Packing for freight: how to protect goods on a long lane

Choose the box for the journey, not the item

Single-wall cartons are fine for a same-day city hop. For line-haul, use double-wall cartons and expect the box to carry weight stacked on top of it.

Re-used boxes lose most of their compression strength. If old labels are still visible they also cause mis-scans at the hub.

Fill the voids, then shake it

Anything that moves inside the box will break by the second hub. Fill voids so contents cannot shift, then shake the sealed carton — if you hear movement, it is not ready to travel.

• Wrap each item separately before it goes in the carton.
• Keep at least 5cm of cushioning between fragile contents and the box wall.
• Tape all seams in an H-pattern rather than a single strip.

Label so a scanner and a human can both read it

Every Druppa interstate parcel travels on a manifest and is scanned at each hub. A clean, flat label on the largest face keeps the parcel moving; a creased label buried under tape is what turns into an exception call.

Include the receiver's phone number — the hub scan triggers an SMS to that number, which is how the receiver knows the parcel reached their city.

What gets refused

Hazardous and flammable goods, cash, live animals and legally prohibited items are refused at the hub. High-value goods travel fine but must be declared at booking so the right handling applies.