Special Report: 7 Operations and Fulfillment Tips to Boost Efficiency

5. Determine your per order fulfillment cost. This will allow you to more effectively analyze various fulfillment options for your business — e.g., whether it makes sense to outsource fulfillment. How do you accurately calculate these costs?

Start by looking at your total orders for the previous year, which enables you to account for any seasonal spikes and/or lulls. Then take a look at your expense report for the same period of time and divide all fulfillment-related expenditures, including shipping, by your total number of orders.