STANDARD AND NON-STANDARD SHIPMENTS - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

The standard parcel is the basis of the offers that courier companies offer their customers. This type of shipment is not particularly distinguished by weight or dimensions, nor does it have irregular shapes. It is the option most favoured by customers and the prices a person planning to send such a parcel can expect are usually low.

The standard shipment is sent in a cardboard box in the shape of a regular cuboid. The outer layer of the package should not contain elements made of other materials or be covered with stretch film. Due to their regular shape and simple form, standard consignments do not cause major difficulties for both domestic and international transport. The carrier's infrastructure is well suited to them, so they are not problematic to move. They can be successfully sorted automatically, which speeds up the shipment process and reduces the time it takes to deliver a standard parcel to the recipient.

A non-standard parcel is any parcel whose characteristics prevent it from being counted as a standard parcel. The term is usually used to describe parcels that are very heavy, large or disproportionate in size or irregular in shape, but classification into this group can also be made on the basis of other factors.

Non-standard consignments also include items or devices that generate a magnetic field, parcels containing loose, heavy items or without packaging (or wrapped in stretch film only, for example). Other characteristics of a non-standard consignment may be an offset centre of gravity (for example, being close to one of the edges of the parcel) or that it is made up of a number of separate parts joined together and the sum of the dimensions of all the individual elements is greater than permitted. Parcels that are round, cylindrical or triangular in shape or that contain fragments made of unusual materials (e.g. wood, metal, fabric) or protrusions on their surface also fall into this category.

All of these characteristics make a custom consignment a much more difficult object to transport and require special measures to protect its contents from external factors. For large parcels, a manual sorting procedure is usually used. The automated process cannot be used for most other custom consignments either, for a number of reasons. This problem can apply, for example, to parcels with a sticky surface (or in rubber packaging), as this is the material that prevents the item from moving freely along the belt in the sorting plant.

Please note that both non-standard and standard parcels may have different definitions for international shipments. What does this mean? The conditions that a parcel sent abroad must meet in order to be classified as standard may be quite different from the requirements imposed on parcels transported within one country. These differences are due to the more difficult conditions of international transport - the consignment has to travel a very long distance in a short time, hitting various sorting points and terminals along the way.

Before sending a parcel (non-standard and standard), please ensure that the dimensions and actual weight of the parcel correspond to the values on the consignment note. Even small discrepancies may involve a surcharge. If the size or maximum weight for a standard parcel is exceeded, the parcel will be counted as a non-standard parcel. You also need to make sure that the goods have been packaged correctly and in a manner appropriate to their characteristics.