The shipping rate does not tell you what it really costs to manage e-commerce logistics. Total costs include warehousing, staffing, order preparation, deliveries, delivery issues, returns, and technology. When a brand sells across several countries, it also needs to account for the resources required to coordinate the entire operation. Here are five factors worth looking at before deciding whether your logistics operation is still cost-effective.
Warehousing: paying for space you are not using
Running your warehouse means paying for rent, staff, energy, equipment and systems, even when order volumes fall. During peak periods, the opposite can happen: you may run out of space or struggle to keep up with order preparation.
According to Catella's European Logistics Market Overview Q2 2026, average prime logistics rents across the European markets analysed reached €8.30 per square metre per month, up 3.11% year-on-year.
At BIZ Courier & Logistics S.A., storage charges are based on the cubic metres occupied on the last day of each month. This means your storage costs reflect the volume of goods held on that date, rather than paying for a fixed amount of space throughout the year, whether you use it or not.
Delivery: the cost of losing a sale or a customer
Sendcloud's E-commerce Delivery Compass 2026, based on 8,000 shoppers across eight European markets, shows just how much delivery influences purchasing decisions:
- 48% abandoned a basket in the previous three months because of delivery-related issues.
- 76% prefer retailers that display a specific delivery date at checkout.
- 29% stopped shopping with a retailer after a poor delivery experience.
More than three in four shoppers also report greater loyalty towards retailers that handle delivery issues transparently.
For customers, delivery is part of their experience with your store. When something goes wrong, it is your brand they may lose confidence in, even if the problem occurred during transport. A failed delivery can also mean additional delivery attempts and more customer service enquiries, costs that are not included in the original shipping rate.
Delivery times and convenience matter too. To provide a reliable delivery date, retailers need to know where their stock is held, how long orders take to prepare and how their delivery networks are performing. According to DHL's E-Commerce Trends Report 2026, 60% of surveyed European shoppers predominantly use home delivery, 25% parcel lockers and 15% parcel shops or convenience stores.
At BIZ Courier & Logistics S.A., we coordinate order preparation and deliveries through different local transport networks. This allows retailers selling across several countries to manage their operations through a single point of contact, without having to coordinate each last-mile delivery network separately.
Returns: the cost of stock being unavailable
Under EU consumer rules, shoppers generally have 14 days to withdraw from an online purchase, subject to statutory exceptions. For the retailer, however, the process does not end there. The product still needs to be received, its condition checked, and a decision made on whether it can be sold again.
When individual returns travel across many countries, they involve more transport movements and can spend longer outside available inventory.
With BIZ Courier & Logistics S.A., returns can be received locally, identified by SKU and recorded by quantity and condition before the goods are consolidated. Depending on your requirements and the agreed service, photographic records, quality checks, repackaging and destruction documentation can also be included.
The question is how much it costs to recover each product and how long it takes before it is available for sale again.
International operations: every market changes the equation
Selling across European countries means adapting payment methods, delivery networks and recipient details. Two examples show why the same approach does not necessarily work in every market.
In Germany, according to EHI's Online-Payment 2026 study, purchases paid by invoice accounted for 26.1% of the online sales value analysed.
In Italy, the Netcomm–Politecnico di Milano Observatory reports online shopping penetration of 45% in IT and consumer electronics, compared with 20% in fashion.
These differences show why it is important to understand each market, its product categories and local shopping habits. Address formats, delivery notifications and cash on delivery (COD), where relevant, also need to be considered.
BIZ Courier & Logistics S.A. has seven European centres from which we coordinate operations across 20 markets. Our Hungarian centre is particularly relevant for businesses selling into Central and Eastern Europe, where we work with local delivery networks and manage cash on delivery in the markets where it is available.
For businesses importing goods from outside the European Union, we can also provide access to a public customs warehouse in Valencia through our collaboration with Asmen Logística Integral.
Technology and visibility: the cost of managing orders manually
When an online store and warehouse operate with disconnected systems, orders have to be entered manually, inventory records may not match and teams spend time answering repeated enquiries about shipment status. Customers also want to know where their orders are and may contact customer service when that information is not available.
According to Store Leads, as of 30 October 2026 Italy had 61,034 active Shopify stores, including 1,479 using Shopify Plus, the plan designed for businesses with more complex requirements and larger-scale operations.
To avoid managing orders and inventory across disconnected systems, BIZ LiNK connects logistics operations with platforms such as Shopify and through API integrations. This allows order, stock, and tracking information to be shared between systems, reducing manual data entry and making day-to-day operations easier to manage.
How to compare logistics providers based on total cost
Factor
What to look at
What BIZ Courier & Logistics S.A. offers
Warehousing
Fixed costs and unused capacity
Storage charged by cubic metres occupied at month-end
Delivery
Shipping rates, delivery times, issues and convenience
Order preparation and coordination of local last-mile networks
Returns
Transport, inspection, and stock recovery
Local returns receiving, recording and consolidation
International operations
Differences in payment, delivery, customs, and coordination
Seven centres, coverage across 20 markets, COD where available and access to a customs warehouse
Technology
Manual work and visibility of orders and inventory
BIZ LiNK and integrations that connect your systems
The most useful comparison looks at how much it costs to prepare, deliver and manage each order, alongside the level of service your customers receive.
If you are selling across several countries or want to understand what it really costs to manage each order, at BIZ Courier & Logistics S.A. we can review your markets, order volumes, and operational requirements with you. This helps us assess which logistics structure best suits your business.
Frequently asked questions
Total logistics costs include warehousing, staffing, order preparation, transport, delivery issues, returns, systems, and coordination resources. When comparing providers, these costs should be assessed against actual order volumes.
By comparing the full cost per order, choosing suitable delivery networks for each market, organising returns and connecting sales platforms with logistics operations. Inventory placement should reflect demand and order volumes in each country.
