Shipping Labels for Multiple Package Shipment

by Chelsea Camper | Last Updated November 3, 2023

There will be times where an entire customer order will not fit in a single package; either because they have ordered so many things (yay!) or the items they ordered are too large to fit in a single package. When this happens you’ll need to send out their order in multiple packages.

What is Multiple Package Shipment?

It is a shipment consisting of more than one package. There are a few reasons for sending out multiple package shipments:

Customer ordered too many items to fit in one package
Items the customer ordered are too large to fit in a single package
Some items the customer ordered are on back order and the customer wants the items not back ordered as soon as possible
Some items might need to be kept cold while others need to be kept at room temperature
Sterile and not-sterile items ordered together

There are two ways you can ship your multiple package shipment:

Orders with more products than can fit in a single box or items too large to fit in a single box that have the same ship date
Orders with products for immediate shipment and back ordered products where the ship dates are not the same

What Kind of Shipping Labels Do I Need for MPS?

You can actually use the same label sheet as you usually would for your other blank shipping labels, you just need some extra info. Your shipping carrier or shipping program should automatically add these in, but make sure that it includes these important pieces of information:

How many total packages
What number each package is (example: 7 of 10)
Master tracking number (tracking number from first package)

Some people will add an individual package tracking number along side the master tracking number. While ideally all of the packages will stay together, if one gets side tracked or delayed you can use the individual box tracking number to find it.

Working straight from the FedEx or UPS site will print out a shipping label and instructions, but not a packing slip. In order to include a packing slip you will need to use an eCommerce shipping program that will allow you to customize your shipping template.

If you’re questioning whether or not the labels will work, ask your package pick up driver to scan the label before taking the packages.

What other reasons are there for shipping orders in multiple packages?