If you purchase merchandise in bulk, typically from overseas, it comes packaged in a complex way. For example, you may have paid for 16 eaches, but they come packaged 4 to a carton, with 2 cartons to a master carton.

But the big question is: how will you ship it to your customers? Shipwire can’t just store the master cartons, and sometimes ship 1 each, and sometimes ship 1 carton. That would complicate your inventory, with you not knowing how many are left in a carton. Instead, we require you to divide your inventory into shippable groups. The example below shows you breaking this inventory into 2 cartons, and 8 eaches.

You then setup two unique product IDs, or SKUs (stock keeping units). In this case, you choose BOT1 for a single bottle, and BOT1C4 for the carton of four. Note that you have configured BOT1 as a pick and pack, because you want Shipwire to always package this item before shipping it to a customer. You have configured BOT1C4, because you want Shipwire to use the existing box.

Then when when you give advance notice of incoming merchandise, you will tell Shipwire that you are sending 8 single bottles, and 2 cartons of four.

Then when you want Shipwire to ship a single bottle, you will place an order for BOT1. When you want Shipwire to ship a carton, you will place an order for BOT1C4.

How does all this affect my pricing?

From a pricing perspective, it doesn’t matter whether you want to send a customer five units of BOT1, or five units of BOT1C4. In either case, you are shipping five items, and you will need a Shipwire monthly plan that supports this. However with careful planning you can save significant money: instead of shipping 20 of BOT1 to your customer, you can ship 5 BOT1C4. Your customer receives the same quantity of merchandise: 20 red bottles. Meanwhile Shipwire handles your merchandise more efficiently, which saves you money with a smaller monthly plan!

When do I configure my account?

When you notify Shipwire of incoming merchandise, you list the exact product IDs and quantities you are sending. Shipwire then inventories your merchandise as you specify. This means that you need to do all your planning and packaging before sending merchandise.

Can Shipwire split my inventory on an order by order basis?

No, Shipwire can’t just store the master cartons, and sometimes ship 1 each, and sometimes ship 1 carton. That would complicate your inventory, with you not knowing how many are left in a carton. Instead, we require you to divide your inventory into shippable groups at the time of receiving.