Fulfillment costs cover the fees charged by 3PLs, fulfillment centers, and warehouses to pick, pack, and ship your orders.
What Are Fulfillment Costs?
Fulfillment costs include:
- Pick and pack fees: Per-order handling charges
- Storage fees: Monthly warehouse storage
- 3PL fees: ShipBob, Deliverr, Amazon FBA, etc.
- Packaging materials: Boxes, tape, inserts
Fulfillment costs are separate from shipping costs (carrier fees). Both contribute to your total cost to fulfill an order.
Where Fulfillment Costs Appear
| Module | Usage |
|---|
| Executive Summary | Part of COGS / gross profit |
| Orders Deep Dive | Order-level profitability |
| Contribution Margin | Full order cost analysis |
Setting Up Fulfillment Costs
Calculate your average cost
Review 3PL invoices to determine average fulfillment cost per order
Open Configuration Sheet
Navigate to the fulfillment costs section
Enter your rate
Use flat rate per order or percentage of order value
Common Approaches
| Approach | When to Use |
|---|
| Flat rate per order | Single 3PL with predictable fees |
| Flat rate per item | When costs scale with order size |
| Percentage of revenue | When 3PL charges % of GMV |
Start with your average cost per order from the last 3 months. You can refine as you get more data.
