In the Spotlight: Automated Packaging Selections
06 Jul 2020 By By Tony Cheetham
We get a lot of requests about automating the decision making process for deciding which box/envelope packaging to use. The issue can be solved in several ways, by having a lot of detailed information that informs automated boxing choices through Shipster such as product type, weight or amount or by using an automatic packing machine.
Where this cannot be exact, one of the advantages we have with our desktop interface is that we can offer choices to the packer, allowing the person stood there to make a decision based on what they can see. We can provide custom interfaces that allow the user to make the packaging decisions and we can do this with no more than a configuration change. No need for custom code or additional costs.
Here’s a simple example of a pop-up that asks the user if they would prefer a parcel or a large letter:
This window pops up in front and centre of the user’s computer display and must be clicked before they can continue.
The pop-up can run for every shipment or triggered by our rules engine for orders that meet your given criteria.
This opens up a world of possibilities for configuration, I’ll give you an example:
A client ships small items that are often ordered together, but the packaging is different based on where it was produced. They can usually fit 4 of the items into an envelope but other times they can only fit 3, or sometimes 5. They wanted an option to book in the shipment as an envelope when the packer decided it would fit, or a parcel when it wouldn’t. Their average order size was 3 items, so, having all of the packers click the button every time would have wasted a lot of their time, so we merged the pop-up into their rules. When we detect more than 3, and less then 6 items in the relevant category of products, we present the user with the packaging selection pop-up. Orders with less than 3 items go into a large letter and more than 5 go into a parcel automatically with no prompt.
This is just one example of versatile and dynamic our configuration can be in Shipster. If you’ve got an issue, we’ve probably solved it before and if not, we’d love the challenge.
