How Medusa Distribution Cut 16% Off Shipping Costs Without Changing a Single Carrier Contract

Shipping smarter doesn't always mean shipping less. That was the realization for Medusa Distribution, a New Jersey-based B2B wholesaler managing over 10,000 SKUs and shipping large orders to retailers nationwide.

The challenge wasn’t lack of carriers or warehouse manpower. It was this: packing decisions were being made by gut feeling and those decisions were quietly inflating shipping costs.

The Before: Manual, Intuitive, and Costly

Before Perseuss, a packer would receive an order with 100–300 order lines, often weighing up to 100 lbs total. Their goal? Pack everything into as few boxes as possible. Fewer boxes feels efficient. It feels cost-effective.

But “feels” isn’t always a fact.

For example: Order: 295 items, 137 lbs, 5.63 cubic feet Human solution: 5 large boxes Shipping cost: $288.32 via USPS Priority Mail

It made sense: fewer boxes, higher fill rate, less material. But it wasn’t the best option.

The After: Data-Driven Decisions

When Medusa started using Perseuss, their approach changed overnight. The software recommended splitting the shipment into 12 smaller boxes, each about half a cubic foot.

Why? Because of how USPS calculates cost. In this case, smaller boxes with cubic-rate shipping labels saved money.

Perseuss solution: 12 small boxes @ $17.38 each Total shipping cost: $208.56 Savings: $79.76 (27.6%)

This wasn’t a one-off case. It was a pattern.

Why the Savings Happen

Smarter packing decisions are based on four key variables:

Weight distribution – Lighter items often benefit from larger boxes, heavier items do not
Box and item dimensions – Not all boxes are treated equally by carriers
Shipping distance – Mistakes over long distances get expensive quickly
Carrier constraints – Some items can’t go with some carriers, and rates vary wildly

The right mix changes every time. Humans can’t calculate this on the fly but algorithms can.

Additional Wins

It wasn’t just cost. Perseuss helped Medusa improve accuracy and employee productivity too:

Visual packing instructions helped reduce packing errors
Gamified UX made the process feel more like a game than a task
Easy integration with their existing WMS meant no big system changes were needed

Watch the Case Study

🎥 Watch the video to see the full breakdown and real numbers from the Medusa implementation.

Final Thoughts

Packing isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing it smarter. And as Medusa learned, sometimes the best shipping strategy is the one that looks counterintuitive on paper but makes total sense on the balance sheet.