Cartonization Overview – Da Vinci Unified

This warehouse tool lets users prepare cartons and labels before an order is picked. Cartonization is ideal for high-volume wholesale environments because it helps staff batch process carton preparation and label printing instead of completing one task at a time.

Cartonization creates virtual cartons before the actual picking work begins. This gives warehouse staff an estimate of how many boxes (by size) are required and how to pack each carton.

Note In many warehouse/terminal environments, the standard cartonization tool will be sufficient to handle most inventory management and shipping needs. When circumstances demand a more advanced approach to cartonization, DVU users can utilize the tool’s ability to create rules that sort inventory into specific cartons based on user-defined rules.

Before you start

Carton stock and items must have configured dimensions and weights. If this information is missing or inaccurate, cartonization won’t work. Open the carton stock module and review the available options. If required, add carton stock options that might be needed for cartonization.

Understanding DVU cartonization principles

Box selection is done from smallest to biggest. If DVU can fit everything remaining in one box, then the platform chooses the smallest box possible (from the available carton stock options).
No empty space is allowed in a carton. This means there is no extra space for bubble wrap if the item dimensions match the box dimensions.
Fitting an item into a box is done by volume and weight.

Configuring baseline settings

Complete these configuration steps before running the cartonization tool.

Optional Advanced Settings

If the warehouse/terminal requires an advanced cartonization tool with rules that manage inventory at the item code level, complete these three steps first and then complete the Basic Settings steps. If an advanced tool is not required, skip this section and go directly to Basic Settings.

Create a cartonization group name.
Create a cartonization rule and assign it to a group name.
Go to each item page in the shipping order and configure the Cartionization page.

Basic Settings

Go to the Accounts module and configure settings for the required features (e.g. small parcel labels, carton labels, shipping labels, etc.) on the Shipping, Attribute Mapping, and Document pages.
Copy the Document mapping code and paste it into the Mapping field on the shipping order.

After completing the above steps, the DVU user can digitally cartonize the shipping order.

Verify

After the cartonization process completes, open the shipping order and review the data on the Pick Tickets and Packed Cartons pages. The material in the boxes should match the cartonization rule (e.g. mixed, separate, etc.).