Logistics KPIs are measures of how well transport, warehousing and delivery perform. Typical examples include on-time delivery, cost per shipment, order picking accuracy, dock-to-stock time and damage rate. Each is a ratio or time with a defined formula, a data source and a target that matches what customers and the business need.
This article groups logistics KPI examples by area and explains what data each one needs. For broader supply chain measures such as forecast accuracy or cash-to-cash cycle, a separate set of indicators applies.
Transport KPIs
| KPI | Formula | Data needed |
|---|---|---|
| On-time delivery | Shipments delivered by the promised time, divided by total shipments | Promised and actual delivery timestamps |
| Cost per shipment | Total freight cost divided by number of shipments | Carrier invoices, shipment counts |
| Cost per unit or per kilometre | Freight cost divided by units moved, or by distance driven | Cost, volume, distance |
| Freight cost as a share of sales | Freight spend divided by revenue | Finance and transport data |
| Load utilization | Weight or volume loaded divided by vehicle capacity | Load plans, vehicle specs |
| Damage and claims rate | Shipments with damage or loss divided by total shipments | Claims records |
| Transit time | Delivery date minus ship date, by lane | Tracking events |
Warehouse KPIs
- Receiving time or dock-to-stock time: time from arrival at the dock to goods available for picking.
- Order picking accuracy: orders picked without error, divided by total orders picked.
- Inventory accuracy: locations or items where the system count matches the physical count, divided by items counted.
- Lines or units picked per labour hour: a productivity measure, best compared only between similar work types.
- Order cycle time in the warehouse: time from order release to ready for shipment.
- Space utilization: used storage positions divided by available positions.
- Cost per order or per line: warehouse cost divided by orders or lines handled.
Delivery and customer KPIs
- On-time in-full (OTIF): deliveries that are both on time and complete.
- Perfect order rate: orders with no error across delivery, quantity, condition and documents.
- First-attempt delivery success: deliveries completed on the first try, divided by total delivery attempts or orders.
- Return rate: returned orders or units divided by total shipped.
- Customer complaints related to delivery: logged complaints per number of orders.
Setting realistic targets
- Establish a baseline from several weeks or months of actual data.
- Separate the causes of misses, for example carrier delay, late warehouse release or customer unavailability.
- Compare against the service that customers were promised, not an external number with a different definition.
- Set stepwise improvements and review them after each change in process.
- Segment targets where it makes sense, for example by lane, customer tier or product type.
Data and system needs
Most logistics KPIs come from three sources: the order system, the warehouse management system and the transport management system or carrier portals. Problems arise when timestamps are missing, statuses are entered in batches or carriers use different event codes. Cleaning these inputs often matters more than building a dashboard.
Where analytics helps
Analytics can show which lanes, carriers or shifts drive misses, and predictive models can estimate arrival times from past transit data. They cannot compensate for sparse tracking data. A KPI based on poor timestamps looks precise but is not reliable.
Common questions
Which KPI should a small business start with?
On-time delivery, order accuracy and cost per shipment cover service, quality and cost with data most businesses already have.
Are higher productivity numbers always better?
No. Pushing picks per hour without watching accuracy and safety can raise errors and injuries. Track productivity alongside quality.
Sources and further reading
- Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)
- Logistics Performance Index (World Bank)
- MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (MIT CTL)