The 7 logistics KPIs you should demand from your operator (and what a good number looks like)

If your logistics operator doesn’t report numbers, you’re working blind. These are the 7 KPIs every ecommerce should demand from its 3PL: perfect order rate, order accuracy, on-time shipping, inventory accuracy, order cycle time, returns (rate and restock time) and cost per order. Here’s what each one measures and what range is considered good as an industry reference —no magic numbers, honest ranges.

1. Perfect order rate: how many orders go out flawless?

It’s the percentage of orders delivered complete, on time, undamaged and with the right documentation. It’s the most honest KPI of all because it punishes any failure in the chain: if picking was perfect but the order arrived late, it no longer counts. As an industry reference, above 90% is considered healthy and world-class operations exceed 95%. If your operator doesn’t even measure it, that absence is already telling you something.

2. Order accuracy: do they ship what was ordered?

It measures the percentage of orders picked with the right items in the right quantities. The healthy industry reference sits above 99%, and a well-tuned operation runs between 99.5% and 99.9%. It sounds like a fight over decimals, but do the math: at 10,000 orders a month, the gap between 99% and 99.9% is 90 customers with a wrong shipment, 90 paid reships and 90 reviews at risk.

3. On-time shipping: does it leave when promised?

It’s the percentage of orders that leave the warehouse within the agreed SLA. Industry reference: above 95%, with the best operations around 98% or higher. One important nuance: demand that they report shipping (what the warehouse controls) separately from delivery (what the carrier controls). If they hand you a single blended number, nobody is accountable for anything.

4. Inventory accuracy: does the system tell the truth?

It compares what the system reports against what’s physically on the rack. Industry reference: above 97% is acceptable; with well-run cycle counts, a serious operation sustains 99% or more. Every point below that gets paid twice: you sell product that doesn’t exist (cancellations) or stop selling product that does (false stockouts).

5. Order cycle time: how many hours from click to truck?

It measures the hours between the order coming in and the package shipping out (click-to-ship). In ecommerce, the competitive standard is same-day dispatch or within 24 business hours. Watch out for the average: also ask for the 90th percentile —how long your worst 10% of orders take— because that’s where the complaints live, not in the pretty average.

6. Returns: rate and restock time

Two numbers: what percentage of orders gets returned, and how many days it takes for sellable product to be available again. The rate depends heavily on your category —our guide on ecommerce returns and reverse logistics has the reference figures for Mexico—, but restock time is the operator’s direct responsibility: it’s measured in days, not weeks. Returned product left ungraded is frozen inventory you already paid for.

7. Cost per order: the number that ties it all together

The total cost of the operation divided by the month’s orders. There’s no universal “good number” here —it depends on your product, channels and volume— but there are two rules: it must be transparent by line item (not a black box) and it must improve as you grow, not worsen. These 7 numbers are, literally, what a free operational diagnosis measures: where your operation stands today, what range to compare it against and where the money is leaking. Bring them to the table along with our checklist on how to choose a 3PL in Mexico; if your current operator can’t report them, that’s already your first answer.