One question at a time, about three minutes end to end. Your estimate builds live as you answer — and every benchmark behind it is shown, sourced, and yours to override. Nothing is submitted anywhere.
About this tool
The calculator above is a live model: pick the systems you are evaluating, answer one card at a time, and the estimate builds as you go. Every figure is prefilled with an industry benchmark you can replace, and every savings rate is shown with its source and editable. Nothing is submitted anywhere — the model runs entirely in your browser.
Each savings driver multiplies one of your operating figures by a benchmark improvement rate drawn from published analyst research. Benefits ramp in at 40% in year one, 75% in year two, and 100% from year three. Net present value discounts five ramped years at 10%; payback interpolates monthly against the midpoint of the typical license-plus-implementation cost range for your operation's size. Drivers that touch revenue — order uplift, recovered production output — are valued at your gross or contribution margin, never at gross revenue. An industry multiplier adjusts each system's result across 9 verticals.
These defaults drive the model until you override them. Sources: Nucleus Research, Gartner, Aberdeen Group, ARC Advisory Group, and SCR field experience where noted.
| Receiving productivity | 15% | Nucleus Research |
| Putaway optimizationDirected putaway | 20% | ARC Advisory |
| Pick-path efficiencyOptimized pick paths + batching | 25% | Gartner |
| Pack-station management | 10% | Aberdeen Group |
| Shrink & write-off avoidanceShare of the accuracy gap to 99.5% recovered annually | 25% | Industry benchmark |
| Pick-error reductionAt $15 remediation cost per error | 65% | Aberdeen Group |
| Space cost avoidanceSlotting-recovered space at $8/sq ft/yr | 12% | ARC Advisory |
| Freight rating & procurement | 4% | ARC Advisory |
| Consolidation & mode shift | 3% | Gartner |
| Detention reduction | 15% | Nucleus Research |
| Freight audit cost automationShare of the audit program cost automated away | 65% | Aberdeen Group |
| Yard-dwell reduction | 12% | ARC Advisory |
| Split-shipment reductionAt $8 incremental parcel cost per avoided split | 50% | Gartner |
| BOPIS conversion upliftMargin on incremental BOPIS orders | 12% | Nucleus Research |
| Fulfillment labor savings | 15% | Aberdeen Group |
| Oversell & cancellation reductionMargin on orders saved by real-time ATP | 35% | Industry benchmark |
| Error & return reductionOn the ~3% of orders with errors, at ~25% of order value per return | 22% | Aberdeen Group |
| OEE improvementMargin on captured output across the gap to 85% OEE; assumes demand for the capacity | 12% | ARC Advisory |
| Labor productivity | 10% | Gartner |
| Scrap & rework reduction | 18% | Aberdeen Group |
| WIP & inventory reduction | 8% | Nucleus Research |
| Downtime recoveryMargin on output recovered from planned downtime | 7% | ARC Advisory |
| Forecast-accuracy inventory gain | 8% | Gartner |
| Carrying-cost reduction | 7% | Nucleus Research |
| Stockout reduction | 15% | Aberdeen Group |
| Planner productivityAt an $85K loaded planner cost | 25% | ARC Advisory |
| Excess-inventory avoidance | 5% | Gartner |
| Dwell-time reduction | 25% | ARC Advisory |
| Yard & gate labor productivityGate automation + jockey dispatch, one labor pool | 25% | Nucleus Research |
| Detention avoidanceOverlaps dwell reduction; kept conservative | 12% | Aberdeen Group |
| Trailer utilization | 12% | Gartner |
A warehouse running the model's default WMS profile — 62 direct FTEs across receiving, putaway, picking, and packing at a $22 loaded-base wage, 500,000 sq ft, $15M average inventory at 92% accuracy, 8,000 pick lines a day at a 2% error rate — projects $646K–$969K in year-one realized savings against a $400K–$1.5M investment range. Payback lands at 14 months, three-year ROI at 377%, and five-year NPV at $5.7M at a 10% discount rate. The largest drivers are pick-path efficiency, error reduction, and space cost avoidance — in that order.
Each savings driver multiplies one of your operating figures (FTEs, freight spend, order volume) by a benchmark improvement rate from published analyst research — Nucleus Research, Gartner, Aberdeen Group, and ARC Advisory Group. Every rate is shown in the tool and editable, and an industry multiplier adjusts for vertical fit. Drivers that touch revenue are valued at your margin, never at gross revenue.
No implementation hits full run-rate at go-live. The model realizes 40% of steady-state benefits in year one, 75% in year two, and 100% from year three — a conservative ramp consistent with published post-implementation studies.
Payback interpolates monthly cumulative realized savings against the midpoint of the license-plus-implementation cost range for your operation’s size. NPV discounts five ramped years of savings at 10%. Three-year ROI uses realized (ramped) years one through three, not a flat multiple.
No — it is a directional shortlisting model. The output shows a ±20% range and a sensitivity table from −30% to +30% precisely because benchmark rates are averages. Use it to decide whether an evaluation is worth running, then pressure-test the numbers in scripted vendor demos.
Warehouse management (WMS), transportation management (TMS), order management (OMS), manufacturing execution (MES), supply chain planning (SCP), and yard management (YMS) — the software systems of the supply chain stack, individually or in combination, across ten industry profiles.
Free, no signup, and nothing is submitted anywhere — the entire model runs in your browser. Supply Chain Research accepts no vendor compensation for placement in the model.
Estimates are directional and for evaluation planning only. Supply Chain Research is an independent research firm and accepts no vendor compensation for placement in this model. Methodology last reviewed August 2026 — the full audit trail of rate and formula decisions is maintained internally and summarized in the tool's “Check our math” cards.
