Fulfillment costs · Switching 3PLs
How to compare fulfillment quotes and find your true cost per order
· 8 min read · SuperFulfill
Two fulfillment quotes rarely list the same lines. One charges per order and per additional unit, another per pick; one bills storage by pallet, another includes it; one quotes shipping with duties included, another leaves duties to be collected from the customer. Comparing headline pick-and-pack fees tells you very little.
The reliable comparison is the true cost per order: everything you would pay in a month, divided by the orders you ship. This guide shows how to build it from any quote.
The cost lines to put side by side
| Cost line | How it's commonly billed | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Order or pick-and-pack fee | Per order, sometimes per pick or per unit | Does the fee change with the number of items? |
| Additional units | Per unit after the first | Is there a charge for each extra item in an order? |
| Packaging | Per order, or materials billed at cost | Which mailer or box is included, and what do custom materials cost? |
| Shipping | Per parcel, by destination, service and billable weight | Is it priced on packed size and weight, and is a rate card available? |
| Duties and taxes | Included in shipping (DDP) or paid by the customer on delivery | Who pays duties, and is that shown in the shipping price? |
| Storage | Per pallet, bin, shelf or cubic volume, per month | Are there long-term or seasonal storage surcharges? |
| Receiving | Per hour, carton, pallet or unit | What does an unlabelled or mixed carton cost? |
| Returns | Per return, plus restocking | How are returns received, checked and restocked? |
| Account and software | Monthly fee or minimum billing | Is there a minimum monthly bill or account fee? |
| Exit charges | Per unit or per pallet removed | What does it cost to move stock out? |
Calculate the true cost per order
Add the per-order charges, multiply them by your monthly orders, add the monthly charges, then divide by the number of orders:
- Per-order charges = order fee + (units per order − 1) × additional-unit fee + packaging + shipping + duties paid separately.
- Monthly charges = storage + receiving + returns + account, software and other fees.
- True cost per order = (per-order charges × monthly orders + monthly charges) ÷ monthly orders.
Fixed monthly charges weigh more on a brand with fewer orders and less on one with many, so run the calculation at your current volume and at the volume you expect at peak. The fulfillment cost calculator does this arithmetic for two quotes at once.
Make the quotes comparable
- Use the same order profile for every quote: monthly orders, units per order, destinations and packed sizes.
- Take your current costs from invoices, not the original rate card; invoices include the surcharges.
- Treat duties the same way in both columns. If one quote includes them in shipping and the other doesn't, add the separate amount to the second.
- Include onboarding and migration costs separately, so they don't hide in the monthly comparison.
- Check what is included in a fee before assuming it's missing. A higher order fee that includes storage and receiving can cost less overall.
What a quote doesn't show
Cost per order is necessary but not sufficient. Before deciding, compare how each provider handles the things that cost money when they go wrong:
- How picking errors are prevented and how they're corrected.
- Who your day-to-day contact is, and how quickly they reply.
- How you see stock, orders and charges.
- Delivery times to your main destinations on the services quoted.
- Contract length, notice period and exit terms.
How SuperFulfill quotes
Fulfillment is US$0.50 per order, whatever the number of items. That fee covers receiving, storage, pick and pack, a standard mailer, inspection, kitting, inserts, relabelling, parcel insurance and a dedicated account manager. Shipping is quoted separately for your products and destinations, priced on the greater of actual packed weight and volumetric weight, with the applicable terms, DDP shipping as standard, confirmed in the quotation. Manufacturing or sourcing custom packaging materials is quoted separately. There are no setup fees and no lock-in contract.