Pricing a warehousing or fulfillment job correctly means the difference between profitable work and leaving money on the table. Get it wrong and you'll either lose the bid or lock yourself into a contract that erodes your margins over 12 months.
Know Your Cost Structure First
Before you quote anything, you need to understand what it actually costs to store and move a customer's inventory. This isn't just rent per square foot—it's the complete picture.
Start by calculating your true operating costs:
- Space cost: Your facility's total monthly rent divided by usable square footage
- Labor: Picking, packing, labeling, and receiving staff rates (often $18–$28/hour depending on region and skill)
- Handling equipment: Forklifts, conveyor systems, RF scanners, and maintenance
- Packaging materials: Boxes, tape, bubble wrap, labels (typically $0.50–$2.50 per shipment)
- Software: WMS subscriptions, inventory tracking, and order management systems ($500–$3,000/month for most operations)
- Utilities and overhead: A percentage of electric, water, and insurance allocated to the job
Once you have these numbers, add 25–40% margin depending on your market position and demand. Small regional operators often work at 30–35% margins; larger, specialized facilities command 40%+.
Tiered Pricing Models That Work
Most fulfillment centers use a combination of fees rather than a single rate. This reflects the actual work and scales fairly.
Monthly storage fee: Charge per pallet position or cubic foot occupied. The market typically runs $8–$25 per pallet per month depending on location and climate control. For cubic footage, expect $0.50–$1.50 per cubic foot monthly. Be specific in your quote about what's included—is racking provided? Are you handling inventory rotation?
Pick-and-pack fees: This is where volume matters. A standard single-item pick-and-pack runs $0.75–$2.00 per unit depending on:
- Order complexity (single SKU vs. multi-item orders)
- Box sizes and dimensional weight
- Required customization (inserts, thank-you cards, etc.)
Receiving and put-away: Charge $25–$60 per hour or a flat fee per pallet. If the customer is shipping you pallets of mixed SKUs that require detailed slot placement, be on the higher end.
Special services: Weight verification, kitting, repackaging, or returns processing should be line-item charges. These often run $0.50–$3.00 per unit depending on complexity.
Quote Template Structure
When you sit down to quote a job, organize it clearly so the customer understands what they're paying for and you have something to reference if disputes arise later.
Include these sections in your quote:
- Customer profile: Item count, average order size, monthly throughput, storage duration
- Space requirements: Pallet positions or cubic footage needed, racking specifications
- Monthly recurring charges: Storage + handling
- Per-transaction fees: Pick-pack, shipping label, quality checks
- Minimum monthly commitment: Most fulfillment centers require $500–$2,000 minimum to make a relationship viable
- Setup fee: $300–$1,500 to onboard inventory, set up WMS records, and configure pick logic
- Contract term: 12-month terms are standard; shorter terms command 10–15% higher rates
- Out-of-scope costs: What's not included (e.g., international shipping, hazmat handling, custom packaging beyond basics)
Real Example
A customer wants to store 50 pallets of seasonal goods for 6 months and expects 500 orders per month at an average of 3 items per order.
- Storage: 50 pallets × $18/month × 6 months = $5,400
- Pick-and-pack: 500 orders × 3 items × $1.25 = $1,875/month × 6 months = $11,250
- Receiving: 50 pallets × $40 = $2,000 (one-time)
- Setup fee: $800
- Total quote: $19,850 for the contract
This customer then knows exactly what they're getting and you've clearly documented the scope, making it harder to have scope creep during execution.
Protect Your Margins
Always include contractual language around minimum orders, billing adjustments if volume drops, and what happens if customers exceed capacity. Build in a 5–10% contingency for seasonal volume spikes or operational inefficiencies.
Listing your fulfillment and warehousing services on a platform like Mercoly helps you reach customers actively searching for these solutions, win qualified leads faster, and showcase your pricing and capabilities to a broad market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Should I charge differently for slow-moving vs. fast-moving inventory? Yes—slow-moving SKUs that occupy prime bin locations or require constant rotation to prevent damage can justify 15–25% higher storage rates. Document your bin placement strategy in the quote.
Q: What's a reasonable setup or onboarding fee? $300–$1,500 depending on inventory complexity; for customers with 100+ unique SKUs or complex kitting requirements, charge $2,000–$3,000. This covers WMS configuration, label printing, and staff training.
Q: Can I quote per-unit pricing instead of per-transaction? Some operations do, especially for very high-volume, low-touch operations (e.g., 5,000+ units/month). However, per-transaction pricing is more standard because it accounts for order complexity—a 1-item order takes different labor than a 10-item order.
Start by mapping your true costs, structure your quotes in tiers, and always build margin into your rates—then get visible to customers who are actively looking for fulfillment partners.