Shipping KPIs & Metrics Guide: Measure What Matters Effective measurement drives improvement. Here are the shipping KPIs that matter and how to track them.
Core Shipping KPIs
Cost Metrics
KPI Definition Target Cost per order Total shipping / Orders Decrease Cost as % revenue Shipping cost / Revenue 5-10% Avg carrier cost Spend by carrier Optimize DIM weight impact DIM vs actual Minimize gap
KPI Definition Target On-time delivery % delivered on time >95% Ship time Order to ship time <24 hrs Transit accuracy Actual vs quoted Match Claims rate Claims / shipments <0.5%
Customer Metrics
KPI Definition Target WISMO rate Tracking inquiries / orders <2% Shipping satisfaction Survey score >4.5/5 Delivery complaints Complaints / orders <1% Return rate Returns / orders Industry benchmark
Setting Benchmarks
Industry Benchmarks
Metric Good Excellent On-time delivery 93% 97%+ Ship time Same day <4 hours Claims rate 0.5% <0.1% WISMO rate 3% <1%
Your Benchmarks
Step Action 1 Measure current state 2 Compare to industry 3 Set realistic targets 4 Track progress
Cost Analysis
Detailed Cost Tracking
Component Track Base rate By carrier, service Surcharges By type Adjustments Weight/DIM corrections Returns Return shipping cost
Cost Per Order Breakdown
Total shipping cost = Labels + Surcharges + Adjustments + ReturnsCost per order = Total / Number of orders
Target: Decrease over time through optimization
Carrier Comparison
Carrier On-Time Claims Cost USPS 94% 0.3% $5.50 UPS 97% 0.1% $8.00 FedEx 96% 0.2% $8.25
Carrier Scorecards
Factor Weight On-time delivery 40% Claims rate 20% Cost efficiency 30% Customer feedback 10%
Operations Metrics
Fulfillment Efficiency
KPI Definition Orders per hour Fulfillment productivity Pick accuracy % picked correctly Pack accuracy % packed correctly Cutoff % Orders shipped before cutoff
Process Timing
Metric Measure Order to pick Hours Pick to pack Minutes Pack to ship Minutes Ship to scan Hours
Customer Experience
WISMO Analysis
Question Type % of Inquiries Where is my order? 45% Estimated delivery? 25% Tracking not updating? 20% Other 10%
Reducing WISMO
Initiative Impact Proactive notifications -30% Accurate ETAs -20% Better tracking -15%
Dashboard Design
Executive Dashboard
Metric Visualization Total cost Trend line Cost per order Trend line On-time % Gauge Volume Bar chart
Operations Dashboard
Metric Visualization Orders in queue Count Shipped today Count Exceptions List Carrier breakdown Pie chart
Reporting Cadence
Frequency
Report Frequency Daily operations Daily Performance summary Weekly Cost analysis Monthly Strategic review Quarterly
Stakeholders
Audience Focus Ops team Daily metrics Management Weekly/monthly Finance Monthly costs Executive Quarterly trends
atoship Analytics Track what matters:
Cost reporting : By carrier, service, zonePerformance metrics : On-time, claimsTrend analysis : Over timeCarrier comparison : Side-by-sideExport : For analysis
Improvement Process
Using Metrics
Step Action 1 Review metrics 2 Identify issues 3 Root cause analysis 4 Implement improvement 5 Measure impact
Continuous Improvement
Cycle Focus Weekly Quick wins Monthly Process changes Quarterly Strategic improvements
Conclusion Effective shipping management requires measuring the right KPIs. Track cost, performance, and customer metrics. Use atoship analytics for visibility into your shipping operations and data-driven improvement.
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