--- title: "Profit-optimized delivery" canonical: "https://ingrid-support.refined.site/space/KB/454918145/Profit-optimized%20delivery" format: markdown --- **Delivery decisions grounded in profitability** --- ## What is it? **Profit-Optimized Delivery** is a feature within Ingrid Checkout that uses estimated delivery cost to influence how shipping methods are ranked at checkout — surfacing cost-effective options more prominently while keeping all options visible and available to shoppers. Instead of presenting delivery methods in a fixed order that ignores cost differences, Ingrid uses your carrier contract and invoice data to estimate the cost of each method for a given order. Cheaper methods rank higher. Shoppers see a more cost-effective option first, and are more likely to choose it — without being forced to. --- ## Who is it for? Profit-Optimized Delivery is designed for: - **E-commerce and delivery experience managers** responsible for how delivery options are presented and chosen at checkout - **Logistics managers** accountable for shipping costs and carrier performance - **Finance and operations teams** focused on margin improvement and predictable shipping economics It delivers the most value for retailers with: - Multiple carriers, markets, or delivery methods with meaningful cost variation - Flat delivery pricing that absorbs losses on expensive shipments - Shipping operations that are difficult to optimise manually at scale --- ## How it works When a shopper reaches the delivery selection step, Ingrid estimates the cost of each available shipping method based on cart weight and your carrier data. This estimate is calculated using a regression model built from your historical carrier invoices or contract specifications. The result: lower-cost methods surface more prominently in the list. All delivery options remain available — Profit-Optimized Delivery shapes prominence, not availability. Estimated costs are used for ranking only and are never shown to shoppers or exposed outside Ingrid. **Key outcomes:** - Delivery choice distribution shifts toward cost-effective options - Margin per order improves without removing flexibility for shoppers - Pricing and method ordering reflect actual carrier economics, not static assumptions --- ## Phase 1 and Phase 2 **Phase 1 — live now: Delivery method ranking by cost** Delivery methods are ranked at checkout based on estimated cost. Lower-cost methods surface more prominently. All options remain visible. **Phase 2 — Q2 2026: Pricing aligned with actual shipment cost** Delivery prices charged to shoppers will align with the actual cost of each shipment. Remote or high-cost deliveries will reflect their true cost; competitive pricing is maintained where carrier contracts support lower costs. Seasonal surcharges will update automatically — no manual price changes required. Together, Phase 1 and Phase 2 move delivery economics from a reactive, post-delivery analysis to an active, real-time part of checkout. --- ## Requirements | Requirement | Details | | --- | --- | | Ingrid Checkout | Version 2 required. Version 1 evaluated case-by-case. | | Carrier cost data | Historical carrier invoices showing cost-weight relationships, or carrier contract specifications. Used to build the cost estimation model for your shipping methods. | | Multiple carriers, markets, or delivery methods | Profit-Optimized Delivery delivers the most value where cost variation across methods is meaningful. | --- ## How to get started Profit-Optimized Delivery is not self-serve. To enable it, contact Ingrid's Customer Success Manager directly. **What to expect:** 1. Your Ingrid contact connects you with the Orchestration team. 2. You share carrier invoice data or contract specifications for your shipping methods. 3. The team builds your cost estimation model and deploys it. 4. Delivery methods at checkout begin ranking by estimated cost. **To get started:** reach out to your Ingrid contact. --- ## Frequently Asked Questions - **What carrier data do I need to provide?** Historical carrier invoices showing the relationship between parcel weight and shipping cost, or your carrier contract pricing specifications. The Ingrid team uses this to model the cost of each shipping method. - **Will all my delivery options still be visible to shoppers?** Yes. Profit-Optimized Delivery influences ranking — not visibility. All configured delivery methods remain available at checkout. Shoppers can still choose any option they prefer. - **Does this affect my delivery time promises?** No. Delivery time promises — whether static, carrier-stated, or predicted by Ingrid's AI — are independent of Profit-Optimized Delivery. Both features can run alongside each other. - **Can I use this with a single carrier?** Profit-Optimized Delivery is designed for setups with meaningful cost variation across multiple methods. Single-carrier, single-method setups are unlikely to see a significant benefit. Speak with your Ingrid contact to assess whether it's the right fit. - **How does Phase 2 (dynamic pricing) work?** In Phase 2 (Q2 2026), the prices shoppers see at checkout will reflect the actual cost of their specific shipment — rather than a flat rate applied to all orders. Remote destinations will carry their true cost; competitive pricing is maintained where carrier economics support it. Seasonal surcharges update automatically. - **Is there a cost to use Profit-Optimized Delivery?** Profit-Optimized Delivery is part of Ingrid AI, which is available free of charge until 31 May 2026. Pricing takes effect from 1 June 2026. - **How do I measure the impact?** The primary signal is a shift in delivery method selection distribution — more orders choosing lower-cost methods. You can also compare margin per order before and after activation. Ingrid recommends running an A/B test at launch to measure impact on conversion alongside profitability. --- ## Additional Notes - **Part of Ingrid AI:** Profit-Optimized Delivery is part of Ingrid's AI intelligence layer — a set of features that use real delivery data to make smarter delivery decisions at checkout. The other feature in Ingrid AI is [Predictive Delivery Times](https://ingrid-ab.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/KB/pages/444497922), which replaces static delivery windows with AI-predicted delivery times for each individual order.