Hub · Cost-to-serve by industry
Cost-to-serve, industry by industry
Cost-to-serve means the same thing everywhere: the full cost of serving a customer, order or case, beyond the cost of the goods. But the driver that moves it changes by sector. Here is how it lands in each industry we work in, with the page that goes deeper.
Cost-to-serve is the full operational cost of fulfilling a customer, order or case. The concept is universal; the cost driver is industry-specific, a route in logistics, a SKU and order in manufacturing, a procedure in healthcare, an account in IT and financial services.
Cost-to-serve in each industry
Same question in every sector: what does it really cost us to serve this, once the work behind the sale is counted?
Common questions
- What is cost-to-serve?
- Cost-to-serve is the full operational cost of fulfilling a customer, order or case, once picking, delivery, support, returns and admin are counted, not just the cost of the goods. Set against revenue, it reveals which customers are truly profitable.
- Does cost-to-serve differ by industry?
- The concept is the same; the cost driver differs. In logistics it is the route and the drop; in manufacturing the SKU and the order; in healthcare the procedure and the pathway; in IT and financial services the account and the interaction. The method, Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing, is common to all.
Keep exploring
See cost-to-serve for your business.
The Profit Check estimates where your cost to serve is hiding, in five minutes.
Take the Profit Check