{"id":9799,"date":"2026-10-28T12:25:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T12:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.efulfilment.eu\/?p=9799"},"modified":"2026-10-29T13:23:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T13:23:23","slug":"ecommerce-fulfilment-cost-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.efulfilment.eu\/en\/ecommerce-fulfilment-cost-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"What does ecommerce fulfilment actually cost in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is no single rate for ecommerce fulfilment in Europe<\/a>, and any provider quoting one has not looked at your catalogue. Fulfilment is priced as six separate lines, each charged on a different unit. What varies between two quotes is rarely the rates themselves \u2014 it is which lines are included and which arrive later as surcharges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How fulfilment is actually priced<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Six lines, six different units. Understanding which unit each is charged on is most of what you need to compare providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cost line<\/td>Charged per<\/td>What moves it up<\/td><\/tr>
Inbound handling<\/td>Pallet, carton or unit received<\/td>Loose items rather than palletised; SKU-level checks; batch or expiry capture<\/td><\/tr>
Storage<\/td>Pallet or bin, per week or month<\/td>Slow-moving stock; oversized items; seasonal overstock<\/td><\/tr>
Pick<\/td>Order line or item<\/td>Multi-item orders; size-and-colour matrices; items in different zones<\/td><\/tr>
Pack<\/td>Order<\/td>Branded packaging; fragile protection; gift presentation; kitting<\/td><\/tr>
Shipping<\/td>Parcel<\/td>Destination; weight and volumetric weight; service level; surcharges<\/td><\/tr>
Returns<\/td>Returned unit<\/td>High return-rate categories; inspection requirements; re-tagging<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The two drivers most brands get wrong<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Order complexity, not order volume. Two thousand single-item orders cost less to fulfil than eight hundred five-item orders, even though the second number is smaller. Pick is charged per line, so what matters is lines, not orders. Model your average items per order before you model anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volumetric weight<\/a>. Carriers charge on actual weight or the space the parcel occupies, whichever is greater. A light but bulky product is billed for air, and each carrier calculates it with its own divisor. Box sizing is a genuine cost lever and it needs no negotiation with anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why providers will not quote without seeing your catalogue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because the same “one order” means different things. A supplement tub and a flat-pack table both count as one, and they cost different amounts to store, pick, pack and ship. A published rate card would be accurate for one brand and wrong for every other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The variables that make a universal price impossible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n