Understanding Dimensional Weight and Why it Matters

The Challenge:

When choosing a packaging solution to transport your temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, the first and most important requirement is to maintain the required temperature ranges throughout the shipment. The most common temperature requirement in pharmaceutical distribution is refrigerated temperatures (2°-8°C). To meet this strict temperature requirement, many specialty pharmacies use a combination of frozen and refrigerated gel packs inside a large, bulky, Expanded Polystyrene shipping container with walls up to 2” thick. This type of pack-out will give you a Dimensional (DIM) weight that is extremely high due to the size and weight of the shipping container. To save on shipping costs, the goal is to limit the size of the shipping container while maintaining the product at the appropriate temperatures.

What is Dimensional (DIM) Weight?

Dimensional (DIM) weight, also known as volumetric weight, is a pricing technique for commercial freight transporters such as UPS and FedEx, which uses an estimated weight that is calculated from the length, width, and height of a package. The shipping fee is based upon the dimensional weight or the actual weight, whichever is greater, which benefits the carrier. You can compare your current packaging with a different solution by using a Dimensional Weight Calculator.

The search for a lighter shipping system with better performance than your current larger boxes can be challenging. To address this challenge,  MaxQ Research designed a purpose-built thermal shipping system, the MaxPlus PharmaPack SP, which is lighter and smaller than that industry standard with a DIM weight of approximately 4 pounds while maintaining temperature for up to 48 hours.  

See the cost savings results in our MaxPlus PharmaPack Pilot Study, an eight-week specialty pharmacy pilot with eight specialty pharmacies nationwide.

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