Shopify Fulfillment Network: How Much Does It Cost? [2024]

Order fulfillment is costly and complex. Luckily, we have Shopify Fulfillment Network, a fast and cost-effective solution for Shopify store owners to fulfill their orders.

It costs between $13 to $26, depending on the carrier you choose, to ship a product from Indiana to California. And it could take days or weeks to get it shipped.

It is complex because, without being done carefully and systematically, you may end up shipping an order to the wrong person and making your data a mess. 

This is a comprehensive review of this Shopify Fulfillment Solution. 

By the end of this article, you’ll learn about:

• what Shopify Fulfillment is
• shopify fulfillment pricing: how much does it cost
• whether you are eligible to use fulfillment solution

or to save time, you can absolutely take a look at this video:

Shopify Fulfillment Services: What is the Shopify Fulfillment Network?

Shopify Fulfillment Network (or SFN) is a service that allows merchants to outsource their order fulfillment to Shopify. It can handle most aspects of order fulfillment – including warehousing, order tracking, secure packaging, shipping, and returns. With SFN, it takes less than 1 day to fulfill and at most 2 days to deliver within the US.

NOTE: Currently, Shopify Fulfillment services are available only in the US and Canada.

Shopify Fulfillment pricing: How much does Shopify Fulfillment Service cost?

Shopify Fulfillment Network has no overhead cost – you only pay once you sale a product. The final cost for the sold product depends on the weight of your products and the services you use. Plus, there is no upfront fee for the first six months.

For one single delivery of multiple products, you’ll enjoy some discount on the delivery fee. 

You can click here to see how much money you could save per delivery by selling more than one item.

But the total cost doesn’t just about the delivery fee. Here are other fees for services you may use when fulfilling your order using SFN. Additionally, understanding Shopify fulfillment pricing in detail will help you effectively manage your budget and anticipate costs associated with different order scenarios

Fulfillment fees

The SFN fees depend on the size and weight of the product and the destination the product is shipped. These fees include inbound receiving, picking, packing, supplies, and shipping.

Domestic fulfillment fees are billed once the order is completed. Meanwhile, international fulfillment fees are billed daily.

Storage fees

Storage fees apply to inventory that remains in their stock longer than 180 days (six months).

That means if it’s less than six months, you don’t have to pay.

If it’s longer than six months, the fees will be billed nightly. You’ll pay the fees monthly ($2.25 per cubic foot divided by 30 days) along with all other fees once.

The storage fees are billed monthly, along with your monthly subscription plan.

Return fees and exchange fees

The domestic return fees include the fees to receive, transport, and process a return from a customer. They are charged daily.

The return fees are billed daily.

Special project fees

If you need additional customization for your fulfillment process, which involves SFN staff, you are charged an additional hourly fee.

The return fees are billed monthly.

Non-compliant inbound receiving and barcode relabeling fees

You will incur a relabeling fee for each product with a missing, unreadable, or inaccurate barcode

For each shipment that is non-compliant with SFN, you’re charged a non-compliance fee.

These fees are billed daily.

Here’s a simplified table view of the fees associated with Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN):

Shopify Fulfillment Network Pricing Calculator

Quick Summary

💰 Frequencies

SFN charges added to Shopify bill at different frequencies:

• Fulfillment fees daily
• Storage fees monthly

💼 Calculating fulfillment costs with SFN Calculator:

• Enter item size, weight, quantity, and destination
• Get estimated fulfillment or storage costs

📊 Summary of Shopify fulfillment pricing and fees in the United States:

• Domestic fulfillment fees charged daily
• International fulfillment fees charged daily (excluding duties)
• Storage fees billed monthly
• Domestic return fees charged daily
• Non-compliant inbound receiving fees charged daily

📦 Determining billable weight:

• Based on SKU gravitational weight and dimensional weight
• Billable weight chosen based on greater value
• Example provided for dimensional weight calculation

🇺🇸 Domestic fulfillment fees include:

• Inbound receiving
• Inventory forwarding
• Pick and pack
• Supplies
• Transportation
• Support

🌎 International fulfillment fees include:

• Inbound receiving
• Inventory forwarding
• Pick and pack
• Supplies
• Transportation
• Support

📦 Storage fees depend on:

• SKU dimensions
• Number of units
• Current month
• Duration in SFN inventory

🔄 Domestic return fees include:

• Processing fee
• Label fee

⚠️ Non-compliant inbound receiving:

• Extra fees for non-compliant shipments
• Possible delays in processing

When evaluating the costs of using the Shopify Fulfillment Network, don’t forget to consider shopify domain pricing as part of your initial setup costs. This expense should be factored into your overall budget alongside fulfillment costs.

