At a glance
Average postage cost per Net Dispatch-routed parcel in GBP, post-discount and including standard surcharges. Reflects UK multi-carrier rate-shopping outcome: Net Dispatch’s pooled rates plus per-shipment optimisation across Royal Mail, DPD, Evri, Yodel, ParcelForce. Typically 5 to 12% lower than direct-to-carrier UK average for similar volume.
| What it counts | SUM(label cost in GBP) / COUNT(shipments) over the trailing 30 days. |
| Cost components included | Carrier base rate + fuel surcharge + carrier-specific accessorials (residential, remote-area, oversize) + Net Dispatch per-label fee. |
| Discount handling | Net Dispatch negotiates pooled rates with UK carriers; merchants typically pay 5-12% less than direct-to-carrier published rates. |
| Service level scope | All Net Dispatch-booked services pooled. |
| Carrier-mix effect | Strongest cost driver. Heavy Evri/Yodel use lowers the average dramatically (£1.50-£2.50/parcel) but hurts on-time. Heavy DPD use raises average (£3.50-£5.00/parcel) but lifts on-time. |
| Annual rate increase | Most UK carriers raise rates once-yearly, typically January-February (3-7% per cycle). Some (Royal Mail) have additional mid-year adjustments. |
| Q4 surcharges | UK carriers add Q4 peak surcharges October-January (£0.20-£1.50/parcel for high-volume); the card includes them. |
| Currency | GBP for UK domestic. International shipments may convert at booking-time FX. |
| Time window | 30D vsP |
| Alert trigger | +10% vsP |
| Roles | owner, finance, operations |
Calculation
Calculated automatically from your NetDispatch data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.Worked example
A UK DTC fashion merchant via Net Dispatch. Reading taken at 09:00 GMT on 12 Mar 26 for the trailing 30 days vs the prior 30 days.| Underlying Carrier | Shipments | Avg billed (Net Dispatch GBP) | Equivalent direct estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Mail Tracked 48 | 5,820 | £3.10 | £3.40 (-9%) |
| Royal Mail Tracked 24 | 2,180 | £4.20 | £4.65 (-10%) |
| DPD Next Day | 1,420 | £4.40 | £4.90 (-10%) |
| Evri 3-5 Day | 3,940 | £1.95 | £2.20 (-11%) |
| Yodel Standard | 880 | £2.40 | £2.75 (-13%) |
| FedEx UK Express (international) | 220 | £14.80 | £16.20 (-9%) |
| All carriers (this card) | 14,460 | £3.05 | £3.40 (-10.3%) |
- Net Dispatch is saving the merchant ~£0.35/parcel vs direct. At 14,460 monthly shipments, ~£5,060/month or £61K/year saving. This is the platform’s value proposition.
- Evri at £1.95/parcel is the cheapest option but drags on-time. The cost-vs-OTD trade is most acute on Evri/Yodel; merchants weighing the trade should look at this card alongside On-Time Delivery Rate.
- The +4.5% climb is mostly January 2026 carrier rate increases. Royal Mail published a 6.4% increase effective 1 Apr 26 (will affect April readings); DPD applied a 5.1% increase in January. Non-negotiable.
- No major service-mix shift. Volume mix between carriers is similar to prior 30D; cost climb is rate-driven not mix-driven.
- Compare against on-time card. Cost climb of 4.5% paired with on-time stable at 94.0% = “I’m paying 4-5% more for the same service quality”. Acceptable; the trade flips negative if on-time degrades while cost climbs.
Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why pair it with Avg Shipping Cost | What the combination tells you |
|---|---|---|
| On-Time Delivery Rate | Quality-cost trade. | Net Dispatch value prop is “save without losing on-time”. |
| Cost Per Shipment Trend | 90D shape. | Upward = structural; spike = one-time. |
| Cost by Zone | UK regional split. | Highland/island surcharges drive region-level cost. |
| Shipments by Service | Carrier mix split. | Shifting Evri to Royal Mail raises average. |
Cross-connector: royal_mail.rm_avg_shipping_cost | Direct-RM subset comparison. | Net Dispatch-RM should beat direct-RM. |
Cross-connector: shopify.total_revenue | Margin denominator. | UK shipping cost as % of revenue. |
Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard
Where to look in Net Dispatch’s own dashboard: Net Dispatch Dashboard → Billing → Statements. Monthly invoice shows total spend in GBP and shipment count. Why our number may legitimately differ from Net Dispatch’s portal:| Reason | Direction | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Charge components | Either | Card includes Net Dispatch per-label fee; portal sometimes shows base postage only. |
| Refund handling | Card may be higher | Refunds (cancelled labels) post on next billing cycle. |
| VAT inclusion | Either | UK VAT (20%) treatment differs between merchant configurations; reconcile gross-vs-net display. |
| Card | Expected relationship | What causes legitimate divergence |
|---|---|---|
royal_mail.rm_avg_shipping_cost | Direct-RM subset. | Net Dispatch-RM should beat direct-RM by 8-12%. |
dpd.dpd_avg_shipping_cost | Same for DPD. | Same. |