Standard package types cover most freight. Pallet, box, roll, crate. Pick one, type in the weight and dimensions, done.

But not every company ships standard goods. If you produce machinery in fixed sizes, use your own returnable racks, or build crates to a set spec, you end up entering the same numbers over and over. And every time someone types them in by hand, there's a chance they get it wrong.

Custom package types fix that. You define your own package codes once, with the weights and dimensions already filled in, and they show up as an option for everyone in your account.


What it does

A custom package type is your own entry in the goods type list. You give it a code, a name, and the measurements that go with it. From then on, anyone creating a shipment can pick it, and the numbers come along automatically.

You can create as many as you need. A company making three sizes of industrial pump can have three package types. A furniture producer with a standard oversized pallet can have one.


What you can define in Custom package types

Each custom package type has:

  • Code — your internal identifier. A–Z, 0–9 and underscores; max 10 characters
  • Name — what users see in the goods type list
  • Base type — the standard package type this is built on. It determines stackability, how loading meters are handled, and which standard type carriers see
  • Weight (kg) — the preset weight
  • L, W, H (cm) — the preset dimensions
  • VOL (m³) and LDM — volume and loading meters
  • Description — free text for anything else the team should know

The base type is the part worth paying attention to. Your custom type is your own, but underneath it stays tied to a standard package type, so the loading meter calculation still works the way it should, and the carrier still gets something they recognise.


Carriers see standard types

Your custom codes are internal. When a booking goes out, the carrier receives the underlying standard package type, not your naming.

So you can call something RACK_A or PUMP_XL without worrying about how a carrier's system will handle it. Your team gets the shorthand that makes sense internally; the carrier gets a package type their system already understands.


How to set it up

Custom package types live in Settings and are managed by Superusers (admins).

  1. Go to Settings and open the custom package types section
  2. Click "Add custom package type"
  3. Fill in the code, name and base type
  4. Add weight, dimensions, volume and loading meters
  5. Save

The new type is immediately available to everyone in the account. It appears in the goods type list when creating a shipment, and it's also available through the Cargoson API. So if your ERP or WMS pushes shipments into Cargoson automatically, it can use your custom codes too.


Why custom package types matters

Three things change once you set these up:

  1. Faster shipment entry. Pick the type, and weight and dimensions are already there. No looking up a spec sheet, no retyping.
  2. Fewer mistakes. The dimensions are defined once by someone who knows them, instead of being entered fresh by whoever happens to be booking that day.
  3. One more piece of automation. If you're already sending shipments from your ERP through the API, your own package codes can now travel with them. The system does not need to translate anything on the way in.

If your goods don't fit neatly into standard package types, this is the layer that makes the rest of the process behave as if they do.


Getting started

Custom package types are already live. Ask your Superuser to set them up in Settings, or ask help from our support, and we'll walk you through it.


You are a manufacturing or wholesale company and don't have a Cargoson TMS account? No worries. Book a consultation with us, and we'll set up your company's TMS account.