Key features of Shopify Fulfillment Network

Below are the key features of Shopify Fulfillment Network:

• Fast and automatic order fulfillment: Shopify Fulfillment Service automatically fulfills orders as soon as they are placed. Shopify Fulfillment offers fast shipping times to ensure that your customers receive their orders quickly.
• Real-time tracking: Shopify Fulfillment Network provides real-time tracking for orders, so merchants can easily monitor the progress of each order and ensure that customers receive their orders in a timely and accurate manner.
• Seamless inventory management: Shopify Fulfillment Network allows merchants to track and manage their inventory, so they can quickly respond to any changes in demand or supply. It also provides an overview of their current stock levels, helping merchants improve their inventory management process.
• Quick returns and reorder processing: Shopify Fulfillment will handle returns and exchanges for you so that you can focus on other areas of your business. All returned, saleable items will be repackaged and added back to your active inventory.
• Custom packing slips: You can have your own packing slips, which could help enhance your brand.

• Customer support: Shopify Fulfillment Service provides customers with 24/7 customer support, so they can get the help they need when they need it. It also ensures that orders are fulfilled without any errors or delays.

Pros and Cons of Shopify Fulfillment Network

Here are the pros and cons of this fulfillment solution:

Pros

• Easy to use: Shopify Fulfillment Service is integrated with Shopify’s ecommerce platform, making it easy for store owners to manage their orders and shipments.
• Fast and efficient fulfillment: Shopify Fulfillment Network uses advanced technology and automation to quickly fulfill orders, reducing shipping times and improving the customer experience. Notably, it can deliver orders in two days within the US.
• Inventory Management Advice: Based on customer locations, Shopify Fulfillment provides recommendations on where to store inventory. By distributing inventory across multiple fulfillment centers in the Shopify network, businesses can achieve faster deliveries and reduced shipping costs.
• Product Selection: Business owners have the flexibility to select which products from their inventory they wish to be fulfilled by Shopify. This selection can range from a single item to the entire inventory.
• Robotic Precision: Shopify utilizes robotics in their fulfillment centers to ensure quick and accurate processing of orders. They claim a high accuracy rate of 99.5%.
• Customization Options: While Shopify handles the fulfillment process, businesses retain the ability to customize their orders with personal packaging and inserts, ensuring that the brand’s identity is maintained.
• Reduced shipping costs: Shopify Fulfillment Network offers competitive shipping rates, which can help store owners save money on shipping costs.
• Reliable delivery: Shopify Fulfillment Network partners with trusted carriers to ensure reliable delivery, reducing the risk of lost or damaged shipments.

Cons

• Limited geographic accessibility: Though it allows international delivery, Shopify Fulfillment Network is currently only available for merchants in the US and Canada. Sellers based in other countries cannot use this service.
• Restrictions on product types: The Shopify Fulfillment Service imposes restrictions on the types of products it can fulfill. So those who sell these certain types of goods cannot use this service.
• Increased fees: While reducing shipping costs, SFN imposes a fee for every order fulfilled and service utilized. This can add up over time and increase the overall cost of doing business for store owners.
• Dependence on Shopify platform: This fulfillment solution integrates with Shopify’s ecommerce platform, requiring store owners to utilize Shopify for accessing the fulfillment network.

NOTE: When exploring international shipping options with the Shopify Fulfillment Network, it’s also important to understand shopify international pricing. This includes not only the costs associated with international fulfillment but also the variances in pricing based on different regions and currencies.

The Shopify Fulfillment Process

Step 1: Find a Fulfillment Partner

First, you need someone to help with getting orders to customers. This could be Shopify or another service that handles storing and sending out products. Just choose the one that works best for your store.

