Dimensional weight, nicknamed DIM weight, is an alternate formula used by couriers to determine an item’s shipping weight. Also known as “volumetric weight,” DIM weight accounts for how much physical space your package occupies rather than merely its weight on the scale.
If you’ve shipped items at any point since 2015, you know DIM weight and its potential to drive up shipping costs all too well. That’s especially the case if you have a light item in a large box, as couriers calculate both traditional weight and DIM weight, then charge you based on the higher number.
The introduction of DIM weight has transformed how both B2B and B2C companies think about packaging. Overlooking a package’s size in relation to the product inside can increase shipping costs significantly, even if the package is fairly light when placed on the scale. Although it may seem like a purely cost-driven consideration, optimizing your package’s DIM weight also has sustainability implications. In our current landscape, where sustainability matters to consumers, retail partners, C-suites, and government bodies more than ever before, any measure that saves costs and enhances environmental impact is a major win.
What is DIM Weight, and Why Does it Matter for Your Bottom Line?
The United States Postal Service (USPS) introduced dimensional weight shipping in 2007, at the time calling it “Shape Based Postage Pricing.” Other carriers soon followed suit, and by 2015, DIM weight was the established norm in the industry, majorly changing how companies approach and budget for shipping.
DIM weight is calculated by multiplying length x width x height, and then dividing by a preset figure. FedEx and UPS divide the total by 139, which they term the “dimensional divisor.” If your package’s DIM weight is greater than its actual weight, you’ll be charged based on the DIM weight.
Imagine a lightweight street bicycle and a 50 lb kettlebell. While the kettlebell is much heavier, it is much easier to pack in a well-fitted box with small dimensions. However, the relatively lighter bike must be packed in a box with very large dimensions. In this scenario, the kettlebell ships with its actual weight, while the bike gets charged based on DIM weight.
An optimized DIM weight can deliver major savings on your transportation and shipping costs. However, using any box that can fit your product leaves a lot of money on the table.
How DIM Weight Impacts Your Sustainability Goals
A package’s DIM weight also factors significantly into your overall packaging sustainability by impacting packaging footprint and material waste.
Your packaging footprint: Simply put, the more space a package occupies, the fewer packages can be fit and delivered on each vehicle. The more vehicles and loads required, the more fuel and emissions are required to get your package from Point A to Point B.
Material waste: When a box is too large for an item, it increases more than just shipping costs. It also tends to increase the use of void fill, such as bubble wrap and other packaging materials. The more void fill in your package, the more material is wasted.
Common DIM Weight Challenges and Hidden Costs
Optimizing your DIM weight is about more than just placing your product into a smaller-sized box. Engineering a right-sized box that also protects your product requires specialized expertise and resources that can be difficult to afford. At the same time, new packaging specifications could require new processes and/or machinery, which can potentially erase many of the cost savings you’ll reap from making the switch. Picking the right partner is critical to maximizing the value of your DIM weight-optimized packaging.Smurfit Westrock Packaging Solutions invests in world-class people, processes, equipment, and facilities so that you don’t have to. The result is a partner equipped to optimize not only your packaging dimensions, but to engineer solutions that fit with the packaging processes you already have in place. Because at Smurfit Westrock Packaging Solutions, we know that every packaging solution must meet cost, performance, and sustainability requirements, all while reflecting your current operations.
SWPS: Your Partner in DIM Weight Optimization
In today’s complex business landscape, companies have more pressure than ever, many driven by cost and sustainability goals. Although sustainable materials are key to reducing your packaging footprint, strategies such as optimizing DIM weight are equally important.
At Smurfit Westrock Packaging Solutions, we’ve helped numerous customers optimize their packaging DIM weight for sustainability, cost-savings, and performance benefits. That includes one technology brand that saved $300k off its shipping costs and reduced void fill by 70% through customized multi-depth boxes that better reflected their product sizes.
Are you looking for ways to reduce costs, enhance sustainability, and ensure optimal packaging performance? Let our experts learn more about your operations and prescribe a tailored, DIM weight-optimized solution. Contact Smurtfit Westrock Packaging Solutions today for a comprehensive packaging assessment.
