Do I have to pay storage fees for my inventory?

At Cenfil, you don’t pay any storage fees. Your inventory is stored in the warehouse without any charges per pallet, per location, or per cubic meter. You pay for the services: processing and shipping orders and handling returns.

Why That Matters

Storage fees are common in the fulfillment market and are usually charged per pallet or per location per week. This affects your product selection: a slow-moving item costs money as long as it sits in inventory, even during periods when you aren’t selling any of it.

Without storage costs, you don't have to make that decision on a per-item basis. You can try out a new product line or bring in seasonal inventory earlier without the costs piling up right away.

What you pay instead

The costs are based on the services provided: a rate per order and a rate per order line, within a tiered pricing structure based on the number of shipments per period. Pick-and-pack services and standard packaging materials are included in this.

This means your logistics costs fluctuate in line with your sales rather than your inventory levels. A slow period costs you less, and a busy period costs more because more was sold during that time.

In proportion, though

There is one condition. The storage space expands as long as it remains proportional to the number of shipments you send. That proportion is exactly why there is no need for a per-pallet rate.

If that ratio changes significantly—for example, because you’re making a large purchase that you’ll sell off over the next two years—then that should be discussed in advance, not come as a surprise afterward.

Inventory that you still plan for intentionally

No storage costs doesn't mean inventory management takes care of itself. Inventory that sits idle is still money tied up, and for products with an expiration date, there's also a time limit. The difference is that this decision is about your purchasing and not about a monthly bill from the warehouse.

In your Picqer account, you can see in real time how many of each item are in stock. That's where you can see which items are rotating and which ones are staying on the shelf.

What to Look for in Other Proposals

• Is storage charged per pallet, per location, or per cubic meter?
• Weekly, every four weeks, or monthly?
• Is there a minimum number of pallets or locations?
• What happens to inventory that sits on the shelf for a long time?

Be sure to factor those amounts in before comparing rates for each package. A low rate per shipment with storage fees on top can end up being more expensive than a slightly higher rate without them.