[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":312},["ShallowReactive",2],{"nav-servicios-en":3,"nav-ubicaciones-en":40,"blog-/en/blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/true-cost-per-order":52,"locale-switch-en-/en/blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/true-cost-per-order":291,"prev-/en/blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/true-cost-per-order":258,"next-/en/blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/true-cost-per-order":293,"related-/en/blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/true-cost-per-order":296,"author-Hau Can Park-en":300},[4,10,16,22,28,34],{"path":5,"title":6,"icon":7,"description":8,"order":9},"/services/3pl-4pl","3PL/4PL Warehousing & Logistics Services","i-lucide-boxes","We store, configure, ship and transport your goods. Integrated third-party logistics from 500 m² in San Luis Potosí and Querétaro, in central Mexico.",1,{"path":11,"title":12,"icon":13,"description":14,"order":15},"/services/dedicated-space","Dedicated Space for Lease from 3,000 m²","i-lucide-warehouse","Space for lease from 3,000 m² in Class AAA industrial facilities, so you can run an independent operation with the full infrastructure of the park behind it.",2,{"path":17,"title":18,"icon":19,"description":20,"order":21},"/services/flexible-rental","Flexible Rental by Pallet Position","i-lucide-layers","Rent storage by pallet position, by month or fraction of a month. You pay only for what you actually occupy — built for operations with seasonal peaks and valleys.",3,{"path":23,"title":24,"icon":25,"description":26,"order":27},"/services/cross-docking","Cross-Docking Platform","i-lucide-arrow-left-right","Organize and sort merchandise bound for different markets across Mexico without storing it. In-house Chronos cross-docking platform inside our logistics parks.",4,{"path":29,"title":30,"icon":31,"description":32,"order":33},"/services/value-added-services","Value-Added Logistics Services","i-lucide-package-check","Additional services supporting your logistics operation — labeling, special loading and unloading, packaging, palletizing and fulfillment inside our parks.",5,{"path":35,"title":36,"icon":37,"description":38,"order":39},"/services/wms-software","WMS Software Rental","i-lucide-monitor-check","We operate a dedicated WMS to manage integrated logistics services in our warehouse, where you control your inventory according to the operations you run.",7,[41,47],{"path":42,"title":43,"city":44,"tagline":45,"icon":46,"order":9},"/locations/san-luis-potosi","Hau Can Park San Luis Potosí","San Luis Potosí","The logistics development at the center of Mexico — the ideal distribution center for national coverage","i-lucide-map-pin",{"path":48,"title":49,"city":50,"tagline":51,"icon":46,"order":15},"/locations/queretaro","Hau Can Park Querétaro","Querétaro","The logistics development of the Bajío — the ideal distribution center for reaching Mexico City and Puebla",{"id":53,"title":54,"author":55,"authorUrl":56,"body":57,"category":250,"cta":251,"date":257,"dateModified":258,"description":259,"draft":260,"extension":261,"faq":262,"featured":260,"howto":258,"image":258,"imageAlt":258,"intent":272,"keywords":273,"meta":278,"navigation":279,"path":280,"publishedTime":281,"readingTime":39,"seo":282,"seoTitle":283,"stem":284,"tags":285,"translationKey":289,"__hash__":290},"blog_en/blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/true-cost-per-order.md","What an e-commerce order really costs to fulfill","Hau Can Park","/nosotros",{"type":58,"value":59,"toc":235},"minimark",[60,64,69,74,77,90,94,97,100,104,107,111,114,118,121,125,128,147,154,158,161,165,176,179,183,186,189,193,199,209,215,219,229],[61,62,63],"p",{},"Ask ten online stores what it costs them to ship an order and nine will answer with the carrier's rate. That figure is usually less than half the real cost — and the difference is exactly where the margin evaporates.",[65,66,68],"h2",{"id":67},"the-seven-components","The seven components",[70,71,73],"h3",{"id":72},"_1-receiving-and-storage","1. Receiving and storage",[61,75,76],{},"Inventory occupies