I believe there are two relatively simple improvements that would significantly improve freight calculation accuracy for businesses using Neto.
Firstly, it is frustrating that Neto provides a field to apply a packaging allowance percentage, but this allowance only applies to dead weight.
Surely this should apply to both dead weight and cubic weight calculations, or at a minimum there should be a checkbox allowing users to choose whether the packaging allowance applies to:
- Dead weight only
- Cubic weight only
- Both dead weight and cubic weight
This would be a straightforward improvement and would make freight calculations far more accurate for businesses where cubic weight is a major factor.
The second issue is product nesting. Neto currently does not accommodate products that can be packed inside each other.
For example, my business sells hats. When multiple hats of the same style are ordered, they fit inside each other. The cubic volume of two hats is only marginally larger than one hat because the width and depth remain the same, with only a small increase in height. However, Neto currently doubles the cubic calculation for every additional unit, when the actual increase may only be 3–10%.
A simple solution would be to add a product setting such as:
"This product can be nested"
The user could then select:
- Which dimension changes when additional units are added (e.g. height)
- The amount that dimension increases per additional unit (e.g. +2cm)
Using this example, two hats would calculate the original width and depth, while only increasing the height by the nominated amount.
This functionality would also apply to many other products such as cups, bowls, plates and platters, which naturally stack or nest inside each other. At present, Neto is significantly over-calculating cubic volume for these products, resulting in inflated freight costs being shown to customers and ultimately causing cart abandonment.
These issues have only become apparent for us now because our previous Australia Post freight structure was based on dead weight, with a cubic modifier built into their charging model. Now that freight is being charged based on whichever is greater — dead weight or cubic weight — accurate cubic calculations have become essential.
I am sure many other Neto users selling lightweight, bulky products are experiencing the same issue. Businesses need a way for Neto to accurately calculate the cubic volume of an order, rather than simply multiplying individual product dimensions when products are designed to be packed efficiently.
These changes would improve freight accuracy, reduce abandoned carts, and help businesses provide customers with more realistic shipping costs.
Mark Streeter
Director
Shindigs.com.au
