Parcel Packaging Tips and Best Practices

Person holding a cardboard box wrapped in bubble wrap above a larger open box. The boxes are placed against a blue background with a pattern of blue arrows pointing to the right.

If you’ve ever crossed your fingers after shipping an order hoping it’ll reach its destination without damages or extra costs, it’s time to take the guesswork out of small package shipping. Our e-guide is your lucky charm, making sure you make the right decisions for packaging, cushioning and placing orders. Download our Guide to Small…

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Best Practices for Parcel Returns

Stacks of cardboard boxes are arranged variously against a wall, embodying the essence of a small-business-shipping-hub. An orange circle with a white icon of a box and circular arrows is overlaid, symbolizing recycling or logistics.

You may have the best product on the online market, but how can you entice shoppers to buy it? It’s no longer enough to offer a competitive price and convenient shipping. For 61% of online consumers, whether you offer a consumer-friendly return policy can be the deciding factor on where they spend their money. And…

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2020 Parcel Shipping Trends

A UPS cargo airplane is flying over a mountainous landscape. The aircraft has a white body and black tail with the UPS logo, and the text Worldwide Services is visible on its side. The mountains below are covered with greenery.

Whether you’re sprinting or tripping to the finish line, there’s something to be said for still being in the race given the gauntlet small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) endured in 2020. The year also shook up the transportation industry, and many of the challenges will carry into 2021. So as the year closes, shippers should…

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UPS Pickup Type Quiz

A UPS delivery person in a brown uniform and cap stands outside a small-business-shipping-hub, holding a package. A blue wall and street signs are in the background. Three circles and an orange cursor are on the left side of the image.

There is no one right way to schedule parcel pickups. But by building processes around the optimal UPS pickup service for your needs, you can save time and avoid last-minute scrambling to get orders out the door. Thankfully, UPS offers a wide spectrum of pickup services to accommodate virtually any small business shipper’s needs. But,…

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4 Common Parcel Packaging Mistakes

Illustration of a blue cube with a brown outline, resembling a package, with an orange circle featuring an exclamation mark. The background is a textured cardboard surface with visible ridges.

In the business world, mistakes usually equal money. Lost money, that is. On top of draining your business’s finances, mistakes also rob you of the most valuable currency of all: time. We’re guessing that minimizing and eliminating mistakes in your daily operations is an item that’s high on your priority list. And shipping is an…

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Small Package Shipping Rates: 6 Ways to Cut Costs

A person is working at a desk in their small-business shipping hub, surrounded by a tablet, a cardboard box, a calculator, and a roll of tape. Theyre tapping the tablets screen while the background reveals a softly lit window with sheer curtains.

It should be a simple process. You need to get a package from point A to point B. You pay a standard fee, send it off, and get back to your business. Case closed, right? Unfortunately, it rarely works that way. Shipping can be a complex process, and there are numerous factors that affect your…

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Be Certain in Times of Supply Chain Uncertainty

Illustration of diverse hands holding mobile devices displaying various apps: tracking, COVID-19 alert, shopping cart, warning, news, and financial graphs, against a blue background.

There are some common sentiments going around right now: fear, insecurity, panic, unease, and – if you’re not careful – negativity. One feeling that is definitely in short supply these days is certainty. And no wonder – in a relatively short amount of time, most people’s personal and professional lives have been turned upside down.…

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What is Dimensional Weight and Why it Matters

Illustration of an open orange box with black arrows pointing outward from it, placed against a blue background. The scene is framed by the inside edges of a larger cardboard box, suggesting an out of the box concept.

It seems like a simple concept: your package weighs a specific amount, so your shipping rates should reflect that, right? Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way in the small package world. Shippers also need to account for something called dimensional weight (also known as DIM weight) when calculating costs. We’ve put together some FAQs…

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Benefits of Green Shipping | 4 Tips to Go Green

Close-up of cardboard boxes in front of a vehicle. The side of the vehicle has the text Low Emission Hybrid Electric Vehicle written on it. The boxes have shipping labels, and part of a wheel is visible in the background.

“It’s not easy being green,” goes an old adage. When it comes to UPS® shipping for your small business, however, we’re going to have to disagree. At least as far as environmental friendliness goes! For a few years now, it’s been very trendy to talk about “going green,” especially in the logistics industry. For a…

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Is UPS Ground Saver® Right for your Small Biz?

A collage with three panels: a delivery worker handling a package, a line of postal delivery trucks parked under a clear blue sky, and a postal worker looking away while holding an envelope.

Small parcels might be compact, but they bring big logistic challenges. For carriers, these challenges come mostly in the last mile. Weaving a truck through tight city streets or across long rural routes for doorstep delivery creates surcharges and fees that make shippers cringe. And with the recent boom in e-commerce shipping, which shows no…

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