Fulfillment cost calculator
Unpack your
fulfillment costs.
See what shipping, packing staff, supplies and space cost per order, then what to compare with a fulfillment provider (3PL).
Illustrative example
per order
A complete quote is needed to compare savings.
Staff and space costs may remain after a move.
Your cost summary
Based on entered values, which may include illustrative defaults. USD, one representative month. Not a quote.
The month you entered · USD
What to do next
Would you like P&P to review the assumptions?
A review would check the costs, the work you want help with and the terms a useful quote needs to cover. It may support keeping your current setup.
Ask P&P to review the assumptions →Use our existing inquiry form to tell us what you need. Keep your printed summary handy. Calculator numbers are not sent with the inquiry automatically.
Planning summary, not a quote. No review request has been sent. Employee and space costs do not automatically disappear after a move. Product costs, tax and one-time moving costs are excluded.
See the monthly breakdown and packing hours
Where the money goes
Monthly fulfillment costs in US dollars
Each step adds to your monthly total.
How much employee time goes into packing?
Share of the paid hours you entered
Other paid hours are outside this packing calculation. Include receiving, returns or other fulfillment labor under “Other fulfillment costs.” A smaller packing workload does not automatically reduce payroll.
Your chosen value for unpaid time. This is not a bill or money saved.
What that means for one order
Before you compare a quote
Which bills would a 3PL actually replace?
Count the packing hours.
If an employee packs for a quarter of their paid time, count a quarter of their cost here. Moving that work may free them for other tasks. It only reduces payroll if paid hours or staffing costs fall.
Check whether rent would stop.
Giving up a rented storage unit may remove a bill. Clearing a room in an office you still rent frees space, but the rent remains. Count the space used here; check what you would still pay when comparing.
Compare the same shipments.
A bigger shipping discount can still mean a higher bill. Compare actual prices for the same package sizes, weights, destinations and delivery speed, including surcharges. Do the same for packaging: match the materials and quantities.
Fixed illustration, separate from your inputs. Not P&P prices.
Same cost today. Two different decisions.
At 500 orders a month, suppose you spend $5,080: $3,000 shipping + $500 supplies + $880 packing labor + $600 space + $100 software. A hypothetical 3PL quote is $4,400 for the same month's work, shipping and supplies, with all recurring provider charges included.
The packing wages and rent stop
- 3PL bill
- $4,400
- Software you still pay for
- + $100
- Total after switching
- $4,500/month
$580 less per month
The quote is worth investigating. Check one-time moving costs and whether the provider can meet your requirements.
You keep paying the staff and rent
- 3PL bill
- $4,400
- Staff, rent and software you still pay for
- + $1,580
- Total after switching
- $5,980/month
$900 more per month
There is no cash saving here. Keep the current setup unless freeing the team and space solves a problem worth the added cost.
Both cases exclude product purchases, tax and one-time moving costs. They assume the listed costs and quote cover the same work. Unknown costs would prevent either savings conclusion.
Questions to take into a provider conversation
What would make switching worthwhile?
A lower bill. Or work you no longer have to manage.
Keep one-time moving costs separate. A lower shipping rate or fewer packing hours alone does not establish that switching is worthwhile.
How does your shipping price compare?
A discount percentage alone does not tell you whether a rate is competitive. Enter an alternative price for the same weight, dimensions, destinations and service, including surcharges. Leave blank if you do not have a quote. You can also compare equivalent packaging.
How the calculator works
Packing labor = total paid employee hours × packing percentage × hourly employee cost. Add monthly shipping, supplies, fulfillment space and other fulfillment costs. Divide by orders for the cost per order.
If you include unpaid time: orders × your unpaid packing minutes ÷ 60, plus other unpaid fulfillment hours. Multiply those hours by your chosen hourly value. This is separate from money spent.
Changing orders alone keeps paid hours, packing percentage, per-order prices and monthly bills fixed. Update those inputs if the workload changes. The calculator does not check staffing or space capacity. Product purchases, tax and one-time moving costs are excluded.
Missing amounts stay unknown; a subtotal is labelled as incomplete. This calculator does not know which bills would stop, or what a provider would charge. Those need a separate comparison.