Measure your operational efficiency by calculating logistics costs per unit and as a percentage of revenue, providing clear insights into your supply chain performance.
This calculator provides two distinct lenses on your supply chain performance: operational granularity and financial impact.
1. Supply Chain Cost Per Unit Sold (SCPU) = Total Supply Chain Costs / Number of Units Sold
2. Supply Chain Cost % of Sales (SCCPS %) = (Total Supply Chain Costs / Total Monetary Sales) × 100
Example 1 (Operational Efficiency):
Example 2 (Financial Impact):
In the highly competitive world of retail and e-commerce, margins are often thin, and the efficiency of moving goods can make or break a company's profitability. The Supply Chain Retail Calculator is an essential financial tool designed to give business owners and supply chain managers a dual-perspective view of their logistics performance. While tracking total costs is standard, this calculator breaks those costs down into actionable metrics: Supply Chain Cost Per Unit (SCPU) and Supply Chain Cost Percentage of Sales (SCCPS). These metrics help isolate the "logistics burden" carried by every item you sell.
The Supply Chain Retail Calculator serves two distinct purposes. First, by calculating the SCPU, it offers a measure of pure operational efficiency. This allows you to track whether your warehouse and shipping teams are becoming more productive over time, regardless of price fluctuations in the market. Second, the SCCPS metric connects logistics to the broader financial health of the company. As noted by industry resources like Wikipedia, effective supply chain management is about delivering value to the customer while minimizing system-wide costs. If your supply chain costs are eating up a disproportionate percentage of your revenue, it directly erodes your net profit.
Using the Supply Chain Retail Calculator allows for better strategic decision-making. For instance, if you introduce a cheaper product line, your SCPU might remain the same, but your SCCPS might skyrocket because the logistics cost remains high relative to the lower sales price. This insight is crucial for pricing strategies. Furthermore, consistent tracking aligns with standards from government bodies like the International Trade Administration, which emphasizes the role of resilient and efficient supply chains in economic stability. By utilizing this tool, you move beyond guesswork and start managing your logistics based on hard data.
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TSCC should capture all expenses related to the movement and storage of goods. This includes procurement costs, warehouse rent and utilities, administrative labor, handling fees, packaging materials, and freight/transportation. Do not include the raw Cost of Goods Sold (COGS).
SCPU is a "pure" measure of logistics efficiency. It tells you how much it costs to physically handle an item, regardless of its selling price. A rising SCPU indicates inefficiencies in the warehouse or shipping process, such as rising labor costs or inefficient packing.
This varies widely by industry. High-volume, low-margin industries (like grocery) might aim for 4-6%, while specialized retail might see 10-15%. The goal is to keep this percentage as low as possible while maintaining service levels, ensuring logistics don't eat your profits.
To account for returns, you should include "Reverse Logistics" costs in your Total Supply Chain Costs input. Handling returns is a significant part of modern retail supply chain expenses.