Packing materials
Intro
The Packing materials report shows what you put around the product — boxes, mailers, heat packs, gel packs, insulation, padding — and what it cost. Costs are frozen at the moment the label was purchased, so later price changes do not rewrite history.
Purpose
- Know your real packaging spend, not just postage
- See which containers you actually use (and which presets you can retire)
- Track cold-chain costs (heat and gel packs) separately
KPI cards
| Card | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Containers used | Boxes / mailers used, with spend |
| Heat packs | Count and spend |
| Gel packs | Count and spend |
| Packaging total | Containers + all materials |
Tables
Containers
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Container | Box or mailer name from your presets |
| Used | Labels that used it |
| Unit cost | Snapshotted cost per container |
| Total | Used × unit cost |
Packing materials
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Material | Material name |
| Type | Heat pack, Gel pack, Insulation, Padding, or Other |
| Used | Quantity used |
| Unit cost | Snapshotted cost per unit |
| Total | Used × unit cost |
Both tables export to CSV.
Where costs come from
Unit costs are set on Apps → Rate Shopper → Packing Materials (containers on the Boxes page). When a packer selects a box or adds packs while configuring a shipment, the current cost is stored on the label. See Rate Shopper and Advanced → Packing Materials.
Accessories are stored as rows on each label (order_shipment_label_materials). Adding a new material in the catalog does not add a report column — it shows up as another row here the next time a packer uses it. Containers come from the label’s box snapshot only — a container type row in the materials table (if present) is ignored so packaging spend is never double-counted.
Who can use it
Needs View analytics. AI assistants: packing_materials_report_usage (this report) and packing_materials_report_packer_usage (packer + materials).
Related
- Overview — packaging in the cost-over-time chart
- Packer performance — materials used by packer
- Advanced → Packing Materials — the catalog
- Shipments → Labels & rates — choosing a box and packs at pack time