You create shipping boxes in the Pickware Admin as shipping material and, when packing in the WMS App, select the box you used for each parcel. The app takes the box's dimensions and weight for the shipping label, so you don't have to enter the parcel dimensions by hand. In the order, you can then see which box was used for which parcel.

This applies to boxes, cardboard packaging and other cardboard shipping packaging. If you manage stock for your boxes, Pickware automatically deducts every box used. For products that are usually shipped individually, you can set a default shipping box that is preselected when packing.

In Pickware, every shipping box is its own product with additional shipping material details. Here's how to create a box:

Name, product number, the three outer dimensions and the material fraction are required. If one of these is missing, the Admin shows you right at the field what is still missing when you save.

If you have multiple locations, a box with Available at all locations can be selected everywhere. If you switch the option off, select at least one location under Locations where the box is offered. With only one location, this selection doesn't apply.

After saving, the product detail page of the box opens in the Pickware Admin. You'll find the material fraction, Offer for selection when packing and the locations there on the Shipping material card. In the product list, shipping materials are marked; with the Shipping material only filter, you hide all other products.

The list under Catalogs → Shipping material shows the outer dimensions, tare weight, material, stock and status for each box, and with multiple locations also the locations. With Duplicate, you can quickly create a similar box as a copy.

When packing, the WMS App only offers shipping material that meets all of these conditions:

The WMS App picks up changes to shipping material as soon as you log in again or restart the app.

If Manage stock is active for a box, you store it on a bin location like any other product. If a shipping label with this box is created while packing, Pickware automatically deducts one unit from a bin location, which is selected the same way as for picking. As long as you only select a box and don't create a shipping label, nothing is booked.

If you replace the box with a different one after a failed shipping label, or delete a parcel that only contains the box, the stock is booked back to the original bin location. The box does not appear on the delivery note or invoice.

If you usually ship a product individually, you can assign a default shipping box to it. To do so, open the product in the Pickware Admin and, on the Shipping box card, select the appropriate box in the Default shipping box for single-item parcels field. If a parcel contains exactly one unit of this product, the box is preselected when packing. For parcels with multiple items, no box is preselected.

As soon as at least one suitable shipping box has been created, the Box step is added when you complete a parcel in the WMS App. In the checklist, it sits between the documents and weighing. There you have the following options:

You select the box from the list. For each box, you see the name, image, dimensions, weight and product number.

You scan the box's barcode, that is, its EAN or its product number. The box is selected directly.

If none of the boxes you've created fits, tap + Custom shipping box next to the Shipping box headline and enter length, width, height and weight. Length, width and height must be greater than 0. This box only applies to that one parcel.

If the selection isn't mandatory, you can skip the step. You can then remove a selected box via the X in its corner, and the parcel continues without a box.

The app takes the dimensions of the selected box for the shipping label. You can still change them afterwards; the box remains documented anyway. Without a scale, the app adds the box's weight to the estimated parcel weight. A weighed weight or a weight entered by hand remains unchanged, even if you switch the box. For how the packing completion works overall, see How does packing at the packing table work in the WMS App?.

The window for creating the shipping label in the WMS App also has the Shipping box row, above the fields for the dimensions. If you select a box there, length, width and height are filled in. If you come from the packing process, the box selected there is already filled in. If the selection isn't mandatory, you can also remove a selected box there again.

When you create a shipping label in the Pickware Admin, you select the box for each parcel in the Shipping material field. The box's dimensions and weight are taken over. If the parcel contains exactly one unit of a product with a default shipping box, this box is preselected. You can find more about label creation under How do I create shipping labels?.

Whether a shipping box must always be specified when packing is set in the Pickware Admin under Settings → Extensions → Pickware WMS in the Shipping box section, with the option Require shipping box selection while packing. By default, it is inactive.

If the option is active, the packing process only continues once a box has been selected or a custom box with dimensions has been entered. A selected box can then no longer be removed via the X, and in the window for creating the shipping label, the label can only be created with a box. If the option is inactive, the Box step remains visible and can be skipped.

The changed setting applies in the WMS App after the next login. All further packing options are explained in How do I configure Pickware WMS in the Pickware Admin?.

Which box was used for which parcel is shown in the Pickware Admin in the order, in the Shipping labels tab, in the Shipping material column. The box appears there next to the shipping label of the parcel it was used for. A custom box from the WMS App appears as Custom shipping box.

The Box step only appears if at least one box that the app can offer has been created for the location. If it's missing, check the box's material fraction, Offer for selection when packing and the locations, and log in to the WMS App again.

For the Box step, you need a current WMS App. If the step is missing despite suitable boxes, update the WMS App.

One box is recorded per shipping label. A custom shipping box is not created shipping material; it is only documented for that one parcel.