How is "true margin" different from what my ERP shows?

Your ERP usually shows gross margin as price minus COGS. The agent nets out marketplace fees, fulfillment, returns and actual discount depth, so the figure reflects the margin that really landed - which is often several points lower and varies sharply by channel.

Does it need our cost data to be perfect?

No, but it flags data-quality gaps before deriving conclusions. If landed cost or returns are missing, it tells you what it could not net out rather than quietly guessing.

Can it explain a margin drop, not just show it?

Yes. The lost-margin diagnostic decomposes the change into mix, discount, fee, returns and freight drivers and names the SKUs behind each, so you get a cause and a next step, not just a red number.

cdoagent.ai

Try CDO Agent

Sales & margin

Know where your margin actually goes

True gross margin by SKU, category and channel - after every fee, return and discount.

Sales and margin is where most commerce decisions are won or lost, and where the headline P&L hides the real picture. CDO Agent reads your sales and cost data and computes true gross margin by SKU, category and channel - net of marketplace fees, shipping, returns and discount depth - so you can see exactly where margin leaks this month and what to do about it, not just that revenue moved.

Start free - 250 credits See pricing

The problem

What slows this down

The P&L shows revenue is up but nobody can say which SKUs or channels actually made money after fees and returns.

Discounts and promo depth erode margin quietly; by the time it shows in the monthly close, the quarter is gone.

Marketplace economics differ wildly from own-shop, but the two are never compared on a like-for-like contribution basis.

A handful of SKUs drive most of the margin drop each month, but finding them by hand takes days.

What you get

What the agent does here

True margin, not headline margin

Gross and contribution margin by SKU, category and channel, after marketplace fees, fulfillment, returns and discounts - so the number reflects what actually landed, not list price minus COGS.

Lost-margin diagnostic

A ranked, top-N view of where margin dropped this period and why: mix shift, discount depth, fee creep, returns, or freight. The agent names the SKUs and quantifies each driver.

Channel economics side by side

Own-shop vs marketplace contribution on a like-for-like basis, including channel cannibalisation, so you can decide where the next unit of volume is actually worth selling.

Covers

What this domain spans

Gross vs contribution margin by SKU and category
Margin waterfall: list price to landed margin
Lost-margin / top-N drop diagnostics
Channel mix and cannibalisation
Discount and promo erosion
Marketplace fee impact on margin

Metrics

What the agent watches

Gross margin %: By SKU, category and channel, after fees and returns.
Contribution margin: After marketing, fulfillment and returns - the number that pays the overhead.
Discount depth: Average and tail; the tail is usually where margin leaks.
Margin variance vs plan: Where actuals diverge from budget, by driver.

Day one

Questions you can ask

Sales & margin

Which 20 SKUs lost the most gross margin last month, and why?

Sales & margin

What is my true contribution margin on marketplace orders after fees and returns?

Sales & margin

Is our discount depth eroding margin faster than it lifts volume?

Sales & margin

Which categories are growing revenue but shrinking margin?

Every answer comes back in your own numbers, with a clear next step.

FAQ

Common questions

How is "true margin" different from what my ERP shows?: Your ERP usually shows gross margin as price minus COGS. The agent nets out marketplace fees, fulfillment, returns and actual discount depth, so the figure reflects the margin that really landed - which is often several points lower and varies sharply by channel.
Does it need our cost data to be perfect?: No, but it flags data-quality gaps before deriving conclusions. If landed cost or returns are missing, it tells you what it could not net out rather than quietly guessing.
Can it explain a margin drop, not just show it?: Yes. The lost-margin diagnostic decomposes the change into mix, discount, fee, returns and freight drivers and names the SKUs behind each, so you get a cause and a next step, not just a red number.

Who this is for

By industry

Other domains

Pricing

Price with a floor, not a guess

Cost-plus floor audits, competitor scrapes, marketplace-fee impact and discount-erosion analysis.

E-shop & marketplace

Own-shop vs marketplace, on real economics

Channel economics, marketplace-fee reality, listing health and cannibalisation in one view.

Logistics & carriers

Stop overpaying your carriers

Carrier-contract audits, fuel-surcharge checks, RFP scoring and last-mile mix.

Warehousing

Find the cash frozen in your warehouse

Capacity diagnosis, dead-stock segmentation, ABC analysis and slotting.

Supply chain

Balance lead time, cash and stockouts

Supplier lead time, MOQ vs cash tie-up, OTIF, allocation and cross-border flow.

Returns & CX

Cut returns at the root, not the refund

Returns-rate root cause, fraud signals, refund-policy audit and churn diagnostics.

ERP & WMS

Choose, connect and get value from your systems

Vendor selection, integration design, migration planning and ROI - read-only, vendor-neutral.

Try it on your own numbers

250 free credits, no card. Connect a source, ask a real question, and see the answer in your data.

Start free All domains

cdoagent.ai

Try CDO Agent

Sales & margin

Know where your margin actually goes

True gross margin by SKU, category and channel - after every fee, return and discount.

Start free - 250 credits See pricing

The problem

What slows this down

The P&L shows revenue is up but nobody can say which SKUs or channels actually made money after fees and returns.

Discounts and promo depth erode margin quietly; by the time it shows in the monthly close, the quarter is gone.

Marketplace economics differ wildly from own-shop, but the two are never compared on a like-for-like contribution basis.

A handful of SKUs drive most of the margin drop each month, but finding them by hand takes days.

What you get

What the agent does here

True margin, not headline margin

Gross and contribution margin by SKU, category and channel, after marketplace fees, fulfillment, returns and discounts - so the number reflects what actually landed, not list price minus COGS.

Lost-margin diagnostic

A ranked, top-N view of where margin dropped this period and why: mix shift, discount depth, fee creep, returns, or freight. The agent names the SKUs and quantifies each driver.

Channel economics side by side

Own-shop vs marketplace contribution on a like-for-like basis, including channel cannibalisation, so you can decide where the next unit of volume is actually worth selling.

Covers

What this domain spans

Gross vs contribution margin by SKU and category
Margin waterfall: list price to landed margin
Lost-margin / top-N drop diagnostics
Channel mix and cannibalisation
Discount and promo erosion
Marketplace fee impact on margin

Metrics

What the agent watches

Gross margin %: By SKU, category and channel, after fees and returns.
Contribution margin: After marketing, fulfillment and returns - the number that pays the overhead.
Discount depth: Average and tail; the tail is usually where margin leaks.
Margin variance vs plan: Where actuals diverge from budget, by driver.

Day one

Questions you can ask

Sales & margin

Which 20 SKUs lost the most gross margin last month, and why?

Sales & margin

What is my true contribution margin on marketplace orders after fees and returns?

Sales & margin

Is our discount depth eroding margin faster than it lifts volume?

Sales & margin

Which categories are growing revenue but shrinking margin?

Every answer comes back in your own numbers, with a clear next step.

FAQ

Common questions

How is "true margin" different from what my ERP shows?: Your ERP usually shows gross margin as price minus COGS. The agent nets out marketplace fees, fulfillment, returns and actual discount depth, so the figure reflects the margin that really landed - which is often several points lower and varies sharply by channel.
Does it need our cost data to be perfect?: No, but it flags data-quality gaps before deriving conclusions. If landed cost or returns are missing, it tells you what it could not net out rather than quietly guessing.
Can it explain a margin drop, not just show it?: Yes. The lost-margin diagnostic decomposes the change into mix, discount, fee, returns and freight drivers and names the SKUs behind each, so you get a cause and a next step, not just a red number.

Who this is for