Cost to Serve

Summary

The cost required to serve a customer, segment, product, or channel.

Conventional Definition

Cost to Serve aggregates direct and allocated service, support, fulfillment, and delivery costs for a defined unit.

Value Realization-Oriented Definition

In Value Realization, Cost to Serve reveals whether value delivery is economically efficient and whether service models align with realized contribution.

Notes

This draft measure is an indicator, not a complete proof of realized value. It should be interpreted with baseline, attribution, timing, confidence, quality, risk, and sustainability evidence.