Industry · 3PL & fulfillment
Dimensioning for 3PL warehouses
Bill storage on the space each SKU really takes up.
Measure every client SKU once, with the M2 handheld or the S1 benchtop station, and bill storage by cube at bin level. The same record speeds up client onboarding, picks the carton at packing, and backs you up when a carrier adjusts a charge.
- Storage billing
- By cubemeasured per SKU, at bin level
- Per SKU
- Dims + weightwith barcode, shape and three photos
- Accuracy
- ±0.25 inboxes; ±0.5 in on irregular items
- Ideal Fulfillment
- Over 80%less time capturing dims and weights Pending approval
Billing by cube
Charge for the space clients use.
Storage billed per pallet, per location or by estimate misses what small, odd-shaped and slow-moving SKUs really occupy. Measured cube per SKU lets you bill storage on real item volume, down to the bin.
- 01
Measure each SKU once
At receiving or during onboarding: dimensions, weight, barcode and photo, with the M2 or on the S1.
- 02
Store the cube in your WMS
The record goes to the item master over HTTPS, or through QBOID Cloud.
- 03
Units × cube, per bin
Your WMS already knows what's in each bin. With item dimensions it knows how much space that is.
- 04
Bill on measured volume
Storage charges based on the space each client's inventory takes, with a photo of every SKU if a client asks.
Who does what: QBOID supplies the measured dimensions and photos. The billing rules and the invoice stay in your WMS or billing system, set up the way your contracts work.
Client onboarding
Measure a new client's catalog fast.
A new client usually arrives with thousands of SKUs and dimensions that are missing, out of date or for a different pack size. Measuring by hand holds up the go-live; skipping it means every later step, from slotting to the first carrier invoice, runs on guesses.
- Run the catalog as a short project with one or two M2 devices, measuring items where they sit
- Put the S1 at a bench for items that come to you at volume: a barcode scan starts each capture
- Then measure new SKUs as they arrive, so the client's item master stays current
- Tag each record with the client using a custom key or a WorkFlows step
The pace, from a brand Pending approval
10,000+ products measured in under two weeks, with two M2 devices.
Outbound
Pack right, and prove it.
The same item dimensions pay off again when orders leave, on your clients' shipping costs and on your own margins.
Packing and cartonization
With item dimensions in the WMS, the packing station or a cartonization tool picks the smallest carton that fits, instead of the one the packer guesses. Less void fill, and less dimensional weight on every parcel.
Packing & cartonizationDIM weight and carrier adjustments
Measure each outbound parcel and keep its dimensions and photo. You declare the right size, and when a carrier adjustment arrives you have the evidence to dispute it, or to pass it on to the client it belongs to.
DIM weight & carrier chargebacksThe workflows that matter
Five places 3PLs start.
Each one runs on the same devices and the same record. Start with one, add the next.
Warehouse operations
Receiving & item master data
Measure client SKUs as they arrive and check the dimensions clients send.
ReceivingWarehouse operations
Slotting & cube utilization
Bill by cube, slot items into bins that fit, and use rack space better.
Slotting & cubeShipping efficiency
Packing & cartonization
The right carton from item dimensions, at every packing station.
PackingShipping efficiency
DIM weight & carrier chargebacks
Dimensions and a photo of every parcel, ready when an adjustment arrives.
ChargebacksShipping efficiency
Irregular items
Polybags, parts and bundles measured as a bounding box, tagged Irregular.
Irregular itemsOverview
All eight workflows
Warehouse operations and shipping efficiency, with the problem each one solves.
All solutionsROI framing
What to put in the sum.
No industry averages here: the numbers that decide it are yours. These are the lines to fill in, and where to find each figure.
| Line | Today | With measured dimensions | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor per SKU | Minutes to measure, weigh and type each SKU by hand, times the SKUs per new client and per month | Time per scan, times the same SKUs | Time 20 typical SKUs each way on your own floor; a demo or an evaluation rental gives you the scan side |
| Storage revenue | What you bill now: per pallet, per location, or on estimated cube | Storage billed on measured cube per SKU, at bin level | Your WMS: units on hand per client, and the dimensions you measure |
| Carrier adjustments | Adjustments on carrier invoices, and how many you dispute and win | Declared sizes from measurement, a photo per parcel as evidence | The last few months of carrier invoices |
| Packing | Carton sizes used, void fill, DIM weight on oversized cartons | The smallest carton that fits, chosen from item dimensions | A packing-station audit and the same carrier invoices |
| Rework | Re-measuring at packing, re-weighs, fixing item records | Measured once, at receiving or onboarding | WMS exceptions and your team's estimate |
ROI calculator. You'll enter your own volumes, times and rates, and it does the sum for these lines. Until it's ready, sales can work through it with you on a call.
