Reports
Packing materials
Containers and packing materials used on shipped labels, with the cost snapshotted at purchase.
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.
Older labels created before material tracking existed appear as Heat/Gel packs (untracked) — counts are known, but no unit cost was recorded.
Related
- Overview — packaging in the cost-over-time chart
- Packer performance — materials used by packer
- Shipments → Labels & rates — choosing a box and packs at pack time