Step 2: Store Your Products

Instead of renting your own big storage space (which can be expensive), you can use a fulfillment company. They have large spaces where they keep your products. This can save you money and make shipping faster, as they often have warehouses in different places.

Step 3: Pack Your Products

Once someone orders from your store, the fulfillment process includes taking the product, putting it in a box, and getting it ready for shipping. You can do this yourself or let a company like Shopify handle it. They keep your items and ship them out when needed.

Step 4: Ship to Your Customers

After your product is packed, it’s sent to the customer. Fulfillment companies often get cheaper shipping rates because they send a lot of packages. This means you can enjoy lower shipping costs and faster delivery for your customers.

How to Add Fulfillment to Your Shopify Store: Made Simple

Adding fulfillment options to your Shopify store is straightforward, even if you’re not in the US and can’t use the Shopify Fulfillment Network. Here’s a simple guide:

Step 1: Choose How to Fulfill Orders

First, decide how you want to send out your products. You can handle it yourself, use other companies’ services, or mix both methods. After adding a product to your store, you can pick a fulfillment method for it. This flexibility lets you use different methods for different products in the same order.

Step 2: Decide on Manual or Automatic Fulfillment

Next, think about whether you want to process orders manually (by hand) or automatically (let Shopify handle it). When you start, your store will be set to manual, but you can change it to automatic if that suits you better.

Step 3: Assign Fulfillment Methods to Products

Lastly, in your product details, choose a fulfillment method for each product. Shopify also offers a bulk editor tool, which is handy if you want to apply the same fulfillment method to many products at once.

Shopify Fulfillment Network vs. Amazon FBA: A comparison

Here is a quick comparison of Shopify Fulfillment Network and Amazon FBA, the two most popular fulfillment solutions in the fulfillment service market.

Availability

Amazon FBA is available in many countries worldwide, which means sellers from these regions can use it. Meanwhile, Shopify Fulfillment Service is currently only available for merchants in select countries, like the US and Canada.

⇒ Amazon FBA is available in more countries than SFN.

Costs

Amazon FBA charges fees for storage, fulfillment, and shipping, while Shopify Fulfillment Network charges fulfillment and storage fees, with shipping costs included in the subscription.

However, the fees depend on several factors, including the size and weight of the products you are selling, the volume of orders you receive, and the shipping destinations for your orders. 

⇒ It’s hard to tell if Amazon FBA or SFN is more expensive. 

Ease of use

The ease of use for each solution depends on the user’s experience and comfort level with the platforms. Some may find Amazon FBA easier, while others think Shopify Fulfillment Network is easier. 

⇒ It depends on the user to decide if Amazon FBA or SFN is easier to use.

Control

Amazon FBA has more strict policies and procedures, with limited flexibility for customizing the fulfillment process.

Shopify Fulfillment Network offers more control over the fulfillment process. With SFN, you can customize your branding and packaging to create a more personalized customer experience. Additionally, SFN offers more flexibility in terms of order processing, with the ability to fulfill orders from multiple locations.

⇒ SFN gives more control to you than Amazon FBA.

In short, you should consider your experience with one of these platforms and plan for your business to decide whether Amazon FBA or SFN is right for you.

Table comparison of Amazon FBA vs. Shopify Fulfillment Network

Who can use Shopify Fulfillment Network?

Shopify Fulfillment Network is available to all Shopify merchants. However, you have to meet these requirements to use SFN.

• Your business is located in the US or Canada.
• You use SFN to fulfill at least 1 order per day.
• You have an active Shopify Payments account
• You don’t sell products prohibited by SFN.

A fact not many know:

For businesses looking to optimize their expenses, Shopify offers the pause and build plan. This plan allows store owners to temporarily pause their store while still accessing their Shopify admin to continue building their business. This can be particularly beneficial for businesses reevaluating their fulfillment strategies or taking time to reassess their overall business plan.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Fulfillment is a big and complex part of any business selling physical products. Luckily, you have Shopify Fulfillment Service do all the hard work for you, so you can focus on promoting your business. With its seamless integration with Shopify, fast and efficient shipping, real-time tracking information, and excellent customer support, Shopify Fulfillment Network is an excellent choice for businesses looking to take their ecommerce efforts to the next level.