Worried about delivering your heavy shipments? Shipping bulky products don’t have to be a pain for you. iThink logistics have special guidelines to ensure that your heavy packages reach your customer safely without additional costs. In this article, I am going to share cost-effective tips on packing and shipping heavy items.
Shipping heavy items are not as difficult as we make out.
Remove the fear of shipping heavy items.
If the packing and handling part is taken care, then you can easily move your heavy shipments to your customers.
The packaging is a vital part for shipping heavy items. It protects the product throughout the journey. Many of the times, we forget the idea of shipping heavy items because we have less knowledge on how to do packaging of such large items.
What type of heavy items can I ship?
The foremost question which comes to people’s mind is “what all items can I ship?”. The answer is you can ship ANYTHING.
Let’s first understand what is considered heavy and what is considered large.
What is considered heavy? Any parcel weighing over 10kg is generally considered as a heavy parcel.
What is considered large? There is no precise dimension or weight for the large parcels. They are generally shipments larger than 1.5 meters. A bulky item doesn’t necessarily to be large, and a large item doesn’t necessarily be heavy.
Risk of shipping big items
- Risk of high-value items getting lost during travel
- Damage to the product
- Damage to the parcel packing
Common damage scenarios
Following are the scenarios where your package must be able to survive.
– Getting dropped
– Protect product from the vibration of tracks and other wear and tear
– Potential temperature and humidity changes
How do you avoid your package getting damaged? By doing a better job at the packaging.
How to pack heavy items to avoid damages?
Choose appropriate packing material. When you need to pack the large or heavy item, it is advisable to explore various options to ensure that you are making the right packaging choice. Bulky products come with a variety of packing and packaging considerations that you need to evaluate before packing.
Wrap and cushion the item with a thick layer of bubble cushion. Remember, a crumbled newspaper will not offer any protection. Make sure you fill the empty space inside the box with proper packing material. You can also use cardboard to fill up space in the box. Use thicker packing material if you are shipping a lot heavier item.
Add another box that is larger than the one and can occupy the original box in it. Again, fill the empty space with an air pillow. Fragile items made from glass, clay etc. need sufficient pillow wrapping between two boxes as well. You need to protect the item in case the box id dropped or bumped onto something.
Seal the box with high-quality tape or hot glue. While shipping heavy items, don’t risk the box opening at any time.
When you are shipping a fragile item, mention their content on the box. Write “this side up” “fragile” or anything which makes sense and easily understood by the one who is going to handle and manage your shipment during transit.
Do not make the box unnecessarily heavy. It may break. Do not overload the box.
Place the object in the middle of the box so that they don’t tilt during transportation. Manage the weight evenly in the box. Put a heavy item in the middle and place cushion around it.
Handle with care. Pack your heavy item carefully. Also, mention “heavy” or “handle with care” on the package.
Focus on utility packing. Do not emphasize brand representation more than required. Rather than focus on utility packing which will ultimately save your product from the damage.
Insurance for your heavy packages
If you do not secure your shipments, you are taking responsibility for the loss.
Give yourself a piece of mind that, if something happens to your shipment, it is covered. Insurance for your shipment saves you from the loss, and you get the reimbursement for the damage.
The bottom line is heavy items are subject to damage as they move from one place to another. Adequately packed items are more likely to resist the damage while shipping, handling and also prevents itself from the weather changes. It helps to prevent damage and returns, and at last, reaches your customer in good condition.
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