Order Fulfillment Cost Calculator
Fulfillment cost per order
3.63
Excluding postage: 2.38 per order
Want this number per product, kept up to date from real stock movements? StockFlow tracks it for you, free for up to 25 products.
Track it freeFulfillment cost per order tells you how much it costs to pick, pack and ship one order. It is the number to compare against your shipping charges, your margins and any 3PL quote.
Enter your costs for one period: warehouse labor, packaging materials, other overhead (rent share, software, utilities) and postage you pay, then the number of orders shipped in the same period. The calculator shows the total cost per order and the cost without postage, so you can separate your own operation from carrier charges.
Be honest about labor. Include the time of owners and part-time helpers at a realistic hourly rate; leaving it out is the most common reason a business believes its fulfillment is cheaper than it is.
How the calculation works
Cost per order = (labor + packaging + overhead + postage) ÷ orders. Excluding postage: (labor + packaging + overhead) ÷ orders.
Example: 12,000 labor + 3,000 packaging + 4,000 overhead + 10,000 postage = 29,000, divided by 8,000 orders is 3.63 per order, or 2.38 without postage.
The figure is an average. Orders with many lines or heavy items cost more to pick and ship than a single-item order, so consider splitting the calculation by order type.
See also: Landed cost calculator, Picking productivity calculator, Ecommerce warehouse management.
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