Parcel Shipping

Parcel shipping covers small, individually packaged items moving through high-volume carrier networks. The standard weight cutoff is around 150 lbs per package, though dimensional weight pricing means oversized but lightweight packages can be priced as if they weigh more. Parcel is the dominant mode for eCommerce, DTC fulfillment, and sample shipments – anywhere the unit of shipment is a box rather than a pallet.

Parcel pricing is based on a combination of weight (actual or dimensional, whichever is greater), distance zone, service level (ground, express, overnight), and a constellation of surcharges – residential delivery, signature required, Saturday delivery, declared value, and fuel surcharges that fluctuate weekly. High-volume shippers negotiate contract rates that discount off the carrier's published tariff, but those discounts vary by service level and weight tier. Without a clear picture of your actual parcel spend by service level and zone, you're negotiating blind.

For food, beverage, and CPG companies – particularly DTC brands – parcel is often the customer-facing delivery experience. Late deliveries, damaged packaging, or missing tracking updates directly impact customer satisfaction and retention. Managing parcel alongside your freight operations gives you a unified view of total transportation spend and service quality, rather than treating parcel as a separate silo handled by a different team or system.

As DTC brands scale, they often find themselves managing an awkward mix of parcel for small orders and LTL or FTL for wholesale and retail distribution. The ability to quote and manage both parcel and freight in the same platform prevents the fragmentation that leads to duplicated effort and missed optimization opportunities.