space before it sells. Prorate the monthly storage cost across the orders you actually shipped that month. If your inventory turns slowly, this number hurts.",[61,78,79,80,84,85,89],{},"This is where ",[81,82,83],"strong",{},"the billing model matters",": leasing fixed area charges the same in January as in November, while renting ",[86,87,88],"a",{"href":17},"by occupied pallet position"," follows your real occupancy.",[70,91,93],{"id":92},"_2-picking","2. Picking",[61,95,96],{},"An operator's time walking the warehouse, locating the product and verifying it. It depends on two things: how many lines the order has and how well organized the warehouse is.",[61,98,99],{},"A one-line order and a seven-line order do not cost the same, even though the carrier charges the same.",[70,101,103],{"id":102},"_3-packing","3. Packing",[61,105,106],{},"Box, void fill, tape, label — and the time to assemble it. The most underestimated line, because each component is cheap; the problem is that it multiplies by every order.",[70,108,110],{"id":109},"_4-freight","4. Freight",[61,112,113],{},"The visible line. Varies by weight, volume, zone and carrier.",[70,115,117],{"id":116},"_5-platform-commission","5. Platform commission",[61,119,120],{},"If you sell through a marketplace, the commission is part of the cost of serving that order. If you sell through your own store, the payment gateway fee is.",[70,122,124],{"id":123},"_6-returns","6. Returns",[61,126,127],{},"The line most people ignore, and the most destructive. A return adds:",[129,130,131,135,138,141,144],"ul",{},[132,133,134],"li",{},"Return freight",[132,136,137],{},"Product inspection",[132,139,140],{},"Reconditioning or repacking",[132,142,143],{},"Restocking",[132,145,146],{},"The lost revenue",[61,148,149,150,153],{},"If your return rate is 10%, ",[81,151,152],{},"every ten delivered orders carry the full cost of one returned",". A returned product can cost more than two delivered ones.",[70,155,157],{"id":156},"_7-shrinkage-and-errors","7. Shrinkage and errors",[61,159,160],{},"Wrong shipments, damaged product, incomplete orders. Each generates a reshipment, a refund, or a customer who does not come back. It is a real cost even when it appears as a line nowhere.",[65,162,164],{"id":163},"the-practical-formula","The practical formula",[166,167,172],"pre",{"className":168,"code":170,"language":171},[169],"language-text","Cost per order =\n    (monthly storage / orders that month)\n  + picking cost\n  + packing materials\n  + average freight\n  + platform commission\n  + (total return cost / orders that month)\n  + (error and shrinkage cost / orders that month)\n","text",[173,174,170],"code",{"__ignoreMap":175},"",[61,177,178],{},"Run it with data from a real month, not your best month. And run it twice: once in peak season and once in low season. The gap between those two numbers is usually the revelation.",[65,180,182],{"id":181},"why-the-number-swings-so-much-between-seasons","Why the number swings so much between seasons",[61,184,185],{},"Because storage is fixed and orders are not. In November you ship 4,000 orders and storage dilutes; in February you ship 600 with the same space cost, and the proration spikes.",[61,187,188],{},"That is the arithmetic that makes many stores profitable in peak season and quietly unprofitable the rest of the year.",[65,190,192],{"id":191},"the-three-levers-that-actually-move-the-number","The three levers that actually move the number",[61,194,195,198],{},[81,196,197],{},"Turn storage into a variable cost."," If space is billed by real occupancy, by month or fraction, low-season proration stops punishing you.",[61,200,201,204,205,208],{},[81,202,203],{},"Reduce errors."," Every error has a compound cost: the reshipment, the return and the customer. Scan validation at each step is what prevents it, and it requires a ",[86,206,207],{"href":35},"WMS"," that directs and verifies.",[61,210,211,214],{},[81,212,213],{},"Shorten the distance to dispatch."," It does not lower direct cost, but it lowers cycle time — and cycle time determines how much safety stock you need to