Monthly Archives: July 2019

What is volumetric weight and how does this affect your logistics packaging costs?

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This easy to read guide will help you understand what volumetric weight is, and the effect this has on businesses. If your business operates on volumetric weight (otherwise known as dimensional weight or DIM) it can help to reduce your transport and logistics costs. Reducing transportation costs is one of the key challenges for most companies, whether you’re a small-scale ecommerce packaging boutique with a small parcel cost to a large distribution company shipping boxes with heavy duty goods.Volumetric weight used by delivery companies

So, what is volumetric weight?

Volumetric weight is a method to calculate the chargeable weight of a package, using volume rather than gross weight. It takes into account the total space used by the package in the delivery vehicle and not just the weight of the package.

Essentially, the method of calculating the dimensional weight is more commercial for delivery companies.

If packages were only measured by weight, the cost to ship less dense, lightweight packages would be low, and the cost to ship dense, heavy items would be high. However, there is no relation between its size and density.

Dimensional weight is otherwise known as the DIM factor

Pricing based on dimensional weight balances out the shipping cost issues of large bulky packages that are lightweight. It is unprofitable to ship when the cubic space taken up is higher in relation to the weight. It allows carriers to also represent the density, by using the dimensional weight (DIM factor) which could vary between 5000 – 7000. The DIM factor is divided by the length, width and height of the package to calculate the unique weight, shape and size.

This method is also applied to heavy but small packages. However the carrier will instead charge per kilogram, whichever is greater; the gross weight or the volumetric weight of the package.

The volumetric weight of a package is calculated by the following formula:

L x W x H  / (DIM factor)

DIM factor = 5000 (in cms) or 305 (in inches)

Say you want to send a lightweight package with the dimensions of 50 x 30 x 30cm, which weighs only 3kg, using the common DIM factor of 5000 (for centimetres or DIM factor 305 for inches). The volumetric weight is 9 kg, and so it will be charged on this basis.

And conversely, if you send a heavy package with the dimensions of 30 x 30 x 20cm which weighs 10kg, divide by common DIM factor 5000. The volumetric weight is 5.4kg, which is lower that the gross weight, so this package will be charged on the gross weight.

Volumtretic weight formula

How can volumetric weight measure costs?

Volumetric weight is a measurement of cost for the delivery company. The mileage the delivery vehicle covers is a cost factor, travelling nationally and internationally, but the size of the vehicle which determines its weight allowance will affect how many parcels it can hold. The more parcels the delivery vehicle can carry, the more economical it is for the carrier, as the cost per journey is reduced.

In principal, the method to calculate the shipping and delivery cost is:

  • If your package is light and big, it will be charged on its volumetric weight.
  • If your package is heavy and small, it will be charged on its gross weight.

So, when packing, it is important to consider both the weight and size of your package to reduce the cost of transporting goods.

Dimensional weight used by delivery companies

Which industries are affected by volumetric weight?

Technically, volumetric weight will apply to all industries. The pricing technique is based on the package needing to transport, and the space it takes up in the freight carrier whether it is transported by a ship, lorry, or plane.

Also if your business provides a free shipping and returns service – keep in mind the same pricing method would be applied. So, if the returns their order you could be making a loss.

For further advice on reducing transportation costs, contact our Packaging Specialists on 0800 542 44 28 or sales@rajapack.co.uk to discuss your product range and your packing operation.

Top tips! 3 tips to optimising the volumetric weight of your packages. Read more>>

 

3 tips to optimising your volumetric weight

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When budgeting for your transport and logistics costs, do you calculate your delivery costs using volumetric weight?

Many factors influence transportation costs, such as fluctuating petrol and diesel prices, and the transportation mileage. Budgeting to the volumetric weight of packages can help businesses control logistical costs. But frst, you need understand the fundamentals of this pricing method and apply the optimisation techniques.

Before we move on to the cost saving tips, if you are not familiar with volumetric weight, we recommend that you read: “What is volumetric weight and how does this affect your logistics packaging costs?”. So that you can fully understand how to optimise your delivery costs.

Find out what volumetric weight is and how this affects your logistics packaging costs. Read more>>

Tip 1. Reducing packaging dimensions

Tip 2. Plan for the delivery times you need

Tip 3. Choose the right delivery company

Tip 1. Reducing packaging dimensions

Reducing your packaging dimensions reduces your shipping costs. This all starts with knowing your products, inside and out; review your range by measuring the size and weight. Then, applying the product measurements, carry out an audit of your existing packaging to measure its suitability. To reduce your packaging dimensions, your audit should consider what the protection qualities are, and how they house your products.

