Actual landed cost vs standard (planned) cost. Variance signals supply-chain or pricing changes upstream.
At a glance
Actual landed cost minus standard (planned) cost, per SKU and component. Surfaces supply-chain or pricing shocks upstream.
| What it counts | (Actual Landed Cost minus Standard Cost) per SKU × Units Received in Period. Reported per Landed Cost Category (purchase, freight, duty, handling). Rolled up to total dollar variance. |
| Tax treatment | n/a. |
| Currency | OneWorld: reporting currency at receipt-date FX. |
| Subsidiary scope | Respects dashboard filter. |
| Time window | 30D |
| Alert trigger | >5% variance, sentiment cost_variance |
| Roles | owner, finance |
| Only-when gate | Standard Cost feature enabled. Some accounts use Average Cost only; this card hides if Standard Cost not configured. |
Calculation
Calculated automatically from your NetSuite 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 US wholesale apparel distributor on NetSuite. 30-day window 14 Mar 26 to 12 Apr 26.| Component | Std cost (per unit) | Actual cost | Variance per unit | Units | Total variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase | $11.00 | $11.20 | +$0.20 | 124,000 | +$24,800 |
| Inbound freight | $1.90 | $2.40 | +$0.50 | 124,000 | +$62,000 |
| Duty | $1.78 | $1.85 | +$0.07 | 124,000 | +$8,680 |
| Customs / handling | $0.70 | $0.75 | +$0.05 | 124,000 | +$6,200 |
| Total Variance (this card) | +$101,680 |
- +$101K unfavourable variance trips the alert. This is real money flowing out of margin.
- Freight is the biggest contributor (+$62K). Container rates spiked. The merchant either passes through to retail (raise prices), absorbs (margin hit), or accepts a one-period spike.
- Variance posts to a Cost Variance Account in NetSuite GL. It hits the P&L either when received (Standard Cost variance) or at period close. Either way, it’s visible.
- The variance is structurally additive across SKUs. 124K units × 101K. Per-unit variance per cost category lets the Controller decide where to focus.
- Pair with Margin Erosion Alerts. Per-SKU margin drops match the per-SKU cost variance. Cross-validation.
Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why pair it with Landed Cost Variance |
|---|---|
| Landed Cost Avg | The trend view. |
| Margin Erosion Alerts | Downstream impact. |
| Gross Margin % | Aggregate impact. |
| COGS Total | Where variance flows. |
| Total Inventory Value | New stock at higher cost lifts the headline. |
Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard
Where to look in NetSuite:Reports → Inventory → Standard Cost Variance GL Account: Cost Variance for the dollar impactWhy our number may legitimately differ:
| Reason | Direction | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Standard cost vintage | Either | If standard costs aren’t refreshed regularly (annually is typical), the variance shows accumulated drift. |
| Allocation method | Either | NetSuite’s Landed Cost allocates by weight/volume/cost; method affects per-unit variance. |
| Subsequent bills | Either | Bills posted after Item Receipt adjust historical variance retroactively. |