The parcel delivery shipping industry has developed rapidly all over the world in the last 10–15 years. These parcel packages are generally small and have a high risk of damage due to the numerous handling events during delivery services. Inefficient packaging solutions can lead to significant costs and increase the occurrence of product damage. This problem is widely known, and packaging engineers have tried to simulate field physical events in the laboratory to optimize the protective packaging system. Drop events during parcel delivery are one of the primary causes of damage for small individual shipments and need to be precisely simulated to achieve optimized product protection. Over the past 50 years, drop tests have become common practice as a pre-shipment test for parcel packages, and many devices have been developed to measure and observe these physical events during package transit. Due to the nature of packages and their variations, different field measurements and observations have been presented across continents and countries and have been implemented in general practices. A review of drop event observations is required to summarize and critically evaluate recent results. This review begins with an overview of the drop observation methods [real drop height (RDH) and effective drop height (EDH)], then discusses methods proposed by standards organizations, followed by a focus on the setup and materials of measuring systems used by researchers to record the events. Finally, a summary of previous results is presented, which can serve as a guide for further research on the topic.

In recent years, the volume of parcel shipments has increased significantly because of the rise in popularity of online shopping. This article focuses on the last mile segment of the parcel shipment, especially on the vibration behavior of the packages and van platform during transportation and the laboratory simulation of transportation vibration circumstances. The goal of this study is to measure in the field the vibration levels of small, stacked parcels and compare the results with measured vibration levels from the same measuring setup in the laboratory using ASTM D7386-16, Standard Practice for Performance Testing of Packages for Single Parcel Delivery Systems, vibration test method. For the measurements, three-layers of stacked small boxes with data recorder were set up into a delivery van to observe the vibration levels for the boxes inside and on the platform of the van, along different road conditions. The power spectral density spectra and overall Grms values of vibration intensity were presented and compared in four sections of frequency range between 1-200 Hz. The results indicate that the proposed vibration simulation does not correlate well with typical field vibration levels of the van platform and stacked packages. Based on the results, the packaging testing process can be developed as a more realistic preshipment testing process to avoid under-testing or over-testing of small parcels, thereby eliminating unnecessary packaging costs or damages.

In modern global supply chains, intermodal and multimodal distribution has become essential means of transportation. The combination of different modes of transport is the most commonly used method for distributing shipments between continents. This paper examines and measures physical events, such as shock and impact, that occur while transporting 40ft long ISO containers using multiple modes of transport. These events can directly affect the integrity of packaged products and cause damage. The study focuses on events such as transshipments and handling of containers in hubs and terminals. The impact shock levels were separately analyzed in all three-dimensional directions, namely vertical, longitudinal, and lateral. The results indicate the percentage of occurrence below a given impact level using statistical characteristics of the events that occurred. The magnitude and mean of acceleration levels, pulse duration, and velocity change are also reported.

Courier express parcel (CEP) shipments become one of the most important delivery methods in the Business-to-Consumer sales model. This paper observed and analyzed the vertical vibration levels that occur in stacked and unsecured parcels during express delivery versus the simulation in the laboratory. At the end, a detailed comparison is reported between the field and laboratory vibration levels (based on standard PSD test profile) in the frequency range of 1 – 200 Hz. For the measurement a three-layer stacked unit was used building from corrugated box samples. The result shows and analyzes the vibration levels in the stacked layers in comparison to the ISTA (International Safe Transport Association) vibration protocol where only a single parcel is required to be tested without any stacking configuration.