Result · Ideal Fulfillment
A 3PL that went from three pack stations to one.
A 3PL in Temecula, California, shipping about 1,000 orders a day, half parcel and half freight. Before QBOID: tape measures and scales, and dimensions often estimated or skipped. Pending approval
- Dims and weights
- Over 80%less time to capture them per shipment
- Pack stations
- 3 → 1without loss of throughput
- Order errors
- Under 1 a weekafter the change
- Data to
- WMSand the on-demand box machine, for right-sized cartons
Ideal Fulfillment runs the M2 and the S1 at its pack station. Each shipment's weight, dimensions and photos go straight to the WMS and to the on-demand box machine, which builds a right-sized carton from them. The photos double as proof of what was shipped.
“QBOID has given us the ability to improve efficiency, which is going to give us the opportunity to expand our operation. Everything is streamlined when you have solid technology like QBOID.”
Why 3PLs need item dimensions
Billing storage at bin level, running AS/RS and disputing carrier overcharges all depend on knowing every item's dimensions. A short narrated overview; no customer footage.
Common integrations
Into the systems you already run.
Each record is posted over HTTPS as it happens. Most 3PLs send it to the WMS that bills clients, and to the TMS or shipping software that rates parcels.
Partner Pending approval
NetSuite, through RF-SMART
M2 records in NetSuite's warehouse and shipping workflows.
Partner Pending approval
ShipHawk
Measured dimensions and weight in shipping and warehouse workflows.
Perceptor API
Any HTTPS endpoint
The M2 posts a JSON record with its photos to your endpoint; optional bearer token.
Included · Pro adds the API
Review, export, API
Check records first, export XLS or ZIP, or pull them with the REST API.
No integration team? QBOID builds a WorkFlows app with you in a call, with no code, that sends records to your WMS, TMS, email or Google Sheets.
FAQ
3PL questions
How do 3PLs bill storage by cube?
Measure each SKU once and store its dimensions in the WMS. The WMS multiplies units on hand by each SKU's cube, per bin or location, and storage is billed on that volume instead of per pallet or by estimate. QBOID supplies the dimensions; the billing rules stay in your WMS or billing system.
How fast can we onboard a new client's catalog?
It depends on the number of SKUs and where they sit. As a reference, Mann Lake, a brand rather than a 3PL, measured 10,000+ products in under two weeks with two M2 devices. An S1 at a bench adds hands-free capture for items brought to it.
Can we keep each client's records separate?
Yes. Each record carries the barcode, and you can tag it with the client using one of the four custom keys or a WorkFlows step. Your WMS keeps the records per client as it does today.
Does it help with carrier adjustments?
Measure each outbound parcel and keep its dimensions and photo. You declare the right size from the start, and when an adjustment arrives you have the evidence to dispute it.
Handheld or benchtop?
Most 3PLs use both. The M2 handheld measures items on pallets, shelves or too big to lift; docked in the S1 at a receiving or packing bench, a barcode scan captures dimensions, weight and photos.
Which systems does it connect to?
Any WMS, ERP or TMS that accepts an HTTPS request. Integration partners connect the M2 to NetSuite through RF-SMART and to ShipHawk. QBOID Cloud exports XLS or ZIP files, and WorkFlows sends records without code.
Can we try it before we buy?
Yes. Book a demo on your own clients' items, or rent an evaluation unit from the store ↗ and time it on your own floor.
Book a demo · Get in touch
See it measure your clients' SKUs.
Bring a few items from your hardest client. Book a 20-minute remote demo and see the record arrive in a system like yours, or leave your details and sales will follow up.
- Demo: about 20 minutes, remote, on items you choose
- Or leave your details: sales replies within one business day
- Ships to all US states; resellers in North and South America, EMEA and APAC
Or write to sales@qboid.ai, or call +1 (408) 419-1449.