a box of size 4 X 4 X 4” and packs a coffee mug before handing it in for first-mile delivery.
A shipping company procures ten mugs from a seller and packs them together in a 1.5” cubic foot shipping box.
