End of Year Shipping Analysis: Metrics That Matter
Analyze your annual shipping performance to identify savings opportunities and optimize for next year.
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End of Year Shipping Analysis: Metrics That Matter
Annual shipping analysis reveals optimization opportunities and informs next year's strategy. Here's what to measure and why.
Key Metrics to Analyze
Cost Metrics
Metric
Why It Matters
Total shipping spend
Baseline for budgeting
Cost per order
Unit economics
Cost as % of revenue
Margin impact
YoY cost change
Trend analysis
Performance Metrics
Metric
Target
On-time delivery
>95%
Claims rate
<1%
Return rate
Industry benchmark
Customer satisfaction
NPS >50
Data Collection
Sources
Source
Data
Carrier invoices
Actual costs
Shipping platform
Label data
E-commerce platform
Order data
Customer service
Issues, complaints
Time Period
Compare:
Full year current
Full year previous
Month over month
Seasonal patterns
Cost Analysis
Breakdown by Category
Category
% of Spend
Opportunity
Base rates
70-80%
Negotiate, rate shop
Surcharges
15-25%
Reduce triggers
Adjustments
3-5%
Accuracy improvements
Carrier Mix Analysis
Carrier
Volume %
Cost %
Efficiency
USPS
40%
30%
High
UPS
35%
40%
Medium
FedEx
25%
30%
Medium
Zone Analysis
Shipping by Zone
Zone
% of Orders
Avg Cost
Zone 1-2
15%
$5.00
Zone 3-4
35%
$7.50
Zone 5-6
30%
$10.00
Zone 7-8
20%
$15.00
Optimization Opportunities
Zone skipping programs
Regional carrier partnerships
Inventory distribution
Fulfillment location
Service Level Analysis
Speed vs Cost
Service
% Orders
Avg Cost
Avg Transit
Ground
60%
$6.00
4.5 days
2-Day
30%
$12.00
2 days
Next Day
10%
$25.00
1 day
Customer Demand
Match service to need:
What do customers choose?
What do they actually need?
Where can you optimize?
Seasonal Analysis
Monthly Trends
Month
Orders
Shipping Cost
Avg per Order
Jan
1,000
$8,000
$8.00
...
...
...
...
Nov
3,000
$30,000
$10.00
Dec
4,000
$48,000
$12.00
Peak Season Impact
Volume increase
Expedited shipping increase
Surcharge increase
Rate increase
Carrier Performance
Delivery Performance
Carrier
On-Time %
Claims %
USPS
94%
0.5%
UPS
97%
0.3%
FedEx
96%
0.4%
Service Issues
Issue
Count
Cost Impact
Late deliveries
500
Refunds: $2,000
Lost packages
50
Claims: $1,500
Damaged
100
Replacements: $3,000
Customer Impact
Shipping-Related Feedback
Theme
Mentions
Sentiment
Fast delivery
200
Positive
Shipping cost
150
Negative
Tracking
100
Mixed
Packaging
50
Positive
Action Planning
Identified Opportunities
Opportunity
Potential Savings
Better rate negotiation
5-10%
Carrier mix optimization
3-5%
DIM weight reduction
2-3%
Surcharge reduction
1-2%
Next Year Goals
Set SMART goals:
Reduce cost per order by 10%
Improve on-time delivery to 97%
Reduce claims rate to 0.3%
atoship Analytics
Access comprehensive data:
Cost reporting: All carriers, all time
Performance metrics: Delivery, claims
Carrier comparison: Side-by-side
Trend analysis: Over time
Savings tracking: vs retail rates
Conclusion
End-of-year shipping analysis reveals optimization opportunities for significant savings. Review costs, performance, and customer feedback to inform next year's strategy. Use atoship analytics to track metrics and identify improvement areas.
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