Unit economics and pricing models

We price every cost a unit carries and show what it earns at today's price and at alternatives. A unit is the thing you sell and deliver once: an order, a parcel, a pallet position, a subscription month or a contracted route.

The pricing model sits on top and tells your board what a change in price, minimum order, fee or discount does to volume, contribution and cash.

• A unit economics model for each major product, service and channel, with every cost line sourced.
• A price ladder showing contribution at each price, delivery fee and minimum order tested.
• A sensitivity table on volume, cost and discount, written so the board can change inputs.
• A contract rate card model for B2B work, tied to contribution rather than a cost-plus habit.
• A pricing paper recommending changes and stating the assumptions behind each one.

• Contribution per unit is shown at current and proposed prices.
• Break-even volume is known at each price.
• Units sold below target contribution are counted as a share of all units.
• Realised price is read against list price after discounts.
• Price decisions arrive with a written model, and the board counts how many do.

Prices in many groups are set by comparison with competitors or by adding a margin to the last cost anyone remembers. Neither tells the group what a sale earns once fulfilment, payment, support and returns are counted. When costs rise, the group raises prices by feel. When a competitor discounts, it follows, and the board learns the result in the quarter's cash.

• Prices were last set when costs were different and nobody has rebuilt the arithmetic.
• Delivery fees, minimum baskets and discounts were chosen separately and interact in ways no one has modelled.
• Two brands sell similar goods at different margins and neither can explain why.
• A competitor's promotion has prompted a price response without a view of how long the group can afford it.
• Investors ask for unit economics and the finance team offers revenue per customer.

Chairmen, principals and chief executives of commerce, logistics and food groups who set prices, delivery fees or contract rates across several brands, and who are being asked to grow volume or defend margin.

Qasim Abbas set the capital logic behind a blended last-mile fleet at BaladiMart and worked fundraising through seed, Series A and Series B, where unit economics is what investors test. We build your pricing models to be tested the same way.

We build the model in a workbook fed by your ledger, order platform and dispatch exports. The delivery cost calculator works out the cost of each successful delivery for delivery-based units. See how fees work.

Can the model be shown to an investor?

Yes. It is built to be read by someone outside the business, with sources on each line and the assumptions listed.

Is this the same as contribution analysis?

Contribution analysis measures what orders earned. This work turns that into prices and fees going forward.

State the price or fee under review. We propose the unit to model and the first question your board should put to the model.