carry.",[65,216,218],{"id":217},"where-an-operator-fits","Where an operator fits",[61,220,221,224,225,228],{},[86,222,223],{"href":29},"Fulfillment"," — picking, verifying, packing and dispatching order by order — combined with ",[86,226,227],{"href":17},"flexible pallet-position rental"," turns the two heaviest cost components into variables that follow real demand.",[61,230,231,232,234],{},"Our ",[86,233,50],{"href":48}," park sits next to the Intercontinental Airport, where the major parcel carriers operate.",{"title":175,"searchDepth":15,"depth":21,"links":236},[237,246,247,248,249],{"id":67,"depth":15,"text":68,"children":238},[239,240,241,242,243,244,245],{"id":72,"depth":21,"text":73},{"id":92,"depth":21,"text":93},{"id":102,"depth":21,"text":103},{"id":109,"depth":21,"text":110},{"id":116,"depth":21,"text":117},{"id":123,"depth":21,"text":124},{"id":156,"depth":21,"text":157},{"id":163,"depth":15,"text":164},{"id":181,"depth":15,"text":182},{"id":191,"depth":15,"text":192},{"id":217,"depth":15,"text":218},"ecommerce-fulfillment",{"title":252,"description":253,"label":254,"to":255,"icon":256},"Do you know what each order costs you?","Tell us how many orders you move per month and we will review the right model.","Contact us","/contact","i-lucide-calculator","2026-07-29",null,"Most stores underestimate their cost per order because they only count freight. The seven real components, and how to know whether your operation makes or loses money.",false,"md",[263,266,269],{"question":264,"answer":265},"What is the most common mistake in calculating cost per order?","Counting only freight. Shipping is the most visible line, but picking, packing, prorated storage, returns and platform commission can add up to as much or more.",{"question":267,"answer":268},"How do returns affect the cost?","A return does not just remove the revenue - it adds return freight, inspection, reconditioning and restocking. One returned product can cost more than two delivered ones.",{"question":270,"answer":271},"Is outsourcing fulfillment worth it?","It depends on volume and seasonality. Outsourcing converts fixed cost into variable and avoids investment in facilities and staff, which usually pays off while volume is not high and constant.","informational",[274,275,276,277],"cost per order ecommerce","fulfillment cost mexico","ecommerce profitability","order fulfillment cost",{},true,"/blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/true-cost-per-order","2026-07-29T08:00:00-06:00",{"title":54,"description":259},"True cost per order in e-commerce - how to calculate it","blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/true-cost-per-order",[286,223,287,288],"E-commerce","Cost per order","Margins","blog:ecommerce-fulfillment/true-cost-per-order","Qhkluwoi-vDfsUFiZliLUsMyycnW6oQXFNEbTzMUdy0",{"es":292},"/blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/costo-real-por-pedido-ecommerce",{"path":294,"title":295},"/blog/ecommerce-fulfillment/peak-season-readiness","Getting your logistics ready for peak season in Mexico",[297],{"path":294,"title":295,"description":298,"date":299,"category":250,"image":258,"imageAlt":258,"readingTime":39},"Buen Fin is won in September, not November. A four-stage preparation calendar so the peak breaks neither your operation nor your margin.","2026-08-10",{"id":301,"avatar":258,"bio":302,"entityType":303,"expertise":304,"extension":305,"meta":306,"name":55,"role":307,"slug":308,"social":258,"stem":309,"url":310,"__hash__":311},"authors_en/en/authors/hau-can-park.yml","Operations team at Hau Can Park, operators of logistics parks in San Luis Potosí and Querétaro, Mexico.","Organization","We write from the daily operation of two logistics parks in Mexico's Bajío corridor: 3PL/4PL warehousing, dedicated space in Class AAA buildings, pallet position rental, cross-docking, value-added services and WMS software rental. Articles cover warehousing logistics, e-commerce fulfillment, nearshoring to Mexico, logistics technology and industrial real estate.\n","yml",{},"Editorial team","hau-can-park","en/authors/hau-can-park","/about","aTW7-zAzFZUy7sGffmWuE3pXHqHGqgwdH5WfrWIg2-Y",1788817282573]