Ship one product in several boxes
Set up a product that ships in parts, like a wheel and its stand, so every unit gets one of each box with its own weight and label.
Updated October 5, 2026
Some products don’t fit in one box. A prize wheel ships with its stand in a second box, a table ships as a top and a set of legs. Give the product one box row per part and Parcello packs every unit into all of its boxes, each with its own weight and label.
Before you start
- Add each box size on the Boxes page. See Boxes.
- The product needs a ship-from location on the Products page. See Set up products.
Set up the parts
- Go to Products and stay on the Box configuration tab.
- Find the product’s row. In the Box 1 column, pick the box for the first part and enter the weight of what goes in it (the part, not the empty box).
- In the Box 2 column, pick the box for the second part and enter its weight. The table always shows one empty box column past the longest setup, so a Box 3 column appears once you fill Box 2.
- Repeat for each part.
- In the Multiple Boxes (Meaning) column, leave Unit split across boxes selected. It is the default.
Each change saves on its own. A box choice saves at once; a typed weight saves when you leave the field.
Fill the box columns from left to right, without gaps. A row isn’t saved while a box has no weight (the field says “Enter weight”) or a box column sits after an empty one.
Weights
When the product has a weight in Shopify, Parcello fills Box 1 with that full weight (“From Shopify product weight”) and later boxes with whatever is left (“Remaining from Shopify weight”). For a split product, lower Box 1 to the weight of the first part only, then check the rest. The weight of one whole unit is the sum of its box rows.
Two parts in the same box size
If two parts use the same box, pick that box in two columns. Parcello never puts two parts of the same product into one box instance, so you get two boxes.
What Parcello packs
Each unit gets one of each box. With the wheel above:
| Wheels ordered | Boxes |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 wheel box, 1 stand box |
| 2 | 2 wheel boxes, 2 stand boxes |
| 3 | 3 wheel boxes, 3 stand boxes |
The boxes of one part come together, in column order: two wheels give wheel box, wheel box, stand box, stand box.
Each box row also has its own Max qty per box. If four stands fit in one stand box, set it to 4 on the stand row and keep 1 on the wheel row. Four wheels then ship as four wheel boxes and one stand box. See Limit items per box.
On the order page
In the Package Assignments grid, line items run down the side and boxes run across the top (Box #1, Box #2 and so on, with the box name under each). A cell is the number of units of that line item inside that box.
A product split across three boxes shows in all three. For one wheel, the wheel box and the stand box both read 1. That doesn’t mean two wheels: it means the unit is present in both boxes. The row label counts boxes, not units, for example “1 to ship • Assigned to 2 boxes”.
Before you create labels you can still:
- Add a box with Add Package.
- Change a cell to move units in or out of a box.
- Remove an unlabeled box with its delete icon.
- Move a box to another shipment with Move to different shipment in the shipment’s Assigned Packages table.
Recalculate Packages throws away those changes and repacks the order from your current setup. See How Parcello packs an order.
Each box gets its own label when you create labels. A box with a label is locked; the other boxes stay editable.
Packing slips and tracking
Print Packing Slips prints one page per box. When a line is in more than one box of the shipment, each slip adds a note such as “Also in box 2 of this shipment”, so the customer knows the rest is coming in another box.
On the Tracking page, a shipment with several boxes lists each box with its own status. The shipment shows the status of the box that needs the most attention, and counts as delivered only when every box is. See The Tracking page.
Notes and limits
- Unit split across boxes has no effect until the product has a second box row.
- If your boxes are different sizes for different quantities (a small carton for one unit, a large carton for two), you want Alternative boxes instead. See Limit items per box, alternative boxes and carton packs.
- Live rates at checkout pack the cart with the same rules, so a three-box product is quoted as three boxes.
- You can set every box column from a spreadsheet. See Import and export product settings.
Troubleshooting
A change doesn’t stick. A box column has a box but no weight (“Enter weight” under the field), or there’s an empty column before a filled one. Fill in the weight, or move the boxes so the columns run left to right without gaps.
The order shows the product in only one box. The order was packed before you added the other box rows. Open the order and use Recalculate Packages (only offered while no shipment on the order has a label), or add the missing box with Add Package.
A box weighs the whole product. Box 1 still holds the full Shopify weight. Enter the weight of the first part only.