How to Use the 3PL Fulfillment Cost Calculator
A 3PL quote lists pick & pack, packaging, parcel shipping, return handling, storage and a monthly account fee as separate line items, which makes it hard to see what one order actually costs you. This calculator adds up your monthly total from the figures you enter, then divides it by order volume to get the average cost per order.
Costs split into variable costs that scale with orders (pick & pack, packaging, shipping) and fixed costs that you pay even in a slow month (account fee, storage). In low-volume months the fixed share pushes the per-order figure up sharply, so check the share column alongside the totals.
Every rate above is a placeholder. Pick fees, storage rates and parcel rates vary by provider, contract volume and product size, and carriers usually bill the greater of actual weight and dimensional weight (length × width × height ÷ a divisor), so enter the rates from your own contract and monthly invoice. Figures are for planning only; your actual invoice depends on how your provider measures and bills each item.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start with the largest share in the breakdown table. Parcel shipping and pick & pack usually dominate, and the common levers are smaller box sizes to cut dimensional weight and renegotiating the volume tier on your rate card.
Storage is a fixed cost: it keeps accruing as long as inventory sits in the warehouse, even in a month with zero orders. That is why it is entered as pallets × rate per pallet and grouped with fixed costs.
The per-order figure is the monthly total divided by order count and then rounded to the cent, so multiplying it back by order count can differ from the total by a few cents.