The right sized packaging reduces excess space and void fill used. Reducing the volumetric weight also reduces shipping costs, whilst increasing the protection levels with the appropriate packaged being used.

Having effective packaging materials suited to your product range and knowing how to pack your products for shipping are both key. Discuss your process with a Packaging Specialist to find out if you’ve got the right packaging materials and that they are applied in the most efficient way. You can also further optimise by choosing bespoke packaging, personalised packaging fit for purpose.

Once you have identified the most efficient packaging for your products, you can make further savings by buying in bulk. Wholesale prices will make further cost savings.

Contact a Packaging Specialist on 0800 542 44 28 or sales@rajapack.co.uk for free advice

Once your packages are ready for shipment, cross-analyse the dispatch frequency with the products sent. This will help to categorise your shipments by weight, and which band tariffs are most invoiced for. Co-ordinate your consignments in a pricing table to identify which products have the higher shipment frequencies. This can provide further cost-savings when scheduling the deliveries. Once you have a complete list, you can then enquire the rates and frequencies with your delivery provider.

Reduce your volumetric weight so less space is used in the delivery vehicle

Tip 2. Plan for the delivery times you need

The delivery times can determine the mode of transport; by road, air or sea. For express deliveries needing to get to its destination quicker, these packages are given priority, so the postage costs are generally higher.

If you offer a free delivery service to your customers, have you researched if an express delivery service is needed. Or can your customers wait an extra day or two for delivery?

For next day and quick deliveries, such as a just-in-time approach, it does depend on the industry and market in which your business operates. Although, we as consumers in this technological age, do expect things ‘now’. Services such as Deliveroo for the fast food industry, and Same-Day delivery service with Amazon, are perfect for customer that can’t wait. However, if given the choice or if your business set-up allows, a non-express delivery service could be better. Your operation would need to adjust for the longer lead times. The cost of delivery is considerably less for the longer delivery dates, and whether your company provides a free delivery service or not. This could not only save your business money when dispatching orders, but as a customer, placing an order too. So, if you provide a free delivery service, make sure to incorporate volumetric weight costs into the total order value.

So, for an optimal shipping method, adapt your business structure if possible to incorporate volumetric weight into your transportation costs; whether you’re a supplier or a customer.

Plan for the delivery times you need

Tip 3. Choose the right delivery company

Unfortunately not all carriers apply the same pricing method and there is no standardised regulation for delivery companies to do so. The method to determine its volumetric weight will be dependent on the business strategy of the delivery company, which will be optimised to its business model. (Although, many companies will operate on the DIM factor of 5000).

When enquiring about the delivery rates be sure to ask for the method of calculating the delivery costs. Secondly, ask for a tariff grid so you can see the pricing structures. This will help you easily compare the different services provided.

Compare the volumetric weight costs of UK delivery companies:

  • Calculate shipping costs with DHL
  • Calculate shipping costs DPD
  • Calculate shipping costs with Hermes
  • Calculate shipping costs with Parcel Force

For more information on developing your packing and packaging process, speak to our Packaging Specialist 0800 542 44 28 or sales@rajaapck.co.uk for help and advice.

Brown paper bags guide: How are paper bags made

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Imagine a technology that could totally revolutionise packaging and the delivery of goods. That could protect and enclose and which could also feature branding and other information? Well, paper bags did just that when they emerged in the mid-late 1800s in the US.Paper bags

But how are paper bags made, what are paper bags made from and what can paper bags be used for? In our guide, we take a look at the ingenuity and simplicity behind these useful everyday packing staples. And show you how they can be used for everything from storing your bits and bobs, to giving gifts the wow factor.

Who invented the paper bag?

While the inventor of the paper bag is lost to obscurity, the invention of the bag’s square bottomed design is widely accredited to one Luther Childs Crowell of Wellfleet in Massachusetts.

Luther Childs Crowell, inventor of the grocery bag

Luther Childs Crowell, inventor of the grocery bag (right) and one of the most famous people to come from Cape Cod (Image: The Real Cape)

When was the paper bag invented? While Crowell’s flat-bottomed bag appeared in the 1870s, one Francis Wolle, a US schoolteacher, invented the first machine to mass-produce these bags as early as the 1850s. Wolle and his brother patented the machine and founded the Union Paper Bag Company, which leads us nicely to how paper bags are made.

How are paper bags manufactured?

Paper bags are manufactured from paper pulp, which is pressed into flat sheets or rolls of paper. These rolls of paper are cut to size, that means twice the required height of the finished bag. These cut sheets are then folded over and the two parallel open sides glued together. This can either be by pressing the glues sides together or heating and pressing.

This makes a simple flat bag made from paper.

