Shipping Automation ROI: Calculate Your Savings Shipping automation delivers measurable returns. Here's how to calculate and maximize your ROI.
Automation Opportunities
Areas to Automate
Area Manual Time Automated Time Order import 5 min/order 0 min Rate shopping 3 min/order 0 min Label creation 2 min/order 10 sec Tracking upload 1 min/order 0 min Customer emails 2 min/order 0 min
Time Savings
Volume Manual (hrs/day) Automated (hrs/day) 50 orders 10+ hours 1 hour 100 orders 20+ hours 2 hours 500 orders Not possible 4 hours
ROI Calculation
Annual ROI = (Annual savings - Annual cost) / Annual cost × 100%Where savings = Time savings + Rate savings + Error reduction
Example Calculation
Monthly shipping: 1,000 ordersTime savings:
10 min/order saved × 1,000 orders = 167 hours
At $20/hour labor = $3,340/month
$2/order average savings × 1,000 = $2,000/month
2% error rate reduced to 0.5%
15 errors/month × $25 cost = $375/month
Time Savings Analysis
By Task
Task Manual Automated Savings Order download 5 min 0 5 min Rate comparison 3 min 0 3 min Label creation 2 min 0.17 min 1.83 min Tracking update 1 min 0 1 min Total 11 min 0.17 min 10.83 min
Labor Cost
Hourly Rate Savings/Order 1,000 Orders $15 $2.71 $2,710 $20 $3.61 $3,610 $25 $4.51 $4,510
Rate Savings
Carrier Discounts
Carrier Retail Rate atoship Rate Savings USPS $5.00 $4.25 $0.75 UPS $9.00 $6.48 $2.52 FedEx $9.50 $6.84 $2.66
Scenario Single Carrier Rate Shopping Avg cost $7.00 $5.50 Savings - $1.50/order Annual (10K) $70,000 $55,000 Savings $15,000
Error Reduction
Error Costs
Error Type Cost Wrong address $15-25 Wrong item $20-30 Duplicate label $5-10 Missed order $25-50
Automation Impact
Metric Before After Error rate 2-3% 0.3-0.5% Errors/1000 25 4 Error cost $625 $100 Savings $525/1000 orders
Implementation Cost
Investment Types
Component Cost Range Software subscription $50-500/month Hardware (printers) $200-1,000 one-time Integration setup $0-1,000 Training 2-8 hours
Payback Period
Monthly savings: $5,000
Monthly cost: $200
Payback: Immediate (less than 1 month)
atoship ROI
Included Value
Feature Value Carrier discounts Up to 89% off Rate shopping Automatic best rate Batch processing Time savings Tracking automation Zero manual work Platform integrations Order sync
Measuring Results
Track These Metrics
Metric Measure Time per order Before/after Cost per label Before/after Error rate Before/after Customer satisfaction NPS/reviews
Conclusion Shipping automation delivers substantial ROI through time savings, rate discounts, and error reduction. Calculate your potential savings, implement with atoship, and measure results to maximize return.
Ready to save on shipping? Get started with Atoship for free and access discounted USPS, UPS, and FedEx rates. No monthly fees, no contracts.
Create Free Account 
