Shipping Zones- How to Disable Completely

Since I’m relatively new to the e-commerce game, I am confused about shipping zones. Every shipping method I am aware of is based on dimensional weights; i.e. size and weight. It seems woocommerce is based upon simple formulas based upon qty, which is not functional when products range from oz to lbs. I am aware of plugins to handle shipping by weight, but the annoying feature is if no shipping zones setup, then get error that no shipping methods available. Is there a way to disable shipping zones so that weight based plugin works correctly?