# Commercial Parcel Service Catalogue and Pricing Logic

> **Fictional lab material.** Service names reflect the Canada Post commercial portfolio, but every rate, band, and fee below is invented for the MS-4004 exercises. Do not treat any figure as a real quote.

**Effective for lab use:** FY2026
**Audience:** Account executives preparing commercial proposals

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## Volume bands

Base parcel rates are set by annual committed volume. A customer's band is set at agreement signing and reviewed each March.

| Band | Annual parcels | Base rate index | Typical customer |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Band 2 | 120,000 – 239,999 | 1.00 | Single-site distributor |
| Band 3 | 240,000 – 319,999 | 0.94 | Multi-site regional |
| Band 4 | 320,000 – 449,999 | 0.88 | National multi-site |
| Band 5 | 450,000+ | 0.83 | Enterprise |

A customer crossing into a higher band mid-term may be repriced at the next March review, or earlier by exception with sales manager approval. **Crossing a band is the strongest commercial reason to reopen a conversation before renewal.**

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## Core services

| Service | Description | Typical use |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Expedited Parcel** | Standard business-to-business ground, 1–7 business days by distance | Default for most commercial volume |
| **Xpresspost** | Next-day or two-day guaranteed by lane | Time-sensitive reorders |
| **Flat Rate Box** | Fixed price by box size regardless of weight within limit | Predictable small-parcel reorders |
| **Priority** | Next-morning delivery with signature | Critical replenishment |

## Value-added services

These are sold separately and are where most proposal value sits for an existing account.

| Service | What it does | Illustrative annual cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Return Services** | Prepaid return labels; drop-off at any retail postal outlet nationwide | $0.34 per parcel shipped, per province enabled |
| **Delivery Guarantee** | Contractual on-time commitment with service credits when missed | 3% uplift on base rate for covered lanes |
| **Advanced Tracking API** | Real-time event feed; ERP and WMS connectors | $18,000 per year, unlimited sites |
| **Managed Account Reporting** | Monthly performance pack by site, board-pack ready; quarterly review with account team | $12,000 per year |
| **Peak Season Planning** | Pre-committed November–December capacity, dedicated induction windows, weekly peak reporting | $9,500 per peak season |
| **Service Recovery Plan** | Site-level root cause investigation, remediation plan, and 90-day monitored recovery | No charge where Canada Post performance is below the agreed threshold |

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## How to build the commercial case

A proposal for an existing account should show three numbers, in this order:

1. **Current state cost** — parcels × current effective rate, plus any surcharges.
2. **Proposed state cost** — parcels at the new band rate, plus the value-added services being added.
3. **The offsetting value** — what the added services are worth to the customer in their terms, not ours.

For a customer whose stated requirement is reliability, the third number is not a cost saving. It is the volume that is at risk without it. State that plainly:

> At 18% of annual volume, the site currently at risk represents approximately 55,000 parcels per year. Retaining that volume is worth more than the cost of the services proposed to secure it.

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## Rules for customer-facing pricing

- **Never quote a band the customer has not yet reached.** Model it as a projection and label it as one.
- **Show surcharges in the comparison.** A competitor's headline rate is not their landed cost, and ours should be presented on the same basis.
- **Service Recovery is not a concession to be traded.** Where performance is below the agreed threshold it is offered as a matter of course, before any commercial discussion.
- **Do not state a root cause you have not established.** Describe the symptom, commit to the investigation, and give a date.