1 │ Why This Matters—A Quick Reality Check
Warehousing isn’t sexy, but it quietly eats margin. Most 3PLs charge two ways:
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Per-pallet, per-week (typical: £2.75–£4.50).
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Per cubic foot, per-week (typical: £0.35–£0.55).
Miss a peak sell-through forecast by 10 % and you could spend an extra four figures a month on “rent for boxes.” You don’t need a PhD—or an ERP—to project the hit. You just need Excel and 60 seconds.
2 │ Download the Calculator
(Safe, no macros—just plain formulas.)
3 │ What’s Inside the Workbook?
| Cell | What You Enter | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| B3 | Avg pallets stored | For pallet-based rate cards. |
| B4 | £ rate per pallet per week | Pull from your 3PL quote. |
| B5 | Avg cubic feet stored | Use when billed on volume. |
| B6 | £ rate per cu ft per week | Another line in most quotes. |
| B7 | Storage period (days) | How long stock sits before leaving. |
| B9 | Auto | Total cost formula combining both models. |
Behind the Formula
The sheet converts daily dwell time to weeks so you can project any period—Black Friday overstock, a whole quarter, or just a slow summer month.
4 │ Step-by-Step Example
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Pallets | 120 |
| £/Pallet/Week | £3.60 |
| Cubic Feet | 0 |
| £/Cu ft/Week | 0 |
| Storage Days | 45 |
Result: £2 777 storage spend for that batch.
Now change “Storage Days” to 15 and watch cost plunge to £925. Reality check delivered.
5 │ Three Hidden Fees to Add Manually
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Long-Term Storage (>180 days). Some 3PLs layer an extra £0.80 per pallet.
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Pallet Administration / Put-Away. One-off £4–£6 when stock first lands.
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Insurance Adjustment. High-value goods often add 0.1–0.2 % of declared value per month.
Simply insert extra rows beneath the calculator and link them into the total if they apply.
6 │ How to Slash the Number That Pops Out
| Hack | Typical Impact | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Slot-ting: break down high movers to pick-faces, keep bulk off-site | –10–15 % floor usage | Medium |
| Sell-Through Targets: tie PO size to 45-day cover | –20 % dwell days | High (planning) |
| Seasonal Overflow 3PL: cheaper secondary warehouse for slow SKUs | –25 % pallet £ | Low |
(For physical packaging tweaks, see our article “7 Packaging Hacks to Cut DIM Weight”.)
7 │ FAQ (fast)
Do I need both pallet and cubic-foot inputs?
No. Fill whichever matches your invoice—leave the other at zero.
Will the formula work for monthly billing?
Yes. Enter “30” in “Storage Days” and rates per week; the calculator will prorate correctly.
Can I expand the sheet for multiple SKUs?
Absolutely. Duplicate the input block per SKU, then SUM the totals.
8 │ Next Steps
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Drop in your real numbers—it literally takes a minute.
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Compare last month’s invoice to the sheet’s output. If you’re overpaying, time to renegotiate or relocate.
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Share the file with finance so everyone speaks the same cost language.
Need a deeper dive? UK Pre Fulfilment’s pricing team will run a storage audit with SKU-level heat maps—usually inside 24 hours. Book a call.
