Systems and methods for evaluating environmental aspects of shipping systems
According to various embodiments, package evaluation systems and methods are provided for evaluating the sustainability of packaging used in the shipment of goods. In particular, the package evaluation systems and methods are configured for performing package evaluations and managing and providing access to data resulting from package evaluations. The package evaluations are designed to assess, among other things, the ability of sample packages to prevent damage to their contents, the volumetric efficiency of sample packages, and the sustainability of the materials used to construct sample packages. In addition, the systems and methods are further configured for assigning a certification to an entity associated with the evaluated packages based on the results of the evaluation.
1. A method for evaluating damage prevention characteristics of a plurality of packages, wherein each package in the plurality of packages comprises a box of a particular box type, a fill of a particular fill type, and one or more items of a particular item type, said method comprising the steps of:
performing a damage prevention test on a first package configuration, wherein said first package configuration comprises a first box having a first box type, a first fill disposed within the first box and having a first fill type, and a first item disposed within the first box and having a first item type, the first item type being the heaviest item type among a set of item types intended for shipment in boxes of the first box type with a fill of the first fill type;
performing the damage prevention test on a second package configuration, wherein said second package configuration comprises a second box having the first box type, a second fill disposed within the second box and having the first fill type, and a second item disposed within the second box and having a second item type, the second item type being the most fragile item type among the set of item types intended for shipment in boxes of the first box type with a fill of the first fill type;
determining a level of damage received by the first package configuration and a level of damage received by the second package configuration;
generating, via one or more processors, damage prevention data indicative of the level of damage received by the first item and the level of damage received by the second item;
storing said damage prevention data in at least one memory storage area; and
determining, via said one or more processors and based on the damage prevention data, whether said first package configuration and said second package configuration has satisfied a set of predefined damage prevention criteria.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
comparing, via said one or more processors, the level of damage received by the first item to a predefined set of damage prevention criteria for the heaviest item type to determine whether the criteria is satisfied; and
comparing, via said one or more processors, the level of damage received by the second item to a predefined set of damage prevention criteria for the most fragile item type to determine whether the criteria is satisfied.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, via said one or more processors and based at least in part on said damage prevention data, whether said plurality of packages satisfies a set of predefined sustainability criteria.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the damage prevention test comprises a shock test.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the damage prevention test comprises steps for:
dropping a package containing an item from a predetermined height onto a defined surface; and
evaluating the level of damage received by the item after impacting the defined surface.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the damage prevention test comprises an atmospheric test.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the damage prevention test comprises a vibration test.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising steps for:
transmitting, via said one or more processors, instructions to perform said damage prevention test on said first package configuration and said second package configuration to a testing apparatus; and
receiving, via said one or more processors, test data indicative of a level of damage received by the first item and a level of damage received by the second item.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of generating damage prevention data comprises steps for:
receiving, via said one or more processors, user input indicative of the level of damage received by the first item and the level of damage received by the second item; and
generating, via said one or more processors and based on said user input, the damage prevention data.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising steps for:
receiving, via said one or more processors, dimensional data indicative of the dimensions of the first package configuration and the second package configuration; and
determining, via said one or more processors and based at least in part on said dimensional data, whether said first package configuration and said second package configuration satisfied a predefined set of dimensional criteria.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising steps for:
certifying, via said one or more processors, a shipper associated with the first package configuration and the second package configuration upon a determination that said plurality of packages satisfies the set of predefined damage prevention criteria.
12. A system for evaluating damage prevention characteristics of a plurality of packages, wherein each package in the plurality of packages comprises a box of a particular box type, a fill of a particular fill type, and one or more items of a particular item type, said system comprising:
one or more memory storage areas;
one or more processors configured for executing the steps of:
receiving first damage prevention test data indicative of a level of damage received by a first item during a damage prevention test performed on a first package configuration, wherein said first package configuration comprises a first box having a first box type, a first fill disposed within the first box and having a first fill type, and the first item disposed within the first box and having a first item type, the first item type being the heaviest item type among a set of item types intended for shipment in boxes of the first box type with a fill of the first fill type;
receiving second damage prevention test data indicative of a level of damage received by a second item during the damage prevention test performed on a second package configuration, wherein said second package configuration comprises a second box having the first box type, a second fill disposed within the second box and having the first fill type, and the second item disposed within the second box and having a second item type, the second item type being the most fragile item type among the set of item types intended for shipment in boxes of the first box type with a fill of the first fill type;
generating, via one or more processors, damage prevention data indicative of the level of damage received by the first item and the level of damage received by the second item;
storing, said damage prevention data in at least one memory storage area; and
determining based on the damage prevention data, whether said first package configuration and said second package configuration has satisfied a set of predefined damage prevention criteria.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein said one or more processors are additionally configured for executing the steps of:
comparing the level of damage received by the first item to a predefined set of damage prevention criteria for the heaviest item type to determine whether the criteria is satisfied; and
comparing the level of damage received by the second item to a predefined set of damage prevention criteria for the most fragile item type to determine whether the criteria is satisfied.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein said one or more processors are additionally configured for executing steps of:
determining, via said one or more processors and based at least in part on said damage prevention data, whether said plurality of packages satisfies a set of predefined sustainability criteria.
15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the damage prevention test comprises a shock test.
16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the damage prevention test comprises steps for:
dropping a package containing an item from a predetermined height onto a defined surface; and
evaluating the level of damage received by the item after impacting the defined surface.
17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the damage prevention test comprises an atmospheric test.
18. The system of claim 12 , wherein the damage prevention test comprises a vibration test.
19. The system of claim 12 , wherein said one or more processors are additionally configured for executing steps of:
transmitting instructions to perform said damage prevention test on said first package configuration and said second package configuration to a testing apparatus; and
receiving test data indicative of a level of damage received by the first item and a level of damage received by the second item.
20. The system of claim 12 , wherein the step of generating damage prevention data comprises steps for:
receiving user input indicative of the level of damage received by the heaviest item and the level of damage received by the most fragile item; and
generating, based on said user input, the damage prevention data.
21. The system of claim 12 , wherein said one or more processors are additionally configured for executing steps of:
receiving dimensional data indicative of the dimensions of the first package configuration; and
determining, based at least in part on said dimensional data, whether said first package configuration satisfied a predefined set of dimensional criteria.