Flat white paper bags with gusset

To make a more complex flat-bottom design, a similar process is followed. Only, there are more complex folds at the bottom of the bag so that the finished bag is square or oblong with an open top.Brown paper bags

For bags with handles, separate paper handles are then fixed using adhesive glue.

Plain brown paper carrier bags with folded handles

What are paper bags made out of

What are paper bags made of would, on the face of it, seem to be a silly question: paper. But there are many designs and styles, all made from different kinds of paper depending on what the bag is going to be used for.

Standard brown bags are made from Kraft paper, but it can be made from all kinds of paper and in any colour.Coloured paper bags

Kraft bags can also be made from laminated paper. This has a plastic coating on the inside to protect the bag from moisture from the goods contained in it or to keep moisture out.

Bags made from Kraft paper can also be designed in any colour and any weight of Kraft paper. These are typically made from 60gsm paper and come in a huge range of sizes.

More sturdy Kraft paper gift bags are made from 90gsm paper and can be coloured, or brown – or retro polka dot style.

As with all things paper, it can also be made from recycled paper and recycled Kraft paper. This offers a good, sturdy and environmentally friendly way to package goods, gifts and more. Typically, these are made from strong 110gsm recycled Kraft paper.

A paper bag for any occasion

Why use paper bags?

Paper bags can be used for so many things. Bags made from paper are a cheap, easy and are a sustainable way to store and deliver all manner of things – so long as they aren’t wet, or really heavy.

How to measure a paper bag is simple: measure its height, width and depth (gusset) – multiply these together and you will get its volume.

How much can a paper bag hold depends on its size. These handy bags come in all sorts of sizes from small ones measuring 200x300x100mm right up to ones as big as sacks measuring 450x800x290mm.

Heavy duty, strong paper bags

How much weight can a paper bag hold depends again on its size and on the strength of the paper used. Small bags made of 70gsm Kraft paper have a breaking strain of 4kg, while the largest paper sacks made of 90gsm paper can take ten times that, having a breaking strain of 40kg.

In between lie the myriad sizes of bags available, each able to take a weight of 40kg or less. To see the full range of available sizes and their relative strengths, take a look at this chart.

For additional advice on paper packaging, our Packaging Experts are here to help you find the right solutions and arrange next day delivery. Simply call us on 0800 542 44 28 or visit www.rajapack.co.uk.

Can we profit from our printed items?

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It can be tricky to predict which products will be profitable in years to come, but there is one thing that can give us a clue: the answer lies in the past. With vintage clothes, vinyl, old video games and the like resurfacing as collectible rarities today, it’s plain to see that what goes down in popularity tends to go up in value… But can we predict what will come next?Print to profit

With the ongoing transition towards a digital world, we wanted to know how profitable our printed items could be in the future. We spoke to BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow’s expert Wayne Colquhoun about cashing in on the collectibles that can be found in our houses today, and what they could be worth tomorrow (or in 50 years’ time, to be precise). Will the books that line our shelves become our biggest asset, or could the film posters that covered our walls as teens be the taker of the crown?

Wayne’s print predictions:
Top 10 most profitable items in 50 years’ time

  1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy books: Complete trilogy collection, first edition, first printing, original dust jacket, signed by J.R.R. Tolkien
  2. Harry Potter books Complete box set collection, first printing, signed by J.K. Rowling
  3. Bank of England Polymer notes, first printing
  4. Becoming by Michelle Obama First edition, first printing, signed by Michelle Obama
  5. The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour book Signed by Paul McCartney
  6. Coachella 2018 memorabilia Official merchandise
  7. New Avengers comic books #11, featuring the first appearance of Ronin
  8. A Game of Thrones First edition, first printing, signed by George R.R. Martin
  9. Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spiderman comic books Signed by Stan Lee
  10. Paper Magazine – Winter 2014 Kim Kardashian West’s ‘Break the Internet’ cover

According to Wayne, cashing in on collectibles is only set to soar in popularity, and particularly when it comes to print in the digital age: “It will continue to rise – you can feel it, you can see it and you can count it.”

As for the fact that 50% of the list is notably books? This should be no surprise: “I think books will be with us forever and remain a sturdy and strong investment. In the case of the best of the best and the rarest of the rare, they will be the best way to see your money grow in the most pleasurable of ways.”

The above list is only a chunk of what you could be cashing in on, but why is it these items in particular? And what could they be worth?

Read our full guide to profiting from your print and cashing in on collectibles, where Wayne offers up his full predictions, including what items could be worth, and why we can expect them to appreciate in value.

And if you own none of the items from the above list? Wayne goes on to offer a full breakdown of what else is worth blowing the dust off, protecting with paper packaging, and saving for that special moment – as well as giving you his insights on becoming the best collector for cash that there is.