How to override a compliance block

When every feasible box for an order exceeds the block threshold, PackGuard prevents normal box selection to protect your compliance record. The override flow lets you select a box anyway — with a mandatory reason — when there is a legitimate operational justification.

When to use this: a customer requested gift wrapping that requires a larger box, you are shipping a one-off bulk order, or your box catalog does not yet have the right size and the order must ship today.

Who can override: any admin user with order edit permission. There is no separate override permission in the current version.

---

Identify a blocked order

An order is in the blocked state when the Packaging Recommendation card shows a yellow warning banner above the suggestion table. The banner explains why every box is blocked:

• Missing dimensions — products on the order have no dimensions set. Volume cannot be calculated, so every box appears to be a violation. Fix the product dimensions first if possible.
• Threshold — the configured block threshold is stricter than what your current box catalog can satisfy for this order's volume. Consider adding a smaller box or relaxing the threshold in plugin settings.

Every row in the suggestion table shows a red Override button instead of the normal Blocked label.

---

Complete the override

1. Click Override on the row you want to use.
2. A confirmation dialog appears with a required Reason for override text field.
3. Enter a reason that describes why you are bypassing the compliance block. Examples:
   • Customer requested gift-wrap-ready box
   • One-off bulk order — product dims will be corrected before next batch
   • Physical test ship — verifying box before catalog update
4. Click Override & select.

The box is selected and saved. A success notification confirms: Box selected via override — recorded in the system log.

The system log (at var/log/*.log on the server) records the override action with the order ID, box ID, user ID, reason, the actual empty space ratio, and the block threshold that was exceeded. This provides an audit trail without storing the reason in the database.

---

After the override

The card switches to the selected-box summary view showing the chosen box and a violation status dot. The compliance dashboard counts this order as a violation in aggregate metrics.

If you later add a smaller box to the catalog or fix the product dimensions, you can re-open the order and select a different box to replace the override selection.

---

Preventing overrides in the first place

Most override situations have a root cause you can address permanently:

Situation	Resolution
Products have missing dimensions	Open each product > Specifications and fill in Length, Width, Height
Block threshold too strict for your current box sizes	Go to plugin configuration and raise the block threshold, or add a smaller box to the catalog
A product group genuinely needs a larger box	Assign a packaging profile with an allowed box types constraint that permits the larger type