cushion property of outer packaging box is neglected in the cushion design of packaging system, so it is difficult to obtain reasonable structure sizes to protect products from damage. To study the influence of cushion property of outer packaging box on the product packaging system, firstly, the static experiments were conducted to determine the static constitutive models for honeycomb paperboard of which outer packaging box is made and cushion material expanded polyethylene, and then the dynamic experiments were made to obtain their dynamic constitutive relationships. Secondly, the impact compression model for expanded polyethylene in series with honeycomb paperboard was built, and relevant solving method was introduced. Finally, based on two requirements: 1. Response acceleration of the products should be smaller than the allowable value and 2. Material consumption of polyethylene should be minimized, the optimal object function was proposed for expanded polyethylene in series with honeycomb paperboard and relative solution steps were presented, then the calculation reliability was proved by the comparison between calculated results and experimental data. The numerical examples we cited indicate that an over-conservative design is arrived at when the contribution of the honeycomb paperboard material is not taken into account, that is, the inclusion of the effects of the shock absorbing characteristics of honeycomb paperboard in the design leads to significant savings in cushion material volume. The ideas in this paper can provide guidance for other serial packaging systems, and it is an effective way for avoiding overuse of cushion materials.