Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

[mikey]

Hello all, I am trying to figure out how we can deal with the new UPS/FedEx Dimensional Weight rules in our store. For most of our products the dimensional weight will not be an issue. But there are a nice amount need to have a "fix" implemented.

Now at the product level, under Shipping Rules there is Shipping Dimensions.

If I put in Shipping Dimensions are they added together as a single unit when shipping is calculated?

Example: Will 2 products that are 6x6x1 get calculated as a 12x12x2 box?

If this doesn't work I am not sure what to do.

Thank for any input
-Mike

[Brennan]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

I would recommend checking out the reference guide for Miva Shipping Rules and Boxes.

It can be downloaded here: http://www.miva.com/referenceguide

Boxes Start on page 250.

The way this works is Miva will pack your products into boxes which you setup. It will use the individual product dimensions to determine which box a product can fit into, then send up the box dimensions to get the dimensional pricing.

[ocpxc02]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

I would recommend checking out the reference guide for Miva Shipping Rules and Boxes.

It can be downloaded here: http://www.miva.com/referenceguide

Boxes Start on page 250.

The way this works is Miva will pack your products into boxes which you setup. It will use the individual product dimensions to determine which box a product can fit into, then send up the box dimensions to get the dimensional pricing.

Maybe I missed it in the documentation, but I didn't see it explained how the logic works with multiple products? Will it fit multiple products into the smallest possible box based upon product dimensions and box dimensions? Will it assume multiple boxes if they can't all fit into the largest available box?

Paul

[Brennan]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

Correct. Miva will use the smallest box all products will fit in up to the max weight or max quantity you have set for each box. It won't use a second box until the max weight or quantity is reached.

There is also an option at the product level to force a product to ship in its own box. If you have that option selected the then that product will always ship in is own box, and the dimensions of the product will be sent for dimensional calculations.

[mikey]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

Thanks Brennan, you could have just said RTFM :)

Anyway :) I went though the Reference Guide but still am not sure of things. Really what information is transmitted to the carriers to get the shipping rates.

Here is our situation. Right now we ship by weight which has been fine for 15 years. But now a portion of our products will now be under charged for shipping because of the dimensional weight enforcement by FedEx and UPS.

Two examples....
5pcs of Widget A is 5lbs and its DIM Weight is less than 5.
5pcs of Widget B is 5lbs and its DIM Weight is more than 5(lets say 9).

So right now Widget B's rates are calculated LOWER than they should be because we will be charged by the carrier for the DIM weight, not physical.

If I leave things the way they are now but add in dimensions on each SKU that needs them and add in various box dimensions(in the Packaging Rules) will the box dimensions get sent to the carrier and return the DIM price not the weight price?

OT
Also.... if you can get your hands on Victory's Hop Harvest Ale in SD ... do it now, it is amazing.

[Brennan]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

If you setup dimensions on each product and boxes, Miva will send up the weight of all all items in the box and the dimensions of the box. UPS will then use that to calculate the dimensional weight and you guys get the correct price.

Here is an example:

If you have an order with 2 products, and they both fit into a 12x12x12 box you have configured in Miva and each product weighs 3 lbs, Miva will send up the box dimensions of 12x12x12 and a weight of 6lbs (The sum of all the items in the box)

You will probably need to do some trial and error compare the rates being returned to what you are being charged to get things correct but the first step is to setup boxes and make sure each product has dimensions.

[mikey]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

Thanks for the info Brennan. I will setup a few products and see how it goes.

-Mike

[ocpxc02]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

Correct. Miva will use the smallest box all products will fit in up to the max weight or max quantity you have set for each box. It won't use a second box until the max weight or quantity is reached.

There is also an option at the product level to force a product to ship in its own box. If you have that option selected the then that product will always ship in is own box, and the dimensions of the product will be sent for dimensional calculations.

That sounds good. So, just to confirm, the logic will stop filling a box when either the cube max -or- the weight max is reached using the weights and dimensions of the individual products.


