What is Pack size?

Pack size controls how much you can actually order. If your supplier sells candles in cases of 6, you cannot order 10, you have to round to 12 or 6. Knowing pack size ahead of time stops you from building a purchase order with quantities the supplier will reject or silently round themselves.

Use pack size together with your reorder quantity to avoid waste. If you only need 8 units to cover demand but the pack size is 24, you may end up holding 16 extra units for months. Check whether a smaller pack size from a different supplier, or a lower minimum order quantity, would match your actual sales pace better.

Formula

Example

A candle shop needs 50 units of a scent to cover the next month. The supplier only sells in cases of 12. 50 / 12 = 4.17, so the store rounds up to 5 cases, which is 60 units. The store orders 60 instead of 50.

Common mistakes

• Ordering a quantity that is not a multiple of the pack size and having the supplier round it without telling you.
• Ignoring pack size when calculating reorder quantity, leading to orders that look right on paper but cannot be fulfilled as written.
• Assuming pack size is fixed when some suppliers offer different case sizes for the same product.

Pack size and SteadyShelf

SteadyShelf rounds suggested order quantities to each SKU's case pack size automatically when drafting a purchase order.

SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.

Related terms

Case pack · Minimum order quantity · Reorder quantity · Purchase order · Unit of measure

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