Describe the product’s vulnerable points
Provide product and existing packaging photos. Identify glass, protruding components, sensitive surfaces, moisture concerns and any restrictions on orientation or stacking. State whether retail boxes must be preserved. Ask for the proposed packing work and its cost before authorising removal of original packaging or combining orders.
Keep identifiers through repacking
Assign a unique carton or crate identifier and use it on both the label and packing list. Where cartons contain multiple SKUs, record the quantity of each item inside each carton. If repacking changes carton count or dimensions, issue a new packing-list version and retain the connection to the supplier orders. Do not reuse an old manifest as if nothing changed.
Measure the finished package
Provide gross weight and external length, width and height after the agreed packaging work. Include pallets, crates and protruding parts. Measure different package sizes separately. The resources calculator gives geometric volume; it does not establish a carrier’s chargeable weight, stackability treatment or freight price. Ask the quoting party which measurements and charging basis it uses.
Confirm handling and arrival conditions
Large or heavy packages need an agreed loading and unloading method. Tell the team whether the receiving site has a forklift, loading dock or access restriction. For fragile cargo, ask which handling labels and protection measures are appropriate for the proposed route. Packaging approval, transport acceptance and any insurance assessment remain separate decisions.
Your preparation checklist
- Carton identifier and contents
- Finished external dimensions with units
- Gross weight per package
- Original-box and label requirements
- Stackability, fragile points and unloading needs
Measure the final transport package
Record outside length, width and height after all wrapping, pallets or crates are added. Use one unit consistently and label it. Gross weight includes the packaging. For rectangular packages, cubic metres can be calculated as length × width × height in metres; add the individual volumes when package sizes differ. This describes physical volume, not the chargeable weight or freight price.
Worked volume example
Illustrative example: two cartons each measure 60 × 40 × 50 cm. Each is 0.60 × 0.40 × 0.50 = 0.12 m³, giving 0.24 m³ in total. If a pallet is added, measure the finished palletised package again rather than reusing the carton-only total as its outside volume. Enter matching package groups separately in the volume calculator.
Make labels useful at both ends
Use package numbers such as 1 of 3 alongside the order reference. Keep the same numbers in the packing list, photographs and release instruction. Ask the receiver for any required label format before printing. Recheck measurements and the package count after repacking, and send the updated list for quotation review.
