The verdict in three sentences
A single stock serving several cities inflates shipping fees and lengthens delivery, pushing up to 20 % of customers to abandon at the delivery-payment step. Two well-placed regional depots cut delivery cost by 20 to 30 % and delivery time by 2 to 3 days. Going multi-warehouse makes sense as soon as 25 to 30 % of orders ship to a city far from the central depot.
The real cost of a single depot
Delivering from one warehouse in Lagos to Accra or Nairobi means paying for long, costly intercity transport with break-of-bulk risk. Here is the 2026 order of magnitude of delivery fees by configuration (figures shown in FCFA for regional comparison).
| Route | Single depot | Regional multi-warehouse |
|---|---|---|
| Intra-city | 1,500 FCFA / 1 d | 1,500 FCFA / 1 d |
| Hub → City B | 12,000 FCFA / 5-7 d | 2,500 FCFA / 2 d (City B depot) |
| Hub → City C | 9,000 FCFA / 4-6 d | 3,000 FCFA / 2-3 d (City C depot) |
| Checkout abandonment rate | 18-22 % | 8-12 % |
| Returns for excessive delay | 6 % | 2 % |
By adding a depot in the second city, a store shipping 40 % of its parcels there divides its shipping cost on those orders by 4.
Routing and balancing: the 2026 logic
Multi-warehouse rests on two rules: route each order to the nearest depot that has stock, and rebalance levels by turnover. Here are the models and their estimated costs.
| Model | Description | Logistics cost/month | Shipping saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single hub | 1 central warehouse | 150,000 FCFA | baseline |
| Hub + 1 satellite | Central + 1 regional depot | 280,000 FCFA | -20 % |
| Hub + 2 satellites | Central + 2 regional depots | 420,000 FCFA | -30 % |
| Distributed network | 3+ depots with auto-routing | 650,000 FCFA+ | -35 % |
Auto-routing picks the depot that minimizes total cost (distance + availability). Rebalancing moves high-turnover items to the depot that sells them most, once a week.
Mini case study
Ibrahim sells accessories from a hub city: 120 orders/month, of which 48 (40 %) go to a second city. With a single depot, each parcel there costs 12,000 FCFA in shipping, i.e. 576,000 FCFA/month. He opens a small satellite depot in the second city (additional logistics cost 130,000 FCFA/month) where shipping drops to 2,500 FCFA, i.e. 120,000 FCFA for those 48 parcels. Gross saving: 456,000 FCFA, minus 130,000 FCFA of depot cost = 326,000 FCFA/month net gain, before counting the drop in checkout abandonment.
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FAQ
When should I open a second warehouse?
As soon as 25 to 30 % of your orders go to a city where shipping exceeds 8,000 FCFA. Below that, the fixed cost of a satellite depot isn't recovered.
How does automatic order routing work?
For each order, the system compares the distance and availability of every depot, then assigns the one minimizing cost and delay. It's fully automatic in the back office.
How much does multi-warehouse management cost in 2026?
Expect 280,000 FCFA/month for a hub plus one satellite, up to 650,000 FCFA/month for a distributed network with automatic routing.
Is stock duplicated across depots?
No. Each depot has its own counter but everything rolls up into a single consolidated stock, which prevents overselling across warehouses.
What about smaller regional volumes?
Same trade-off: a single hub while regional volume is low, then satellite depots once intercity shipping becomes the top barrier to purchase.
Let's talk about your project. We design your multi-warehouse logic and automatic routing built for African logistics. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