Paul

[Brennan]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

When you are setting up boxes there are two options:

1. Pack by Weight where you specify the max weight of the box. In this case Miva will put all products that fit into the box (dimensions smaller than the box size) until it reaches the max weight.

2. Pack by Quantity - Miva will pack a box until it reaches the max quantity defined for that box

In both cases there is a chance that the actual products will not physically fit in the box. It does not "play tetris" with the products to fit them into the box. You'll need to pick the option that best suits your products and based on those rules you should be able to get them very close to the actual shipment you will be sending.

[ocpxc02]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

When you are setting up boxes there are two options:

1. Pack by Weight where you specify the max weight of the box. In this case Miva will put all products that fit into the box (dimensions smaller than the box size) until it reaches the max weight.

2. Pack by Quantity - Miva will pack a box until it reaches the max quantity defined for that box

In both cases there is a chance that the actual products will not physically fit in the box. It does not "play testis" with the products to fit them into the box. You'll need to pick the option that best suits your products and based on those rules you should be able to get them very close to the actual shipment you will be sending.

Ah, that's what I was afraid of. That will rarely work well for us. We have a number of boxes that can perfectly fit one of a certain item. But, if anything else is added to the order, it must go in a larger box. The box's weight max will be nowhere near the weight of the given item, so it will assume a fit when in fact, a significantly larger box must be used.

I understand that it doesn't play tetris, but logic to fit total volume might work a little better. It will definitely work better in calculating shipping based upon dimensions.


Paul

[Jim Cockerham]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

When you are setting up boxes there are two options:

1. Pack by Weight where you specify the max weight of the box. In this case Miva will put all products that fit into the box (dimensions smaller than the box size) until it reaches the max weight.

2. Pack by Quantity - Miva will pack a box until it reaches the max quantity defined for that box

In both cases there is a chance that the actual products will not physically fit in the box. It does not "play tetris" with the products to fit them into the box. You'll need to pick the option that best suits your products and based on those rules you should be able to get them very close to the actual shipment you will be sending.

Does the Pack by quantity then apply to the quantity of one specific product or of all products on the order? For example if I have a box set up for a quantity of 4, will it only allow 4 of one specific product in that box or 4 various products? Second question...the Tetris analogy is awesome, can we get a Tetris shipping method in 9.005?

[Rick Wilson]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

Tetris like packing is not likely on the short (or possibly anytime) horizon because it's computationally slow and would slow down checkout too much.

We do keep an eye on it and if that becomes more feasible we'll add it, but right now it's highly unlikely.

[ocpxc02]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

Tetris like packing is not likely on the short (or possibly anytime) horizon because it's computationally slow and would slow down checkout too much.

We do keep an eye on it and if that becomes more feasible we'll add it, but right now it's highly unlikely.

I keep coming back to this as a decent solution in terms of getting the correct shipping rates from FedEx or UPS. It definitely isn't going to be perfect, but is rather simple as well:

1) Calculate the cube for each product ordered using the products' dimensions.
2) Take the sum of those values to get the total cube for the order.
3) Take the cube-root of that sum and use that value as the length, the width, and the height for the package (maybe allow for a percentage adjustment on top to account for air in an average box).

It will assume each box is a perfect cube, which obviously isn't true, but it will represent the volume of the products ordered. This will allow the carriers to calculate the dimensional weight for the package. You may need to allow for maximum dimensions to account for certain restrictions, but it will get a lot closer to a true volume based rate than any current model we have available.

I would see using this as an optional way to provide dimensions to the carriers instead of using the current pack in a box method.


Paul

[Rick Wilson]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

Paul,

That's a good idea, we're going to explore that.

[Rick Wilson]

Re: Dimensional Shipping Rules - 2015 UPS and FedEx Dimensional Weight Policy

As to the question about how pack by quantity works, It looks at the quantity across all items in the order.