The cost per item is just what the vendor charges to manufacture it, right?
Not so fast!
There are many factors to consider when trying to decide what to charge for an item. This is where knowing your product cost, landing cost, and other related costs will come in handy. By tracking what your costs are, you can be sure to set retail prices accordingly and increase your bottom line.
Definitions
Here are some foundational definitions to keep in mind:
- Cost price – The product price in the supplier catalog, and it is the price you pay to supplier or vendor.
- Landing Cost Price – The total unit cost for you as the vendor. In addition to vendor cost, it includes things like shipping, handling, taxes, duties, and set-up fees. Think of it as the cost price with a portion of all the fees you find at the bottom of a PO with taxes, shipping, etc.
- Platform Fee – The cost of your Amazon and other platform fees. This includes referral fees, variable closing fees, per item fees, and FBA fees. Consider what other fees platforms are charging and factor that into your costs and price per item.
- Stock Costs – This is the product cost multiplied by the number of units in inventory. For everything you have on hand, how much did you pay suppliers for these items?
Tip: Your bookkeeper or CPA may need the inventory cost value as of the last day of the prior month so that he or she can balance your books. That is why you and your team must be on the same page as far as what the stock cost means. Discuss with your bookkeeper if he or she wants to see only the product cost stock total or instead use the landed cost price times inventory level. Keeping these definitions in mind will help you have accurate balances and avoid confusion.
For Inventory Planner Users: How to Get Historical Stock Cost Information
Inventory Planner users can pull historical stock information starting the day the account was connected to IP. Inventory Planner cannot pull historical stock information from your platform prior to IP connectivity. Historical sales and product information will be pulled from your platform on the first sync.
When the daily sync happens between Inventory Planner and your connected platform, IP is updating stock levels. IP records that day’s stock level, stock cost, and other related metrics.
Historic Stock Levels and Cost Value
To see historic stock levels and stock cost value, go to Reports > Inventory KPIs.
To view stock levels and cost value for your entire store, view Total.
Change the date range for the report to include dates where you would like to see the stock levels and cost value.
Then click on the Details icon.
View the Stock & Sales History tab to see Stock and Stock Cost.
Hover over the chart to see the value on a particular date.
Alternatively, after changing the date range, add “Opening Stock” and “Closing Stock” to your report view using the gear icon in the upper right corner. When you see “Stock”, remember that it is as of the last sync, no matter what the date on your report is.
Summary
Inventory is much more than the cost price. Factor in shipping, customs, warehouses, and other costs. As your manufacturing costs increase, you can monitor profit margins and raise prices accordingly.