Why do the packaging costs on the quotation and order confirmation not match?

As soon as you place an order, our online software Sophia® calculates the packaging costs. This is an estimate that is accurate in many cases. Unfortunately, there are also cases where the costs turn out to be higher or lower. There can be a number of reasons for this.

For example, the shape and size of your metal parts can play a role. Challenging shapes (especially with lacework) tend to take up more space and are more difficult to stack. More pallets are needed than expected.

The strength and thickness of the material also play a role in stacking. Thinner material may be less strong and bend more easily when stacked. Again, more pallets are needed. These are reasons why the costs may be higher.

Another factor is whether you order different types of material. For example, stainless steel and aluminum are not simply packaged with other types of steel to prevent rusting during transport. Our shipping staff assess this for each order and sometimes combine these types—with the appropriate protection—and sometimes not.

Each type of material is cut in a separate machine. It is only in the Shipping department that your different parts are brought together, and then often more can be combined than was previously estimated. In this case, the costs may be lower.

The above mentioned hopefully gives you an idea of scenarios in which costs may vary. We would like to emphasize that there are many more scenarios and exceptions possible.

Finally, it is good to know exactly which costs may differ. These may include one-off and returnable packaging costs, as well as transport costs.

If one-time packaging costs and/or transport costs are higher than quoted, we will cover the difference.

Why do returnable packaging costs change then? Pallets and stacking frames are considered returnable packaging, for which you will receive a large portion of the costs back after returning them.